Patriots select left tackle Will Campbell of LSU with No. 4 pick in NFL draft

New England Patriots coach Mike Vrabel noticed something about LSU left tackle Will Campbell when the team had a follow-up meeting with him last week ahead of the NFL draft.

“He showed up with one purpose and that was for us to pick him,” Vrabel said. “From the time that we walked in the building to the time that we left and got on the plane, he had one objective and that was to prove to us that he was the right player for us.”

Campbell left the right impression.

The Patriots selected him with the fourth overall pick in the draft on Thursday night, adding a player they hope will solidify the protection of second-year quarterback Drake Maye.

Campbell is confident he ended up on the right team.

“I just think that the culture and the New England Patriot logo speaks for itself," Campbell said. “I believe in the guys in that locker room. I believe in the quarterback and coach Vrabel is my kind of guy. He’s all ball, no BS, and that’s what I want to play for.”

Early last season, when Patriots vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf visited LSU, Campbell told him his sights were on New England.

“This is where I’ve wanted to be since the start," Campbell said.

At 6-foot-6 and 320 pounds, Campbell was a three-year starter for the Tigers and a first-team All-America selection as a junior last season. He was a three-time All-Southeastern Conference selection.

He described his style of play as “nasty.”

That was on display during a workout the Patriots put Campbell and other LSU players through. It included Vrabel, a former Patriots linebacker, lining up against Campbell and the other linemen.

“I’m not going to lie, I got him. I got him on the ground," Campbell said.

Campbell played 37 of his 38 college games at left tackle and logged 2,451 snaps. He allowed just two sacks over the past two seasons, and now he turns his attention toward protecting Maye's blind side.

Campbell would form a beefy combination with 6-3, 350-pound Mike Onwenu, the Patriots' starter on the right side.

“We coveted this player,” Vrabel said. “Part of the draft is adding great pieces and great players to your roster. Which is what we did.”

Vrabel said Campbell would be in the mix to start at left tackle but hasn't been handed the job.

“He hasn’t even shown up here in Foxborough. We’re not going to talk about where he’s going to play or what he’s going to do. I’m going to let everything really speak for itself,” the coach said. “We’ve watched every game that he’s played, put a lot of work into this and we’re all excited and happy that he’s here.”

New England finished 4-13 and missed the playoffs for third straight time last season, leading owner Robert Kraft to fire coach Jerod Mayo after one season and hire Vrabel, a former Tennessee Titans coach.

The Patriots’ offensive line ranked near the bottom of the NFL last season in pass-block win rate (51%) and was 31st in run-block win rate (67%).

That should improve with Campbell, who has said his favorite thing about football is the physicality that takes place on the offensive line. He should fit in with the attacking style that Vrabel said he wants to implement.

New England has eight remaining picks spread over every round except the sixth.

Campbell said he had numerous chances to talk with the Patriots ahead of the draft and developed a rapport with the coaching staff.

Those conversations included gauging his comfort with NFL terminology, which Vrabel said is similar to what was used in the pro-style system Campbell played in at LSU.

“They threw the ball a ton — a lot (more) drop-back snaps than pretty much anybody else in college football ... and it wasn’t (run-pass options) like everybody else," Vrabel said. "He’s pass protected, he’s run blocked, he’s coming out of a pro system. ... We’ll give him exactly what he can handle.”

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LSU offensive tackle Will Campbell puts on a hat after being chosen by the New England Patriots with the fourth overall pick during the first round of the NFL football draft, Thursday, April 24, 2025, in Green Bay, Wis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

LSU offensive tackle Will Campbell, center, celebrates with fans after being chosen by the New England Patriots with the fourth overall pick during the first round of the NFL football draft, Thursday, April 24, 2025, in Green Bay, Wis. (AP Photo/Matt Ludtke)

FILE - LSU offensive lineman Will Campbell (66) gets ready to run a play against Arkansas during an NCAA college football game Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024, in Fayetteville, Ark. (AP Photo/Michael Woods, File)

LSU offensive tackle Will Campbell walks on the carpet before first round of the NFL football draft, Thursday, April 24, 2025, in Green Bay, Wis. (AP Photo/Matt Ludtke)

LSU offensive tackle Will Campbell poses on the carpet before first round of the NFL football draft, Thursday, April 24, 2025, in Green Bay, Wis. (AP Photo/Matt Ludtke)

LSU offensive tackle Will Campbell, right, celebrates with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell after being chosen by the New England Patriots with the fourth overall pick during the first round of the NFL football draft, Thursday, April 24, 2025, in Green Bay, Wis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

LSU offensive tackle Will Campbell, right, poses with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell after being chosen by the New England Patriots with the fourth overall pick during the first round of the NFL football draft, Thursday, April 24, 2025, in Green Bay, Wis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

BERLIN (AP) — Many households and businesses in south-west Berlin face days without electricity after high-voltage power lines were damaged by a fire which city authorities said Sunday was a result of a politically motivated attack by “left-wing extremists."

The fire broke out on Saturday morning on a cable bridge over the Teltow Canal, near the Lichterfelde power plant, according to local authorities. Initially, over 45,000 households and 2,200 businesses in four districts were without electricity. Heating and internet services were also affected.

Franziska Giffey, the city's Senator for Economic Affairs, described the incident as “a particularly severe power outage affecting tens of thousands of households and businesses, including care facilities, hospitals, numerous social institutions and companies.”

While power was restored to thousands of households by Sunday, many others are likely to be left in the dark until Thursday, authorities estimate.

Snowy weather and freezing temperatures has slowed down efforts to restore electricity and made life extra difficult for those affected.

The incident is being investigated as a possible act of arson. Authorities compared it to a similar power outage last September in southeast Berlin, when radical activists claimed responsibility.

Authorities said they were working to confirm the authenticity of a letter claiming responsibility for the latest incident.

The perpetrators were “clearly left-wing extremists," Berlin’s Mayor Kai Wegner was cited as saying by a German news agency. “It is unacceptable that once again clearly left-wing extremists have attacked our power grid and thereby endangered human lives,” Wegner said.

FILE - Steam leaves a cooling tower of the Lichterfelde gas-fired power plant near a cable bridge crossing the Teltow canal in Berlin, Germany, on March 30, 2022. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn, File)

Passers-by stand in the light of a fire department help point in Berlin, Germany, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2025, during a power cut in south-west Berlin after a fire on a cable bridge. (Christoph Gollnow/dpa via AP)

Emergency vehicles from the aid organization "Die Johanniter" pick up residents of a retirement home in Berlin, Germany, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2025, during a power cut in south-west Berlin after a fire on a cable bridge. (Michael Ukas/dpa via AP)