Patriots trade up for impressive defensive tackle in Round 4

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Patriots trade up for impressive defensive tackle in Round 4

Mark Daniels · MassLive

Sat, Apr 26, 2025 ·

2 min read

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The Patriots have spent a lot of money on their defensive tackle position but still came into the 2025 NFL Draft needing more depth.

That's why it wasn't a surprise to see Mike Vrabel's team trade up into the end of the fourth round to draft defensive tackle Joshuah Farmer at pick 137. A team captain, Farmer was a productive player at Florida State. Last year, he finished with 32 tackles, eight for loss, with four sacks.

This offseason, the Patriots made defensive tackle Milton Williams the highest-paid player in New England history. He'll make for a formidable duo with Christian Barmore , who also inked a big contract extension with the Patriots last season. The team also signed veteran Khyiris Tonga this offseason to add depth.

However, drafting someone like Farmer always made sense. With Barmore coming off a scary blood clot diagnosis, the Patriots need to protect themselves. That's why Farmer, who took a pre-draft visit to Foxborough, will provide some much-needed add depth.

A projected third-round pick, Farmer is smaller than a prototypical Vrabel defensive tackle at 6-foot-3, 305 pounds. However, he's a really good athlete and hits athletic testing marks with his 40 time (5.12), bench press (26), vertical (29), and broad jump (9'4).

Farmer provides the Patriots with a player who can help against the run and as a pass rusher. He finished with nine sacks over the last two seasons. Last year, he led Florida State in sacks (four), had 26 presusres, and earned Honorable Mention All-ACC honors.

The Patriots were slated to have three picks in Round 5. However, they traded pick 144 and pick 238 in Round 7 to move up to the end of the fourth round in a deal with Seattle . That's when they drafted Farmer, who will also compete with Jeremiah Pharms, Jacquelin Roy, Eric Johnson, and Marcus Harris on the defensive tackle depth chart.

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