The NFL's 104-year history is crammed with legendary players who graced the playing fields of grass and turf. Such distinguished nicknames as "Slingin' Sammy" Baugh, Dick "Night Train" Lane, Billy "White Shoes" Johnson, and others dot the league's glorious history.
Others need nothing other than their names to stand out as legends of the NFL. Names like Jim Brown, Gayle Sayers, John Hannah, Chuck Bednarik, Nick Buoniconti, Otto Graham, Walter Payton, and hundreds of others grace the rooms of the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a continuing reminder of football greatness past and long-past.
One group that shined like a supernova in the 1960s comprised four usually lesser heralded players who toiled in the defensive trenches. Those are the defensive linemen, and in the '60s, one quartet stood above all others before and probably since. It was the L.A. Rams' defensive line, nicknamed the "Fearsome Foursome".
As a unit, Merlin Olson, Deacon Jones, Rosey Grier, and Lamar Lundy excelled, perhaps only equaled by the magical "Steel Curtain" of the Pittsburgh Steelers some years later. Can the New England Patriots be ready to create a unit that could approach that level? It will be difficult, but perhaps the pieces are in place to do just that.
The Patriots defensive front in 2025 could terrorize NFL offenses
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Two of the Patriots' best draft picks made by former coach Bill Belichick in the past decade have the potential for greatness. They are second-round picks: Christian Barmore, who had his breakout season in 2023 with 8.5 sacks, and Keion White. Each has the stuff of Pro-Bowl quality or better. Barmore's meteoric rise was only halted by a health issue in 2024, which is now hopefully behind him. He's a foundational piece of a quartet that will be in place in 2025 and poised to terrorize NFL quarterbacks.
Keion White's situation is different, but the talent is there. Both Belichick and Jerod Mayo misemployed White in his first two years in the NFL. He was played as an end or as an edge far too frequently, whether by choice or necessity. For whatever reason, it was a gross error.
White is a devastating interior defensive lineman, a tackle who can't be blocked by a single offensive lineman (a Barmore trait as well). Paired with Barmore, they'll comprise the most explosive pocket-collapsing duo in the league. We'll see soon enough if Mike Vrabel is aware of that potential or if he will fall into the trap of his two recent predecessors. In 2025, two additional members of a potential "Fearsome Foursome" were added to the Patriots' mix.
### The Patriots completed building a "Fearsome Foursome" in 2025's free agency and the draft
Adding to the potential quartet of dominant defensive interior and versatile defensive linemen was Eagles' Super Bowl star, Milton Williams. Like Barmore and White, Williams can move from the nose to a gap interchangeably. He'll fit Vrabel's attacking pocket-collapsing defensive scheme wherever he plays. He's on his way to the Pro Bowl.
Williams is the third of what [was previously seen as a three-legged monster](https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl/patriots-have-created-a-three-headed-monster-on-their-defensive-line-for-2025/ar-AA1ARTX9?ocid=a2hs) but has since transmogrified into a four-legged one, with the potential of another dominant "Fearsome Foursome". The fourth leg is represented by rookie fourth-round pick, Florida State's defensive tackle Joshua Farmer.
[Farmer is a talented player](https://musketfire.com/projections-for-patriots-new-dt-mean-the-future-is-bright-for-the-defense-01jtp75rmg23) who enters the NFL with a chip on his shoulder as large as a telephone pole. He feels slighted to have fallen a round or so, and he's determined to "show 'em", that is, every other NFL team, that they made a mistake by passing on him. Like his three compatriots, Farmer is an interior defensive line playmaker.
The absolute beauty of this quartet is that they can line up almost anywhere and everywhere on the defensive line as down linemen. That creates all kinds of blocking scheme problems for defensive coordinators, and each will be worthy of a double-team on every play they're on the field. The problem is, you can't double them all.
The Patriots have the potential to have their best defensive line in years. It could lead to a revamped overall defense and team into the playoffs in 2025, their first season together. Those are lofty expectations, but the talent is now there. We'll see early on if this modern-day "Fearsome Foursome" has the potential to dominate the NFL. It will be a sight to behold if it even approaches the previous.
### More Patriots news and analysis: