Will Campbell was not himself down the stretch last season.
After suffering a tear in his MCL that cost him four regular-season games, Campbell returned for the Patriots’ regular-season finale and playoff run. The rookie struggled upon his return, as executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf later noted that three of Campbell’s four worst games came during the postseason.
Wolf also acknowledged the struggles were largely due to Campbell losing lower-body strength because of the injury.
This offseason, regaining that strength was at the top of Campbell’s to-do list.
“Getting back healthy, I did [physical therapy] five days a week the entire off season until we got back (April 20),” Campbell said. “Just trying to rebuild the strength in my knee to get it back to where it was previously. And I feel like I did a good job with that.
“Just working, training, trying to put myself in the best position possible to come back in the best shape I can.”
Campbell has been a full participant throughout the team’s offseason program as he later shared he “feels good.”
In addition to returning to full strength, the 2025 fourth overall pick assessed his strengths and weaknesses with the coaching staff before getting to work improving his entire game heading into Year 2.
“Nobody’s a finished product. It’s not one specific thing that I’m going to nail that,” Campbell said. “I’ve worked at everything every day. I’m 22, I’m a long way from where I’m going to be in the future. It’s not like I’m great at everything and here’s one little thing. I’m building everything, every day. And trying to make everything as a whole better.”
According to Wolf, those improvements included adding different pass sets to his tool bag that he can use to counter different rushes.
The Patriots hope Campbell’s offseason work will help him return to — and potentially surpass — the level he was playing at before the injury, something the tackle appears eager to prove.
“He’s working his butt off,” Drake Maye said of Campbell. “I think he’s got a little bit of extra motivation for himself to prove to us and prove to himself he can be one of the best players in this league at his position.”
