Patriots Legend Restores Will Campbell’s ‘Short Arm’ Critique After Playoff Struggles

New England Patriots rookie left tackle Will Campbell started every game before his Week 12 injury. He missed six weeks before returning to action in the Week 18 blowout of the Miami Dolphins.

Now deeply entrenched in his first playoff run, Campbell is learning what it feels like to go against the best players the NFL has to offer week after week.

The Patriots took on the Los Angeles Chargers in the Wildcard round. Quarterback Drake Maye was sacked five times in the 16-3 win.

Campbell took the blame for two of the five while lining up across from the “$300 million defensive line” of the Chargers.

This past weekend, Campbell lined up across from the player with the single most pass rush wins in the NFL, Will Anderson Jr. Anderson picked up three sacks as Maye once again went down five times.

While he is still a rookie, Patriots fans are well within their rights to expect better play from their left tackle.

Patriots Hall of Famer Ted Johnson used his amplified platform on “WEEI Afternoons” to resurface Campbell’s predraft criticism.

“It’s obviously a step up in weight class these last two games,” Johnson said. “But you saw the speed, you saw the speed off the edge. The arm length, you know — the arm length is so you can push those guys behind the quarterback — so either Drake’s got to adjust, or his arms got to get longer.

And his arms ain’t getting longer.”

Johnson recorded 760 tackles during his ten year career in New England. He played inside linebacker before transitioning to an edge defender later in his career.

He then proposed that the Patriots may have to think of shaking things up in the future.

“Or else they’ve got to move him inside to gaurd,” Johnson said. “My gut is that he might be moving to guard, but it won’t be anytime soon I think.”