FOXBOROUGH – Mike Vrabel has always been a hands-on coach. That’s why he, along with Patriots executives flew down to Baton Rouge, to put Will Campbell through a private workout last week. The head coach armed himself with a blocking pad over his chest and directed the prospect in a drill.
That’s when Campbell hit Vrabel square in the chest, knocking him back on his derriere. It was in that moment, the LSU left tackle may have also cemented his status as the next first-round pick for the New England Patriots. On Thursday, after drafting Campbell with the fourth overall selection, Vrabel confirmed he was knocked on his butt and said that day in Baton Rouge sealed the deal for the Patriots and their newest rookie.
“Yeah, they all knocked me around pretty good. I’ve realized I’m close to 50. And if that tape ever gets out, people are going to have some problems,” Vrabel said.
“I hope that tape never sees the light of day, but I think it was important for me to get out there and feel him, feel every player that we evaluated on the line of scrimmage.” An All-Pro edge rusher for the Patriots, Vrabel has been knocking to put on a blocking and physically work out his players. He did that in Tennessee when he was the Titans head coach and did the same last season as an assistant with the Cleveland Browns. For Campbell, getting drafted by the Patriots represented a dream come true.
On Thursday, he said that last fall, he told Eliot Wolf and Patriots scout Alex Brooks that he wanted to be drafted by New England. “I told (Wolf), and our area Scout, Alex Brooks, that I wanted to be a Patriot, and that happened in the middle of the season,” Campbell said. “I’ve had great interactions with, you know, everybody throughout the process, a lot of them – private workouts, 30 visits, just being up there, getting to meet everybody.
And you know, it’s just where I wanted to be. And I’m just super excited to get there.” That included the ever-important private workout. Held in Baton Rouge, an exact week before the first round started, Vrabel said he and the Patriots brass went on a “circuit” to work out players they were considering for the No.
4 pick. Vrabel was there with members of the front office, including Wolf and Ryan Cowden. After the workouts concluded, Vrabel and his staff flew home.
When they met next, they agreed that Campbell would be the pick at No. 4. “I think probably last week when Elliot and I and Ryan and a few others went down and spent time with him, worked him out,” Vrabel said.
“We met with and worked out a few more players on the same day. We made a circuit. When we came back we slept on it and had conversations about where it would be if he was on the board.
I think probably then.” As much as Campbell wanted to be in New England, the feeling was mutual. Vrabel noted it was “a very, very easy pick” for the Patriots on Thursday night. The team entered this offseason with the goal of fortifying the trenches after allowing 52 sacks last season.
That marked the sixth-highest sack total allowed in Patriots franchise history and the most since the 1999 season. In free agency, the Patriots signed veteran right tackle Morgan Moses and veteran center Garrett Bradbury. The next piece was finding a left tackle to protect Drake Maye’s blindside.
That’s why Campbell always made sense for the Patriots in this draft. But before the pick happened, Vrabel needed to be sure. That’s why he strapped on a blocking pad and asked Campbell to execute a diving block.
After hitting the ground, Vrabel reportedly had a big smile on his face. After brushing it off, the workout continued, The Patriots group took Campbell out to lunch afterward to talk with the prospect some more. After getting back to New England, Vrabel saw and heard all he needed – and Campbell got his wish.
“Yeah, I mean, it was amazing, you know, him and some of the other staff came in, and we had a great workout. Got some good work, and they taught me some new stuff,” Campbell said “And, yeah, I mean, I got him, I’m not gonna lie, I got him on the ground, and then we had a great lunch after. A bunch of great guys.
I’m just super excited for this opportunity.”
