Joshua Farmer, IDL, Florida State
Size:
Height: 6032
Weight: 305
Arm: 35”
Hand: 10 ½”
Accomplishments:
Second-Team All-ACC (2023) • Devaughn Darling Defensive Freshman of the Year (2022)
“Joshua Farmer is a one-on-one nightmare with raw strength and lateral juice to cause havoc in the backfield against the run or pass.”
Strengths:
Power
Lateral quickness
Gap merchant
Quick hands
Versatility
Concerns:
Lateral anchor
Pad level
First-step consistency
Conditioning
Film Analysis:
Joshua Farmer came to Florida State as a three-star recruit and transitioned to interior defensive line after playing defensive end in high school. He made strides as a defender while starting in high school football for three years. Using his pass-rush knowledge and lateral quickness to cause more havoc along the interior of offensive lines, he racked up 80 tackles, 21 tackles for loss, and 11 sacks throughout his career. He was moved around the defensive line while at FSU, playing from zero-tech to seven-tech and everywhere in between. While he spent most of his time as a part-time player, Farmer was a starter for the Seminole defense.
As a run defender, Farmer is a physical force with brute strength who dominates one-on-one blocks to throw blockers around and make plays in the backfield. He’s gap-responsible and laterally quick enough to disrupt zone concepts and take advantage of space created from gap concepts to ruin plays in the backfield. While inconsistent with his pad level and first-step explosion, he’s a problem for blockers when he hits them together and can extend his arms to locate the ball-carrier and shed blocks. Against double teams along the interior, Farmer flashes the kickstand method not to get displaced vertically, but he struggles against lateral double teams with his inconsistent pad level. More consistency from his get-off and kickstand method will help Farmer keep linebackers clean when making plays. It’ll help him defeat more doubles and create a more impactful NFL run defender.
Creating havoc in the backfield is a trademark of Farmer’s game, and he pairs lateral juice with quick and powerful hands. He does well to create pressure through a few pass rush moves and effort, but improving his counter quickness and process will round out his toolbox. There doesn’t always seem to be a plan when rushing the quarterback, and he gets caught on blocks more often than he should. Farmers can be moved along the defensive front and help as a plugger or looper on pass-rush stunts. He’s quick and can close on quarterbacks with surprising acceleration, but he could improve as a tackler.
Farmer will complement NFL defensive rotations well with his raw power and lateral quickness. Still, by improving a few details along the journey and improving his conditioning, Farmer could develop nicely as a disruptive defensive tackle.
Prospect Projection: Day 3 — Developing Traits
Written By: Daniel Harms
Exposures: Notre Dame (2024), North Carolina (2024), Cal (2024), Miami (2024)
