The New England Patriots defense was one of the best in the NFL last season, in large part because of the performance in the trenches. The interior D-line in particular performed at a high level whiqle being led by one of the most disruptive starting duos in football: Milton Williams and Christian Barmore.
Whereas the former was a high-prized free agency pickup in 2025, the latter is one of the franchise’s premier home-grown talents. And with his medical issues behind him, Barmore now is back to his impactful
ways.
Hard facts
Name: Christian Barmore
Position: Defensive tackle/Interior defensive line
Jersey number: 90
Opening day age: 27 (6/8/1999)
Measurements: 6’4 1/8”, 315 lbs, 10” hand size, 33 5/8” arm length, 81 3/8” wingspan, 4.98s 40-yard dash, 7.81s 3-cone drill, 4.75s short shuttle, 8.39 Relative Athletic Score
Experience
NFL: New England Patriots (2021-) | College: Alabama (2018-20)
A two-way lineman at Neumann Goretti High School in Philadelphia, Barmore received significant interest as a four-star defensive tackle recruit. He initially committed to Temple ahead of his senior season but later decommitted and saw Alabama,Georgia, LSU and Oregon join the almost 20 schools to offer him scholarships. He opted for the Crimson Tide, whom he joined in 2018.
After sitting out his freshman campaign in Tuscaloosa, Barmore started six of 24 games over the next two seasons. Along the way, he registered 63 tackles, 10 sacks and three forced fumbles. A first-team All-SEC selection and National Champion as a sophomore, he opted to forgo his final two years of eligibility to enter the NFL Draft in 2021.
Barmore was invited to the green room at the event, but ultimately had to wait until Day 2 of the draft to hear his name called: the Patriots traded up from the 46th to the 38th overall selection in the second round to bring him aboard. Since then, he has been a mainstay along their defensive line and one of their best defenders overall.
In his five seasons since arriving in Foxborough, Barmore has appeared in a combined 70 regular season and playoff games with 32 starts. A well-rounded player, who has regularly been used both as a pass rusher and run defender, he notched 180 tackles including 25 for loss, 16.5 sacks — including a career-best 8.5 in 2023 — and a forced fumble.
Unfortunately, however, he also struggled with his fair share of medical issues along the way. Barmore’s 2022 season was disrupted due to a nagging knee injury while he missed virtually all of 2024 due to blood clots. That same year, three months before the diagnosis, he signed a four-year, $84 million contract extension to become the highest-paid defender in Patriots history at the time.
Scouting report
Strengths: Standing at 6-foot-4, 315 pounds, Barmore offers tremendous size to occupy the interior of the defensive line. His build allows him to successfully play gap-control as a run defender while he also has the athleticism to penetrate upfield to blow up plays. His first-step quickness for his size is rare and he has the core strength to maintain his leverage and hold his position even against double teams. He also plays with anticipation and spatial awareness, displaying a high football IQ and good feel for putting himself in an advantageous position. He also is active in pursuit,
As a pass rusher, Barmore is a handful for centers and guards alike. He gets a strong push on his bull rush and keeps his feet working to drive blockers back. His active hand technique and grip strength allow him to stay engaged throughout a rep, and he also has a wide array of counters in his toolbox; he can win by engaging his opponents head-first but also uses swim, chop and rip moves. He also has the natural length to get into offensive linemen’s chests and challenge their balance, and the high motor to make an impact even when not directly involved on the play side.
Weaknesses: Barmore’s ability and productivity do not necessarily match; his sack numbers in particular are not in line with his levels of disruptiveness and his finishing has been uneven. The same is true for his tackling, which ran hot and cold in 2025. His at-times uneven consistency also extends to his pad level and play speed. He also comes with questions about his availability and stamina, and despite not being a heavily-flagged player has had some problems with temper and discipline.
2025 review
Stats: 21 games (20 starts) | 842 defensive snaps (65.6%), 66 special teams snaps (12.0%) | 39 tackles, 12 missed tackles (23.5%), 6 TFLs | 58 QB pressures (3 sacks, 10 hits, 45 hurries) | 0 penalties
Season recap: Barmore was limited to four games following his blood clots diagnosis, and ended the 2024 season on New England’s non-football injury/illness list. By the time 2025 came around, however, a lot had changed: not only did the Patriots change their head coach and a majority of their staff, Barmore himself was also cleared to return to action again.
