The New England Patriots may have a budding defensive star.
The New England Patriots may have snared themselves a “steal” by choosing rookie defensive tackle Joshua Farmer in the fourth round of the 2025 NFL Draft.
However, one former Super Bowl MVP believes that the highly-touted Farmer — whom the Pats selected with pick No. 137 — may be poised and well-positioned to soon take home the NFL’s highest defensive honor.
During a recent interview with RotoGrinders, Tampa Bay Buccaneers legend Dexter Jackson offered some high praise for the now former Florida State product. Jackson, himself a former Seminole, believes that Farmer is a potential Defensive Player of the Year Award winner in the future.
“Farmer brings a lot to the Patriots’ defense,” Jackson declared. “When you take his intangibles, tape, and skill set into consideration and combine that with the situation he is in being coached by Mike Vrabel in a cold environment where he could play right away, Farmer could be a future Defensive Player of the Year.”
Throughout his college career at Florida State, Farmer appeared in 42 games while collecting 11 sacks and one forced fumble. Despite beginning his tenure as a redshirt, he eventually became a two-year starter, earning 64 tackles — 15 of which went for loss from 2023-24. In addition to being a fan of Farmer’s game, Jackson is confident that he is in the ideal spot to help craft him into one of the league’s top players at his position.
“New England is a great spot for Farmer,” Jackson said. “They are still rebuilding but have a lot of good young players, so it’s a great time for Farmer to come into the team. He has the opportunity to play right away and learn from a great coach in an organization that has won six Super Bowl championships.
”I know Vrabel well, so I know Farmer will be coached hard and he’ll be coached well,” Jackson added. ”From playing under Bill Belichick, Vrabel knows the Xs and Os and he knows what buttons to press to make guys play harder and understand the game better.”
Considered by many to be a top-75 talent in this year’s class, Farmer’s selection by the Patriots on day three has unsurprisingly injected him with a potent dose of motivation. Of course, he is best suited to prove his naysayers wrong with solid play on the field. He possesses the quickness to get into gaps and make some plays in the backfield. Not only is he is a powerful tackler, but he is also an intimidating run defender. Similar in style to Patriots star defensive tackle Christian Barmore, Farmer could either make an impressive complementary piece or a potential starter, as Barmore makes his attempt to return from blood clots which kept him out of action for much of 2025.
In addition to Farmer, the Patriots also added free agent defensive linemen Milton Williams and Khyiris Tonga to a line which already includes Barmore and defensive end Jeremiah Pharms, Jr. With such veterans surrounding him, Farmer may be primed to make an impact on the Patriots in short order. In the process, he may also accelerate the Pats pursuit of a return to postseason play — a goal of which they have fallen short since 2021.
“The AFC East is not a strong division right now. If they can develop their young players, the Patriots could win this division in 2025.” Jackson boldly predicted. “It’s cold in New England and you can’t throw the ball 60 times, so you have to try and run. So, for them to go out and get a bigger guy in Farmer, who can plug the hole but also still get pressure on the quarterback up front, it’s a great selection.”