Patriots Have Will Campbell Plan In Place After First Round of NFL Draft

After the New England Patriots drafted a tackle in the first round, de facto general manager Eliot Wolf spoke about one current member of the offensive line.

Feb 8, 2026; Santa Clara, CA, USA; New England Patriots offensive tackle Will Campbell (66) against the Seattle Seahawks during Super Bowl LX at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

New England Patriots executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf confirmed to the media that New England Patriots left tackle Will Campbell is to remain at his current position for 2026, even with the selection of offensive lineman Caleb Lomu. The 28th overall selection, which the Patriots traded up to get, is a player who can play both sides of the line.

Lomu started at left tackle in all 12 regular season games for the University of Utah last season. His selection comes after the Pats traded up with the Buffalo Bills on the first day of the draft. It also followed Patriots quarterback Drake Maye getting sacked a total of six times in New England's 29-13 Super Bowl LX loss to the Seattle Seahawks.

"Will's the left tackle," Wolf said in his first of many media availabilities this weekend. "And like I said, Caleb has some versatility, so we feel like [with] some of the Pro Day workouts that he did were on the right side, and we were comfortable with that. Again, he's very athletic, so I don't think either side will be a problem."

Wolf also emphasized Lomu's development, saying building up his strength and size will be a priority for Lomu and the offensive line staff.

Nov 28, 2025; Lawrence, Kansas, USA; Utah Utes offensive lineman Caleb Lomu (71) gets ready before the snap during the second half against the Kansas Jayhawks at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images | Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

What Eliot Wolf Has Already Said on the 2026 NFL Draft

"Like most rookie offensive linemen, he's going to have to get stronger when he gets up here," Wolf said.

Taking Lomu was a bit of a surprise. He wasn't expected to last this long on the draft boards, giving the Patriots the perfect opportunity to move up.

"The way the board fell, there were still a couple of players up there that, again, we were at that point – it was kind of best player available for us picking late in the round and ultimately other names kept coming off," Wolf said, "We were continuing to call around and found a trade partner – maybe an unlikely trade partner in Buffalo, and we were able to make it work."

Prior to April 23, in Wolf's pre-draft press conference 10 days prior, Wolf said it's very apparent how talented the draft pool is surrounding offensive and defensive linemen.

"No matter what happens, there are always avenues and ways to improve the team," he said. "About the positions, I mean, I think it's a pretty strong draft on the offensive and defensive line."

The 2026 NFL Draft for the Patriots continues for Wolf and the Patriots at 7 p.m. EST on April 24 and noon EST on April 25 on ESPN, ABC and the NFL Network. New England will next focus on the second round, in which the Patriots currently have the No. 63 overall selection.

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