Expectations are high for the 2025 New England Patriots under first-year head coach Mike Vrabel. But if they want to meet those expectations, they’ll need to keep Drake Maye upright.
That’s why the Patriots’ offensive line was in focus this week during New England’s joint practices with the Vikings in Minnesota. Led by defensive coordinator Brian Flores, the Vikings boast an aggressive, complex defense that figured to challenge a relatively inexperienced Patriots offensive line featuring two rookies on the left side in left tackle Will Campbell and left guard Jared Wilson.
And that’s exactly what happened on the practice fields at TCO Performance Center in Eagan, Minn.
On a new episode of the Next Pats Podcast, our Patriots Insider Phil Perry shared his biggest takeaways after watching the Patriots and Vikings battle in two joint practices on Wednesday and Thursday. Not surprisingly, Perry focused on the offensive line, which allowed Minnesota to put Maye under constant pressure in both sessions.
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“If you’re looking at the two days put together, what are the takeaways? For me, No. 1: After 13 sacks over two days of 11-on-11 periods, you start with the protection,” Perry said.
“You try to figure out, what exactly do you want at left guard? Is Jared Wilson going to be able to be an answer for you there? Is it Ben Brown? Is it somebody else entirely who we haven’t even discussed yet? Will Campbell, how can you settle him down and help him out so that things don’t start to spiral on him?”
Wilson, a third-round pick out of Georgia, vaulted to starting left guard early in training camp after several impressive practices. He’s come back to earth in recent days, however, and Ben Brown took his spot on the starting offensive line Thursday.
Campbell, meanwhile, has endured some rookie growing pains amid an up-and-down training camp and struggled to contain Vikings edge rusher Jonathan Greenard, which isn’t the best sign for the fourth overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.
“If there’s a conversation happening now in those meetings at the Omni Hotel (where the Patriots are staying in Minnesota), my guess is when it comes to the offense, it has to start with the offensive line,” Perry added. “Because not only do you have issues at left guard, we just talked about the issues Will Campbell had on the left side dealing mostly with Jonathan Greenard — who’s a very good player, don’t get me wrong, but this isn’t Myles Garrett, this isn’t Maxx Crosby, this isn’t T.J. Watt.
“(Greenard) is a good player, but he’s the kind of player who Will Campbell will see on a regular basis over the course of his rookie season at left tackle. So, just a down day for a rookie whose head might be spinning a little bit in the dog days of camp.”
The good news for the Patriots? Despite an onslaught of pressure from the Vikings, Maye went turnover-free in both sessions.
“Big picture in terms of your quarterback, that to me is the positive,” Perry said of Maye. “He kept his poise, kept his wits about him, zero turnovers over the course of two practices against a very difficult-to-match-up-with type of defense. That has to be the most encouraging takeaway from these two days of work against the Minnesota Vikings.”
It may take time for the offensive line to jell, and for Campbell and Wilson to adjust to the speed and physicality of NFL defenses. But if Maye can continue to handle pressure in a positive way, that bodes well for the Patriots’ ability to weather the storm against aggressive defenses like Minnesota’s.
Also in this episode:
Breaking down Day 2 of joint practices in Minnesota
Stock Watch after two days with the Vikings
What’s going on with Stefon Diggs?