The 2025 season saw the return of Josh McDaniels as New England Patriots offensive coordinator, and with him another comeback: the fullback position became part of the offensive composition again. The player the team hoped would spark that renaissance was then-rookie Brock Lampe, but a training camp injury prevented him from seeing the field in his first season.
Now heading into his sophomore year, the circumstances have changed for Lampe — and not for the better.
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Hard facts
Name: Brock Lampe
Position: Fullback
Jersey number: 46
Opening day age: 23 (3/31/2003)
Measurements: 6’1”, 249 lbs, 8 7/8” hand size, 31” arm length, 74 1/2” wingspan, 7.43s 3-cone drill, 4.40s short shuttle, 34” vertical jump, 9’4” broad jump, 7.05 Relative Athletic Score
Experience
NFL: New England Patriots (2025-) | College: Northern Illinois (2021-24)
Despite being an All-State linebacker at Bradford High School in Kenosha, WI, Lampe attracted little attention as a college recruit and ultimately joined Northern Illinois as a walk-on. He quickly out-performed his status, however, and ended up earning a scholarship as a fullback.
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Lampe spent four years as a fullback/tight end hybrid as well as a special teams contributor for the Huskies, accumulating 42 in-game appearances with 17 starts. He also hauled in 18 passes for 216 yards and a touchdown, adding 66 yards and two scores on 20 carries, and registered 44 kickoff return yards and six special teams tackles. He also was named a permanent team captain as a senior in 2024.
While his college career can be seen as a success given its unassuming start, Lampe again received limited interest heading toward the NFL. After going undrafted in 2025, he joined the Patriots as a rookie free agent. He has yet to appear in a game since turning pro.
Scouting report
Strengths: Measuring 6-foot-1 and 249 pounds, Lampe is a broad-shouldered and generally well-built fullback. He combines a good pad level and active feet with advanced read-and-react abilities; he successfully locates his assignment and is quick to arrive at his landmarks. He also has shown that he can disengage from combo blocks to get to the second level or serve as a move blocker either from a traditional fullback alignment or as an H-back. Lampe also has some good power as a ball carrier in short-yardage situations, and some smooth hands catching the ball out of the backfield.
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Weaknesses: Lampe is not the most dynamic player with the ball in his hands, and offers little as far as breaking tackles or gaining yards after the catch is concerned. His burst and short-area quickness are also nothing special. As a blocker, his leverage can get compromised at times due to an apparent overeagerness to dictate the rep; Lampe needs to avoid reaching forward or being too aggressive at the point of attack. In addition to those shortcomings, he also is coming off a season-long stint on injured reserve and has yet to prove himself against NFL competition outside his own team.
2025 review
Stats: N/A
Season recap: Only one true fullback heard his name called in the 2025 NFL Draft: Robbie Ouzts, who went to Seattle in the late fifth round. This meant that Lampe had to go the free agency route to find an NFL team, and he did so fairly quickly: he was among the Patriots’ first 10 reported signings after the draft had concluded, joining the club on a standard three-year deal while getting a combined $55,000 in guarantees.
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While those guarantees said more about the interest in his services than his roster outlook, Lampe did join the Patriots as the only player at his position. Accordingly, he appeared to be in a good position to make it onto the initial 53-man team and follow the footsteps of former Josh McDaniels fullbacks such as Heath Evans, James Develin and Jakob Johnson.
Lampe did indeed get practice reps with the first-team offense during the spring and early in training camp, but was suspiciously absent from the team’s sixth session in late July. The mystery was quickly resolved: he had suffered an undisclosed leg or knee injury that forced the Patriots to place him on injured reserve, and end his season before it truly even began.
2026 preview
Position: Fullback | Ability: Camp body/Practice squad candidate | Contract: Signed through 2027 (2028 RFA)
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What will be his role? Lampe has been a fullback since his early college days, and there is little to suggest his role will change in any meaningful way in 2026. Maybe the team might see him as a possible blocking tight end to help replace the injured Julian Hill, but at the moment he projects as a second-string fullback behind free agency signing Reggie Gilliam.
What is his growth potential? Lampe has adequate athleticism to succeed in the NFL and based on his college tape could develop into a player capable of contributing as a fullback at the next level. However, the Patriots invested serious resources in a possible upgrade this offseason which points toward them not being particularly enthusiastic about his outlook, at least in the short term.
Does he have positional versatility? With his linebacker days long behind him, Lampe now projects as a moderately versatile player. He can play fullback and line up elsewhere as well, moving to H-back and inline tight end if called upon. In addition, he saw semi-regular action on four kicking game units at Northern Illinois (kickoff return, kickoff coverage, punt return, punt coverage).
What is his salary cap situation? Entering the second season of his rookie contract, Lampe’s cap hit stands at $890,000 divided into a $885,000 base salary and a fully-guaranteed $5,000 signing bonus proration. Under the NFL’s Top 51 rule, the latter number is the only one currently counted against New England’s books.
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How safe is his roster spot? Had the Patriots not signed Reggie Gilliam, Lampe’s outlook would be fairly positive even after his year-long stint on injured reserve. However, the veteran joining the mix effectively means that the youngster is now playing for a practice squad spot — unless he makes the aforementioned transition to blocking tight end.
Summary: There was some optimism about Lampe last year, but the addition of Reggie Gilliam has now put him in limbo. Maybe he can prove his value in some shape or form once the team starts putting on full pads in training camp, but for the time being he is a long-shot to make it onto the 53-man roster.
What do you think about Brock Lampe heading into the 2026 season? Will he find a way to challenge Reggie Gilliam? Or is he on his way out of New England? Please head down to the comment section to share your thoughts.
