The Patriots have assembled a ferocious monster of an interior defensive line. The grouping is the best unit on the entire team (maybe after the quarterback). It’s stocked with three bona fide NFL stars in Christian Barmore, Milton Williams, and Keion White (hopefully finally used as an interior guy).

They also have a promising rookie, Joshua Farmer from Florida State, who’ll be an excellent fourth option in the rotation. Mike Vrabel’s rebuilding efforts added Williams and Farmer to the Patriots’ interior defensive line, alongside Barmore and White, as he reconstructed his defense, adding playmakers at all three levels.

Christian Barmore had a breakout 2023. He was emerging as a Reggie White-like force in the middle of the defensive line before a health issue forced him to the sideline for much of 2024. He’s looking to some great role models to try to up his game in 2025, now that he’s hopefully fully healthy.

Christian Barmore is studying some of the league’s top defensive tackles’ games

Taylor Kyles of CLNS noted that Barmore has been doing some off-the-field studying to seek to enhance his 2025 performance in Mike Vrabel’s new system.

Christian Barmore says he loves playing in a system where he can get upfield more often

Also says he watched big, athletic DL like Jeff Simmons, Chris Jones, DeForest Buckner, and Cam Hayward to prepare for this season pic.twitter.com/ElkvrSK1fs

— Taylor Kyles (@tkyles39) June 9, 2025

The guys Barmore is looking to are all bona fide top NFL defensive linemen who get to the quarterback. The Titans’ Jeff Simmons had five sacks, the Colts’ DeForest Buckner had 6 1/2, Chris Jones of the Chiefs had five, and Cam Heyward had eight sacks for the Steelers.

Those are solid comps for Barmore, who had 8 1/2 sacks in 2023 himself. Barmore’s game has always been to collapse the pocket and sack the quarterback. Sacks are big plays that derail drives and get the ball back for the offense. Barmore delivers them. He’s a great asset for Vrabel and his attacking defense.

The Patriots’ interior defensive line will be a big problem for NFL offenses

The Patriots’ interior defensive line is poised to be a formidable opponent for any NFL offensive line in 2025. Barmore is unblockable by one or even sometimes two offensive linemen. So is his linemate, underrated Keion White, especially if he’s deployed in a gap. Only playing edge kept White from a monster 2024 season.

Now, adding Williams to form a devastating interior trio is just unfair. No offense has enough blockers to contain the three Patriots’ interior stars, and that will open up lanes for edges Harold Landry III, K’Lavon Chaisson, Christian Elliss, and rookie Bradyn Swinson to clean up what they can’t.

Barmore is a perfect fit as a nose tackle for Mike Vrabel’s new defense, which will jettison the old two-gap system in favor of an attacking style. On the nose, he’ll excel, and if Vrabel places White and Williams in gaps alongside, it’s going to be devastation for opposing quarterbacks and running backs.

Mike Vrabel has interior defensive line talent equal to any in the NFL if properly deployed. The Pats’ trio of Barmore, Williams, and White is as good as it gets in the NFL. Hopefully, the coach will unleash that trio, along with the rookie Farmer, to make life miserable for any NFL offense in 2025.