Joshua Farmer wasn’t supposed to wait this long. The 6-foot-3, 295-pound defensive lineman from Florida State entered the 2025 NFL Draft as one of the most productive interior defenders in the ACC — twitchy, powerful, and battle-tested. Analysts had projected him as a second-day selection. So as the third round came and went, and his phone remained silent, a familiar feeling crept in.
“I think it was probably 17 defensive tackles taken in front of me,” Farmer said. “Everybody in the world knows that’s not how it’s supposed to go.”
But when the New England Patriots called after trading up to the 137th overall pick in the fourth round, frustration gave way to purpose.
“Honestly, man, I’m just blessed,” he said. “My whole life, I just had to come behind the sticks. Once I got past round two, I just knew I wanted to be at a great organization — and I got that.”
For Farmer, overcoming obstacles is nothing new. It’s what shaped him — long before college football or draft boards ever entered the picture.
Joshua Farmer: “I’m just ready to get to work”
A Journey Defined by Resilience
Farmer’s football journey began in the small Panhandle town of Port St. Joe, Florida, but it was marked early by profound personal loss. His father, Greg, died when Joshua was just two years old after complications from stomach surgery. When he was 11, tragedy struck again when his mother, Pauline, passed away from a brain aneurysm. Left without parents, Joshua was raised by his grandmother, Ruby Lee Farmer, who helped push him towards his ultimate goal.
“(My grandma) would take me to the track, I would run, run, run, run, run, run every day for three weeks. She just told me, ‘If this is what you want, this is what you’ve got to do,'” relayed Farmer to The Tallahassee Democrat in 2021.
Ruby Lee gave him discipline. Football gave him structure. And over time, Farmer gave himself a chance at a bright future.
After two productive seasons at Port St. Joe High School, where he played running back and linebacker, Farmer transferred to Gadsden County High School for his final two seasons and blossomed into a three-star defensive lineman recruit with multiple FBS offers.
Florida State saw the potential and made him a priority. Happy to stay close to home, Farmer committed, grew into his frame, and became one of the program’s most important interior defenders over the next four seasons.
“I’d describe me as a tough, relentless player,” Farmer said in his post-draft conference call. “I’m just ready to give my all. My best football is still ahead of me.”
That belief — in growth, in process, in striving — drives everything he does. It’s what helped him through adversity, what made him a leader at FSU, and what now fuels his entrance into the NFL.
A Draft Day Detour — and a Perfect Fit
Farmer’s production at Florida State speaks for itself: back-to-back 32-tackle seasons, 21 career tackles-for-loss and 11 career sacks, culminating in a 2024 Honorable Mention All-ACC. He has disruptive quickness off the line, and enough pass-rush juice to command double teams. His NFL.com scouting profile cites his explosive get-off, violent hands, and positional versatility.
When New England made him a Day 3 pick, it wasn’t a surprise. He had visited Foxborough as part of the Patriots’ limited top-30 pre-draft visits — and felt an immediate connection.
“No other visit I went on was like that,” he said of his trip to Foxborough earlier this spring. “Coach Vrabel — I remember him coming to Florida State my freshman year and putting pads on, letting the guys strike him. He’s a trench guy. Then Coach T [Terrell Williams], Coach Clint [McMillan] — Coach Clint was my first coach at FSU, gave me my first offer. What other situation could I ask for?”
During the visit, he sat with Patriots defensive tackle Milton Williams for 30 minutes. “He was a later-round guy like me. He told me to stay ready,” Farmer recalled. “It stuck with me.”