Campbell's rookie year was a mixed bag by his own admission. The No. 4 overall pick in 2025 held up fine early before a torn right MCL on November 23 wrecked the back half of his season and clearly sapped strength he never fully got back before the year ended.
So this offseason he did something about it. Campbell spent a full week training alongside a murderers' row of veteran tackles: Lane Johnson, Tristan Wirfs, Dion Dawkins and Creed Humphrey, plus a former Navy SEAL and a World's Strongest Man competitor thrown in for good measure. Johnson, 36, took the 22-year-old under his wing, and the message that stuck was simple: be honest with yourself about your season or you won't last long in this league.
It worked, at least physically. Campbell rebuilt the strength he lost and enters year two as the clear starter protecting Drake Maye's blind side, no depth chart drama, no camp competition. The only hiccup so far has been unrelated, an elbow brace that limited him for a practice or two in August, which at this point of camp is more precaution than crisis.
Here's why this is a fantasy story and not just a feel-good offseason blurb. Maye is being drafted as a top-five quarterback this summer, sitting around QB2 in expert consensus behind only Josh Allen, with an ADP in the 50-pick range that some models flag as a straight-up bargain given he finished second in MVP voting a year ago. That climb happened with a rookie left tackle getting beat up in November. A sturdier, stronger Campbell in front of him removes one of the few real threats to that ceiling.
It gets better for anyone drafting A.J. Brown, who arrives in New England after a trade that sent a 2028 first and a 2027 fifth back to Philadelphia. Brown reunites with Mike Vrabel, upgrades his quarterback from Jalen Hurts to Maye, and lands in an offense that should throw a lot more than Philly's run-heavy attack ever did. Projections have him around 130 targets and 86 catches, firmly back in WR1 territory, and none of that works if the pocket collapses. Protection at left tackle is load-bearing for that entire Brown-Maye stock pitch.
The betting market has already priced in the optimism. Maye sits around +850 for MVP, third behind Allen and Lamar Jackson, and New England's win total has settled at 9.5 with the Patriots favored at +135 to take the AFC East again. A clean, healthy season from Campbell isn't the flashiest input into those numbers, but offensive line health rarely is until it's gone. Ask last year's Patriots what a compromised left tackle does to a young quarterback's floor.
For fantasy purposes, treat Campbell's health status all preseason like an injury report you actually read. If that elbow brace lingers or turns into anything more than a camp blip, shave a little confidence off both Maye and Brown as locks for their current draft slots. If he's full-go by Week 1, both stay exactly where the market has them, and arguably Maye's ADP still looks like free value given the ceiling New England is building around him.