The Patriots and Jets have battled over Curtis Martin, Bill Parcells, Bill Belichick and (to a much lesser extent) Mike Vrabel.
Now, soon-to-be first-round draft pick Will Campbell inadvertently might be the latest player caught in the middle of the AFC East rivalry.
Vrabel — who seems to have used an interview with the Jets in January as leverage to get the Patriots to create a head coaching vacancy — could bring Campbell with him to New England with the No. 4 pick and not leave him on the board for interested Gang Green at No. 7.
Campbell told The Post he had “a good formal meeting” and “great vibes throughout the whole process” with the Jets.
The Jets have in place three starting offensive linemen on first contracts — Joe Tippman, Olu Fashanu and Alijah Vera-Tucker — but could use a right tackle.
“Coach [Aaron] Glenn is an awesome dude, and it’s an organization with a lot of history in New York, so to be able to play for them would be a huge honor,” Campbell said. “It would be an awesome group [of offensive linemen] and a good fit, but we’ll see what happens.”
Campbell shared similar praise for the Patriots, which doesn’t seem awkward before Thursday’s first round begins, but will soon enough.
Of course, he’s no stranger to rivalries after 38 career starts at LSU.
“Every game we play in the SEC is basically a rivalry,” Campbell said. “Everybody hates us and we hate them, so it would be nothing new to me, for sure.”
Campbell was available from the site of the draft in Green Bay, Wisc., where he worked a “shift” Wednesday in the Raising Cane’s food truck as part of a multiyear partnership with the brand that he plans to continue during his NFL career.
Is Bears head coach Ben Johnson trying to recreate the David Montgomery-Jahmyr Gibbs dynamic that he had as Lions offensive coordinator by trading up from No. 10 to get Ashton Jeanty to pair in the backfield with D’Andre Swift?
“I don’t think that would be a bad decision by them,” Jeanty told reporters in Green Bay.
QB Jalen Milroe is attending the draft despite projections that he could be a second-round pick and face an agonizingly long wait.
If that’s the case, he won’t leave town like Will Levis did when he wasn’t a first-round pick in 2023.
“My biggest thing is it’s not about being drafted in the first round,” Milroe said on Sirius XM radio. “It’s about hearing my name called. … If I go first round or second round, I’ll still be able to experience walking the stage and being here.”
Looking for a player who might be picked much higher than seen in mock drafts?
NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah matched the 49ers (No. 11) with North Dakota State guard Grey Zabel.
“In an ideal world, you’d trade back and take him,” Jeremiah told reporters in Green Bay, “but if you can’t find a partner, I’d have no problem if they just sat and picked Grey Zabel.”
