Brock Lampe entered last year with a real opening in front of him. The Patriots had brought back Josh McDaniels as offensive coordinator, the fullback was back in the offensive mix, and Lampe - a rookie free agent who had been the team’s only player at the position - looked like a strong candidate to stick. Then a training camp injury wiped out the season before it ever got going.
Now the second-year fullback is trying to restart his career in a much tougher spot.
Lampe is listed at 6-foot-1, 249 pounds and wears No. 46.
He’ll be 23 on opening day, having been born on 3/31/2003. The Patriots signed him after he went undrafted in 2025, giving him a standard three-year deal with a combined $55,000 in guarantees.
He has yet to play in an NFL game.
His path to New England was anything but flashy. A former All-State linebacker at Bradford High School in Kenosha, WI, Lampe went to Northern Illinois as a walk-on and eventually earned a scholarship as a fullback.
Over four seasons with the Huskies, he played in 42 games with 17 starts, working as a fullback/tight end hybrid and on special teams. He caught 18 passes for 216 yards and a touchdown, ran 20 times for 66 yards and two scores, added 44 kickoff return yards, and made six special teams tackles.
As a senior in 2024, he was named a permanent team captain.
On tape, Lampe brings a solid frame and enough functional skill to keep him in the conversation. He’s a broad-shouldered blocker with active feet, good pad level, and the kind of read-and-react ability that helps a fullback find his assignment and get there quickly.
He can peel off combo blocks to climb to the second level, and he can work as a move blocker from a traditional fullback spot or as an H-back. There’s also some short-yardage power in his game, along with smooth hands as a receiver out of the backfield.
The limitations are just as clear. Lampe isn’t a threat to create much after the catch or break tackles with the ball in his hands, and his burst and short-area quickness are ordinary.
As a blocker, he can get too eager and lose leverage by leaning forward or pressing too hard at the point of attack. And beyond the injury that ended his 2025 season, he still hasn’t tested himself against NFL competition outside his own team.
The Patriots’ 2025 fullback situation offered Lampe a path, at least on paper. Only one true fullback was drafted that year, with Robbie Ouzts going to Seattle in the late fifth round, and New England moved quickly to add Lampe after the draft. He was one of the first 10 reported signings and looked like a candidate to make the initial 53-man roster, especially with the Patriots’ history of using fullbacks under McDaniels.
He did get work with the first-team offense in the spring and early in training camp, but he disappeared before the team’s sixth session in late July. The reason was an undisclosed leg or knee injury that landed him on injured reserve and ended his year.
Heading into 2026, Lampe is now listed as a fullback with camp body/practice squad candidate status, and he’s under contract through 2027 with 2028 RFA rights. His cap hit is $890,000, made up of an $885,000 base salary and a fully-guaranteed $5,000 signing bonus proration, though only the proration counts under the Top 51 rule right now.
His role appears narrow at the moment. He’s still a fullback first, and there’s little evidence that will change.
The Patriots could view him as a possible blocking tight end while Julian Hill is injured, but for now he projects as a second-string fullback behind free agent addition Reggie Gilliam. That signing changes the picture significantly: without Gilliam, Lampe’s chances would look much better even after the lost season.
With him, Lampe is fighting for a practice squad spot unless he can make the move to blocking tight end.
There is still some versatility here. Lampe can line up at fullback, H-back, or inline tight end, and he also handled four kicking game units at Northern Illinois, including kickoff return, kickoff coverage, punt return, and punt coverage.
For now, though, the Patriots’ offseason addition has pushed him into limbo. There was optimism around him a year ago, but the current setup leaves him as a long shot to crack the 53-man roster unless he can show something once the pads come on in training camp.
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