Drake Maye on Will Campbell viral NFL Draft moment: 'Gets your juices going'

Drake Maye is quite impressed with first round draft pick Will Campbell and can’t wait to play behind him on offense. The New England Patriots QB goes into Year 2 with the team and gets a potential franchise tackle in Campbell.

When talking on stage during the television broadcast of the draft, Campbell said he’s “gonna fight and die to protect” Maye standing back in the pocket. That’s exactly what you want in your offensive linemen across the board.

While Campbell received some flak for his shorter arms, the former LSU star made up for it with his play. Whether he eventually plays guard or not is anyone’s guess, but Campbell is ready to lay it on the line for Maye.

“I listened to it live,” Maye said, via NFL.com. “It gets you going, gets your juices going. I think it makes you want to go out there and play football now. Pumped that we picked Will. We got a chance to meet him when he flew in on Friday. Pumped to get things going. Obviously, he seems like a football player. That’s what you want around here.”

Campbell also won the Jacobs Blocking Trophy for the SEC, given to each conference’s best blocker. On the whole, he was a two-time first team All-SEC selection and was named second team All-SEC as a freshman in 2022.

During his time at LSU, Campbell played all but two snaps at left tackle. The meant he played 2,548 career snaps at the position, although questions rose about whether he’d end up moving to the interior offensive line at the next level.

Campbell’s arms measured at 33 inches at the NFL Scouting Combine, which led some – such as ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. – to wonder if a shift inside would work better for him. He also ran a 4.98-second 40-yard dash at the Combine, which ranked fifth among offensive linemen who participated in the event.

Campbell’s athleticism was on display in the SEC, going up against some of the best pass rushers in college football. To NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein, there’s reason for concern about Campbell’s short arms when the pressure ramps up, but there could be a road to staying at left tackle rather than shifting to guard.

“Athletic left tackle prospect who’s durable and battle-tested but has elements of high risk, high reward in his game,” Zierlein wrote. “Campbell is a thumping run blocker who can clear out B-gaps with forceful down blocks and displace base blocks with his ‘strike and run’ technique. He struggles to win laterally, though. He will lunge and miss against stunts and movement. Campbell operates with good athleticism and agility in pass protection but is way too leaky against inside moves. He has a jarring, heavy punch and can latch in to control the rep.”