Jalen Farmer vs Florida – Thoughts
(Kentucky Guard)
Pass Blocking: I watched the full Florida game and came away thinking Farmer is a sturdy, dependable pass protector with some clear athletic limitations. The biggest concern is that he has heavy feet. He does not have the foot speed to consistently mirror an explosive interior rusher in space. If a twitchy defensive tackle gets room to work laterally, Farmer can get stressed. That said, he is not out of control. There were no true full-redirect reps in this game where he had to completely change direction after committing his weight, but on partial redirects (against stunts) he stayed balanced and under control. His balance helps compensate for the lack of elite foot speed.
Where he really shines is anchor. He does play a bit upright at times, but he has a massive lower half and a ton of natural core strength. Even when his pads are a little high, his center of gravity stays naturally low because of his build. It is hard to beat him through the chest. He absorbs power well and does not give up much ground. His hand placement is solid and his grip strength stands out. There was a run rep where a defender tried to long-arm him, but Farmer’s grip on the jersey was so strong that the defender could not get extension. That grip strength and hand control show up consistently. He never got beat on stunts, maintained good spacing, and did a good job finding work when uncovered.
Run Blocking: In the run game, he was pretty good overall, though lateral quickness is the main limitation. There were two, maybe three, snaps where a defender crossed his face. That raises some questions about how cleanly he fits in a heavy outside zone system. To be fair, there were also reps where he successfully prevented the cross-face, but it is not effortless for him. He does have an explosive first step when firing forward, though he sometimes dips his head on that initial step, which can affect his balance.
Farmer has real pop when he connects squarely. His hand placement and grip strength allow him to control defenders and prevent them from gaining leverage. He uses his outside hand well, particularly with lower placement to elevate the defender’s pads and raise their center of gravity. He shows good pacing in the run game, hits his landmark, and does not get over-eager. He had about six pulls in this game. The first one did not go well, as the defender slipped underneath him, but after that he connected on essentially all of them. Once he settled in, he looked comfortable moving in space.
Overall Thoughts: Farmer looks like a strong, technically sound guard with a dependable anchor, good awareness, and real functional strength. The athletic ceiling may not be elite because of the heavy feet and average lateral quickness, but he feels like a player who can start and be steady. His game reminds me a bit of Chris Paul in terms of strengths and weaknesses, though Farmer may have slightly better raw tools. I see him as a third- or fourth-round type. He would be good value in the fifth, but I think he probably goes in the third. If you took him at 71, you would be getting a solid player, just not necessarily great value relative to the board.
This is the first third of the video I watched:
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