Lane Johnson knows a thing or two about being the fourth overall pick in the draft. He also knows a bit about what it takes to be a top-tier offensive tackle in the NFL.
So, when it comes to brain-picking, Will Campbell hardly could have chosen anyone better.
The New England Patriots’ second-year tackle and the Philadelphia Eagles veteran spent some time together during the offseason, which allowed Campbell to get an up-close look at the future Hall of Famer. Johnson, meanwhile, was able to see what
the fourth overall selection in the 2025 draft had to offer.
And what he saw, he liked as he explained after the first Patriots-Eagles joint practice on Wednesday.
“Will kind of reminds me of myself in a way. Just a country kid, drafted in the first round,” Johnson said. “Saw the kind of pressures that are on guys like that. For me, I thought he had a really good rookie season. Just for me, talking to him, our lives are similar in a lot of ways, just what we’re doing. You can see him just getting better. I was watching some of him today, he looks thicker and bigger, he’s healed up from his knee injury.”
Campbell had a challenging first year in the NFL. While showing initial promise as a Day 1 starter protecting quarterback Drake Maye’s blindside, the knee injury Johnson mentioned — a torn MCL suffered in November — derailed any momentum he had built. He did manage to return to the field in time for the Patriots’ playoff run but was a shell of his former self.
Campbell’s focus during his first full offseason in the league was therefore two-fold. Not only did he still have to undergo therapy five days a week, he also was trying to build on a rookie season ending in disappointment.
Luckily for him, Johnson invited him for a workout in Dallas.
“How that thing came about at the gym, we just got it off the ground two months ago and invited some guys. He was one of the guys that showed up,” Johnson said on Wednesday. “It was fun. We did some football stuff, did some workout, but mostly just talking ball and stuff off the field.”
“When you’re around Lane Johnson, Triston Wirfs, Dion Dawkins, if they say something — they’ve all played almost 10 years plus, and all of them were All-Pro at some point — they know what they’re talking about,” Campbell said about the workouts.
If Johnson indeed knows what he is talking about, and there is no reason to believe he doesn’t, Campbell and the Patriots should feel good about his development heading into 2026.
