Kyed: Patriots ultimately in a tough spot at No. 4 with no sure thing

The Patriots enter the NFL Draft with a giant question mark atop the left tackle column of their depth chart and their expected top pick might not provide the desired answer After the Patriots make their pick at No overall that question mark will only be replaced by a name written in pencil if NFL evaluators who spoke to the Herald this week correctly predict the organization s selection at No overall NFL scouts and executives polled by the Herald expect the Patriots to select an offensive tackle specifically LSU s Will Campbell with the fourth pick in the draft Related Articles NFL Draft expected Patriots offensive tackle draft picks NFL Draft prospective Patriots wide receiver draft picks Patriots point-counterpoint What is the biggest need after left tackle NFL Draft promising Patriots edge defender draft picks NFL Draft promising Patriots defensive tackle draft picks Seems like Will is their guy an AFC scout revealed An AFC pro scouting director and AFC assistant general manager both expect the Patriots to take a tackle While one NFC scout believes the Patriots should commerce back he acknowledges it s not a realistic scenario given the dropoff in talent after the - - run on Cam Ward Travis Hunter and Abdul Carter If stuck at No overall he would select Campbell even if the LSU product winds up at guard Related Articles NFL Draft likely Patriots offensive tackle draft picks NFL Draft foreseen Patriots wide receiver draft picks Patriots point-counterpoint What is the biggest need after left tackle NFL Draft expected Patriots edge defender draft picks NFL Draft probable Patriots defensive tackle draft picks That s the menace in taking the Louisiana native He fills a major need no matter where he plays on the offensive line but he ll be much more valuable as a tackle The concern with Campbell is his arm length His arms measured inches at the combine and inches at his pro day His wingspan inches ranks in the th percentile of all offensive linemen and the lowest percentile of tackles There are believers that Campbell can play left tackle in the NFL though The only thing to suggest he can t is the length an assistant director of scouting reported So I say let him try it and prove that he can t I think he ll ultimately be able to do it I do and think he will be a good pro an AFC director of pro scouting commented Safe pick An AFC pro scouting director added Not elite but yes he can start at tackle An AFC assistant GM agreed To what level is the question But yeah there are guys with his measurements who play Even former Patriots center David Andrews brushed off the length talk calling it bull - Thursday night at a charity event benefitting the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society One AFC pro scout believes Campbell is a well-rounded member with no glaring weaknesses Not everyone is sold One league source wouldn t take Campbell fourth overall citing doubts he can stay at tackle and views Ohio State s Josh Simmons if healthy as the better prospect at the position The Patriots are not in an ideal spot They have the fourth overall pick in what multiple view as a three-player draft They d be in a phenomenal situation if they were picking fourth last year with Joe Alt Malik Nabers Marvin Harrison Jr and Rome Odunze available as blue-chip talents But their decision to take quarterback Drake Maye last season is still the correct one The Titans have seemingly decided that Ward is worthy of the top pick this year One top evaluator I spoke with last month considered Ward to be more comparable as a prospect to Bo Nix or Michael Penix than Maye or any of the other top three quarterbacks in last year s class It s better for the Patriots to end up with Maye and Campbell than with Alt and Ward Shedeur Sanders Jaxson Dart or Tyler Shough Taking Campbell is also an easier pill to swallow because there s no sure thing available at a position of lesser need That is a tough spot an NFC executive disclosed Possibly move back and take a pass-rusher or maybe Tyler Warren There are options but that No spot is a tough one to be in Campbell is a great athlete with prototypical size - for a tackle but lacks length Another tackle Missouri s Armand Membou exclusively played right tackle in college and also lacks length He s - pounds and his -inch arms rank in the th percentile of tackles Georgia edge defender Jalon Walker is a tweener at only - pounds and also lacks length with -inch arms Warren a tight end out of Penn State and running back Ashton Jeanty both lack ideal positional value at No overall Wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan looks like a probable X wide receiver but he doesn t come with elite speed or separation Defensive tackle Mason Graham would fill a need but stop me if you ve heard this already he s undersized and lacks length The Patriots also already have defensive tackles Milton Williams and Christian Barmore locked up to deals worth a combined million in APY Taking a defensive tackle at No overall pours unnecessary tools into one position If Campbell is indeed the pick it s not a sexy one it s not an unexpected one and it s not an overly fun one Patriots fans will be torn on whether or not it was the right decision It doesn t even necessarily fill the Patriots biggest need at left tackle He ll need to go through OTAs minicamp training camp and the preseason before the Patriots ultimately decide if he can stick at the position And if he has to move inside to guard sure that fills a need but it reopens the biggest one protecting Maye s blindside And guard lacks ideal position value at No overall just as much as running back and tight end But if Hunter and Carter are off the board and if a crew has no desire to give up draft capital to move up to No overall because of the lack of ideal options then what are the Patriots supposed to do They can t suddenly manufacture the perfect -foot- offensive tackle with -inch arms and an -inch wingspan They can t fire up Madden and create a -foot- wide receiver with -second -yard dash speed So the best option is to look at the list of players available at No overall none without their flaws and pick the one with the best chance to fill their greatest need Enough people around the league believe that s Campbell