Joshua Farmer

Patriots Acquire No. 137, Select DT Joshua Farmer

The Patriots are set to make their second selection of the day. The team has acquired No. 137 from the Seahawks, per Mike Giardi of Boston Sports Journal. In return, the Seahawks received No. 144 and No. 238.

After picking offensive players with their first four selections, the Patriots have started Day 3 with a pair of defensive players. New England used their new pick to select Florida State defensive tackle Joshua Farmer.

The defensive lineman put himself on the NFL map with a strong 2023 campaign, compiling five sacks en route to a second-team All-ACC nod. Farmer continued that production into 2024, finishing with 32 tackles, four sacks, and eight tackles for loss. The prospect has been lauded for his raw power, although there are questions about his ability to recognize impending blocks.

The Patriots put in work to improve their defensive line this offseason. Milton Williams was one of the team’s most high-profile additions, and the organization also added nose tackle Khyiris Tonga to pair with traditional defensive tackle Christian Barmore. Farmer will slide in behind that trio, with the rookie competing with Jeremiah Pharms Jr. and Eric Johnson for reps.

AFC North Draft Rumors: Browns, Bengals, Steelers, Ravens

Recently, we saw the Browns host a few probable Day 2 quarterback prospects, and it made us think that Cleveland is less likely to select Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft and more likely to take his teammate Travis Hunter or Penn State pass rusher Abdul Carter then pick a quarterback at the top of the second round. During an interview on ESPN’s The Daily Grossi, Tony Grossi seemed to support this notion.

Grossi seemed to confirm that the Browns like Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe “a lot” and that they could easily select him near the second round after addressing another position at No. 2 overall. I say “near the second round” because it’s likely that Cleveland could trade up a short distance back into the first round to secure a fifth-round option for a young passer.

This fits well with Milroe’s projected draft range, which Jordan Schultz of FOX Sports puts anywhere from pick No. 20 overall to pick No. 50. Cleveland holds the first pick of the second round (No. 33 overall).

Here are a few other draft rumors coming out of the AFC North division:

  • After spending most of their offseason so far (and a huge portion of their salary cap) on the wide receiver position, the Bengals are expected to use most of their six draft picks on defense, according to Jordan Reid of ESPN. With the team so far failing to reach a new agreement with defensive end Trey Hendrickson and potentially even including him in a Draft Day trade deal, defensive end could be an obvious target in the first round. Tony Pauline of sportskeeda predicts that if Cincinatti does go pass rusher, assuming Carter and Georgia’s Mykel Williams are already off the table, it could trigger a run of pass rushers instead of allowing them to continue to slide later and later into the first round.
  • While the Steelers are expected to spend one of their two picks in the first three rounds of the draft on a quarterback, Reid claims that they could use the other on a defensive tackle or wide receiver. The team has done plenty of research on both positions, notably checking out defensive tackles Joshua Farmer from Florida State and JJ Pegues from Ole Miss and wide receivers Matthew Golden from Texas and Savion Williams from TCU.
  • Lastly, ESPN’s Jamison Hensley predicts that the most likely first-round scenario sees the Ravens bolstering their defensive line. Kyle Van Noy returns after giving the team 21.5 sacks in the last two years, and Odafe Oweh finally broke out with a 10.0-sack performance in 2024, but David Ojabo and Adisa Isaac — both drafted in the top three rounds of their respective drafts — have yet to make an impact. With Michael Pierce retiring and Travis Jones entering a contract year, defensive tackle could make a lot of sense. The first round is extremely deep at the position with players like Michigan’s Kenneth Grant, Ole Miss’s Walter Nolen, and Ohio State’s Tyleik Williams all projected to be selected somewhere around Baltimore’s 27th overall pick. More likely, though, the Ravens tend to let the draft fall to them and select the best player available regardless of position. With few true holes on the roster, this should give them a bevy of options.