Joshua Farmer NFL Draft 2025: Scouting Report for Florida State DL
HEIGHT: 6'3"
WEIGHT: 314
HAND: 10½"
ARM: 35¼"
WINGSPAN: 83⅜”
40-YARD DASH: 5.11
VERTICAL: 29"
BROAD: 9'4"
POSITIVES
— Good size with a thick build and great arm length. Impressive athleticism and quickness for his size, too.
— Decent at timing up the snap and has good acceleration off the ball to get penetration with his get-off.
— When he keeps his pads down and shoots his hands, he has plenty of upper body strength to stand up interior offensive linemen and lock them out to get great extension on blocks with his long arms.
— Can make tackles with offensive linemen hanging onto him.
— Has the strength and size to be an effective bull rusher when he keeps his pads down and shoots his hands.
— Flashed solid swim and cross-chop moves as a pass rusher.
— High motor effort player who will get coverage sacks and factor into gang tackles.
NEGATIVES
— Often plays with high pad level/stands up out of his stance.
— Has wide hand placement as a run defender, exposing his chest to offensive linemen and making it difficult to consistently take advantage of his long arms. Also impacts his ability to disengage from blocks.
— Struggles to stay in his gap against double teams due to the two factors mentioned above and playing with a narrow base.
— Lacks some rotational strength to keep his shoulders square and avoid getting reached or scooped.
— Sub-par pad level also hurts his ability to consistently be effective with a bull rush.
— Often late with his hands as a pass-rusher and struggles to work the offensive lineman's hands.
NOTES
— A 3-star recruit in the 2020 class, per 247Sports
— Injuries: 2023 (Thumb, offseason surgery, missed bowl game and 2024 spring practice), 2024 (Undisclosed, limited in 1 game)
— 2022: Honorable Mention Freshman All-American; All-ACC Academic Team
— 2023: Second-Team All-ACC; All-ACC Academic Team
— 2024: Honorable Mention All-ACC, Fourth-Team All-ACC
OVERALL
Joshua Farmer has many traits that NFL teams covet. He has good size with very long arms and impressive quickness and lateral movement skills. That gives him a high ceiling at the next level.
Farmer stands out the most as a run defender. When he shoots his hands straight from the ground, he's hard to move with one-on-one blocks and has plenty of upper-body strength to lock out offensive linemen and take advantage of those long arms. Also, he can get penetration when slanting with his quickness and agility.
However, the Florida State product has a tough time staying in his gap against double teams and combo blocks. His pad level and hand placement are inconsistent which exposes his chest, and he takes on blocks with a narrow base. He also doesn't anticipate double-teams well.
As a pass-rusher, Farmer wins in flashes rather than being a consistent producer. His sub-par pad level reduces the effectiveness and consistency of his bull rush and he's often late with his hands. Additionally, he could afford to mix up his pass-rush plan more often as he tries to bullrush too regularly. He's shown solid cross-chop and swim moves and has the athleticism to put together a few finesse moves but rarely uses them.
Overall, Farmer has the profile of someone who could be a good NFL interior defensive lineman but may need some time to develop. That could cause him to get drafted higher than expected if a team is willing to bet on his traits. Schematically, he has some position versatility after lining up everywhere from a nose tackle to a 3-technique in college.
GRADE: 6.9 (Potential Role Player — 4th Round)
OVERALL RANK: 116
POSITION RANK: DL12
PRO COMPARISON: Carlos Watkins
Written by B/R NFL Scout Matt Holder
Prospect workout numbers, measurables (40-yard dash, hand size, etc.) and 2024 statistics will be added at a later date.
