Packers meet with Lane College standout DE Andrew Farmer

With the College Football All-Star games having taken place, we continue to hear reports of players that the Green Bay Packers have met with. The latest is Lane College standout defensive end Andrew Farmer, according to Justin Melo of The Draft Network.

Other teams to also spend “considerable time” with Farmer include the Titans, Colts, Chiefs, and Broncos.

Lane College is a Division-II program, and the 6’3″ – 250-pound Farmer has put together two impressive seasons. During 2021 and 2022, he posted 157 total tackles, including a whopping 44 that were for a loss. He also recorded 17.5 sacks, five pass deflections, and two forced fumbles.

Farmer received an invite to the Hula Bowl All-Star game and made Emory Hunt of CBS Sports’ top 10 list for small college prospects in the 2023 NFL Draft. Hunt had this to say about Farmer:

"“One of the more underrated pressure players in college football and in the HBCU ranks, Farmer can function well as an off-ball backer or SAM/EDGE. His acceleration and closing speed to the QB is what jumps out at you on tape consistently.”"

Once again, the Packers need to address their interior defensive line unit this offseason. Overall, the play of this group was inconsistent in 2022, but when the defense as a whole was playing its best football at the end of the season, a big reason why was because of the play up front.

Green Bay’s interior defensive line did a good job at slowing the run game, which allowed them to play with extra defenders in coverage against star receivers Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle, and Justin Jefferson. We also saw more consistent pressure from this position group as well.

Green Bay has a good core, with Kenny Clark leading the way, along with Devonte Wyatt and TJ Slaton, both of whom took advantage of the additional playing time that they each received at the end of the season when Dean Lowry went on IR.

However, after those three, the depth is very much in question with Jonathan Ford, a 2022 draft pick who was a healthy scratch each week, and Chris Slayton as the only other options on the roster. Given the needed depth, along with the impact that a robust defensive front can have, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Packers spend a top-100 pick on the position in this draft. However, with that said, given the overall youth currently on the roster, adding an inexpensive veteran in free agency to provide some stability wouldn’t be a bad idea either.

Farmer won’t fill this need as he is likely going to be a late Day 3 pick or a UDFA signing. So expectations wouldn’t be that he would make a big impact—at least not right away. Instead, the Packers would be taking a swing on his traits and upside.

Farmer won’t be at the NFL Combine but did receive an invite to the HBCU and Small College Combine.