One of the viral highlights of the 2025 NFL Draft came during Round 1 when Will Campbell was selected by the New England Patriots.
The first offensive lineman taken off the board, Campbell let it all out after being selected No. 4 overall, telling NFL Network's Jamie Erdahl that he's "gonna fight and die to protect" quarterback Drake Maye.
Maye, last year's No. 3 overall pick by New England, loved to hear it.
"I listened to it live," Maye told reporters on Thursday. "It gets you going, gets your juices going. I think it makes you want to go out there and play football now. Pumped that we picked Will. We got a chance to meet him when he flew in on Friday. Pumped to get things going. Obviously, he seems like a football player. That's what you want around here."
What new head coach Mike Vrabel wants in New England is what Maye and Co. have been hearing a lot of as the club began its offseason program this week.
"It's been great with coach; he's come in here and it seems like he's been here a while," Maye said of Vrabel. "He's so comfortable being a head coach. He's done it before; he's done it at a high level and won a lot of games. So, looking forward to getting things going. You can see he's trying to kind of install the new identity. I think we're building toward that, working and trusting his ways."
Maye was the silver lining of what was a dreadful 4-13 season for the Patriots in 2024, which led to Vrabel's arrival. The rookie flashed a strong, accurate arm when given time to throw, but the Patriots' leaky offensive line and a limited wide receiver corps prevented Maye from fully showing what he seemed capable of.
The Patriots revamped Maye's protection this offseason, signing Garrett Bradbury and Morgan Moses in addition to drafting Campbell. Veteran WR Stefon Diggs was the splashiest offseason signing in Foxborough, and Mack Hollins was another solid move to shore up Maye's pass catchers. The Patriots also drafted TreVeyon Henderson in the second round to place a dynamic running back at his side.
“I’m pumped. A lot of new faces. A lot of guys, veterans that played at a high level," Maye said. "We kind of found answers at a lot of different spots. Hopefully can plug and play, and I think that’s what the point of free agency is. Get guys that can come here and help us win. Help us win now. Add that in with some young talent we’ve had in the past couple of drafts, hopefully we’re heading in the right direction.”
But the New England return of offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, who was with the Patriots for all six of their Super Bowl wins, was perhaps the biggest addition to Vrabel's vision for the promising young QB.
Maye said his introduction to McDaniels' scheme has been nothing short of "awesome" in the early going, and he's working to fully comprehend an offense that has seen plenty of success.
"His stuff works, the kind of proof's in the pudding," Maye said. "He coached a lot of different guys; he coached the best to ever do it, so it's pretty cool getting to watch the old things of Tom (Brady) and see how he does it. And a bunch of different guys have played at a high level in the offense, not just Tom, so it's been cool to watch and I'm kind of learning the ins and outs of it."