Will Campbell’s Super Bowl Struggles Are a Wake-Up Call for the Patriots - and a Reminder of Evan Neal’s Cautionary Tale
Will Campbell’s rookie season didn’t end the way the Patriots hoped - or expected. After a promising start to his NFL journey, the fourth-overall pick from LSU hit a wall in Super Bowl LX, and he hit it hard. The kind of performance that doesn’t just raise eyebrows - it sparks real questions about his long-term fit at left tackle.
Now, before we go too far down the panic path, let’s be clear: Campbell isn’t Evan Neal. Not yet, anyway. But the parallels are hard to ignore - and Patriots fans would be wise to take notes from what’s unfolded in New York.
Let’s rewind for a moment. Evan Neal entered the league in 2022 as the seventh overall pick, a towering presence at 6-foot-7 and 340 pounds, and a consensus pick to anchor the Giants’ offensive line opposite Andrew Thomas.
He was supposed to be the missing piece, the long-term answer at right tackle. But the NFL has a way of humbling even the most hyped prospects.
In Neal’s case, it exposed technical flaws that size and athleticism alone couldn’t cover up.
Fast forward four years, and Neal is a free agent - a former top-10 pick now fighting to stay in the league. He didn’t play a single snap in 2025.
Injuries played a role, sure, but the bigger issue was a lack of development and a front office that never pivoted when the signs were clear. The Giants didn’t pick up his fifth-year option.
They didn’t have a plan B. They just kept hoping the light would come on.
That’s the cautionary tale staring the Patriots in the face right now.
Will Campbell’s rookie campaign had its moments. He showed flashes of the power and athleticism that made him a top pick.
And to be fair, his late-season struggles came after a significant knee injury - a Grade 3 MCL tear that landed him on injured reserve from Week 12 through Week 18. Before that, he was holding his own.
But the Super Bowl? That was a different story.
Campbell gave up 14 pressures - fourteen - in one game. Not just any game, either.
The biggest one of the year. That’s the most pressures allowed by any player in the entire 2025 season, and it happened on the sport’s brightest stage.
After the game, Campbell declined to speak with the media. Understandable, maybe, but telling nonetheless.
For New England, the question now becomes: was this a one-off meltdown, or the start of a deeper issue?
Head coach Mike Vrabel and his staff have a decision to make. Do they stay the course and trust that Campbell, still just 22, will grow into the role? Or do they consider a position shift - maybe inside to guard - before the situation spirals into something harder to fix?
The Patriots drafted Campbell knowing there were questions about his arm length and whether he might eventually be better suited on the interior. That’s not uncommon for college tackles transitioning to the NFL, where edge rushers are faster, smarter, and more technically refined. But they also took him fourth overall, which comes with expectations - and pressure.
This isn’t about giving up on a young player. It’s about learning from what happened in New York.
The Giants waited too long to make a move with Neal. They hoped things would work themselves out.
They didn’t. And now, Neal’s career is hanging by a thread.
Campbell’s story is still being written, and there’s plenty of time for him to turn the page. But the Super Bowl exposed the kind of flaws that can’t be ignored.
The NFL isn’t a patient league. Development windows are short.
And when you’re a top-five pick, the spotlight never dims.
So no, Patriots fans don’t need to panic. But they do need to pay attention. Because if the team doesn’t take a hard look at what went wrong in Las Vegas, they risk watching a familiar story play out - one that Giants fans know all too well.