That showed from Day 1. When the Patriots started their voluntary offseason workout program in early April, he was among the players present. His availability, particularly in light of his medical issues the previous year, remained exemplary: he ended up appearing all 17 of his team’s regular season games as well as all four of its playoff contests, starting a combined 20 of them and playing a position-high 842 snaps.
Together with free agency signings Milton Williams and Khyiris Tonga, Barmore formed one of the top interior trios in the NFL in 2025. And while his baseline stats do not necessarily reflect it — he posted just three sacks and zero turnovers — his impact on the group was profound.
His 58 combined quarterback pressures ranked eighth among all NFL defensive tackles last season, and that is despite him being the regular target of double teams. In fact, his 17 pressures after being double-teamed ranked second, and fifth among all defenders regardless of position.
Long story short, Barmore’s raw numbers might not reflect it, but he very much returned to his pre-blood clots levels of play in 2025 as a pass rusher.
His run defense was a different story. He missed an uncharacteristically high number of tackles and saw a drop in production while Williams missed four games on injured reserve late during the regular season. His challenging moments did not stop there: he also started the Patriots’ game against the Browns on the bench for disciplinary reasons, had a heated halftime conversation with Mike Vrabel during a Week 17 game against the Jets, and was charged with assault and battery in December, a situation that eventually was solved in his favor.
Despite the on- and off-field problems Barmore ran into in 2025, his season as a whole was a success. Considering that his outlooks was very much in question given his medical issues the previous year, he found a way to get back onto the field and contribute at a high level again.
2026 preview
Position: 1-/3-technique defensive tackle | Ability: High quality starter | Contract: Signed through 2028 (2029 UFA)
What will be his role? Barmore was an every-game starter for the Patriots in 2025 and played roughly two thirds of their defensive snaps on the year. While it remains to be seen whether the team opts for the same level of exposure this season, his role as a whole will not change dramatically: he will be a starting player along the defensive line, attacking the pocket as a pass rusher and run defender from multiple alignments but mostly operating between the nose and 3-technique spot.
What is his growth potential? Despite already entering his sixth season in the NFL, the 27-year-old has room for further development. That is true on a small scale in regards to his tackling and discipline, and from a bigger-picture perspective: one more year removed from his blood clots diagnosis, he has a different foundation to build on heading into 2026. As a consequence, it would not be a surprise if Barmore regained his prior consistency and also managed to bring his sack numbers back up again.
Does he have positional versatility? As far as. interior defensive linemen are concerned, Barmore is as versatile as he needs to be. Whether it is lining up at the nose or shaded off the center or guard anywhere between the 1- or 3-technique spot, he can switch alignments on the fly without any noticeable drop-off. He also has some experience as a special teams rusher, both on field goals and extra points as well as punts.
What is his salary cap situation? Barmore signed the aforementioned four-year contract extension in April 2024 and as part of it will be on the Patriots’ books $17.1 million cap figure this season. The number consists of $12 million salary, $3.6 million signing bonus proration, $1.275 million in per-game roster bonuses classified as likely to be earned, and a $225,000 workout bonus. His salary and signing bonus are both fully guaranteed.
How safe is his roster spot? Considering that a mid-March deadline came and went to turn an extra $10 million of Barmore’s salary into a full guarantee, his spot on the roster can be considered as safe. Of course, his ability and importance to the operation in 2025 already suggested that that would be the case to begin with.
Summary: Barmore and Milton Williams are one of the top one-two punches along the interior defensive line in the NFL, and a big part of the team’s success up front. Simply maintaining his level would be a positive for the Patriots, but a step up especially as far as his run defense and finishing are concerned would big news particularly with Khyiris Tonga now in Kansas City..
What do you think about Christian Barmore heading into the 2026 season? Will he increase his sack numbers? Will he help keep New England’s run defense afloat? Please head down to the comment section to share your thoughts.
