FOXBORO — In need of help at defensive tackle, a diamond in the rough emerged for the Patriots on Thursday night.

Defensive tackle Jeremiah Pharms Jr. was the best player on the field in the Patriots’ 17-3 preseason win over the Panthers.

The 27-year-old defensive tackle registered four tackles, a sack, a QB hit and a tackle for loss on the stat sheet against Panthers backup offensive linemen and third-string undrafted quarterback Jack Plummer.

“I felt real good,” Pharms said. “Of course, there’s thing to clean up, but I felt real good tonight.”

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Pharms also drew holding penalties on back-to-back plays early in the second quarter and contributed in the run game.

“Look, any time he steps on the field, he takes advantage of that opportunity,” head coach Jerod Mayo said after Thursday’s win. “His story is remarkable, a guy just on the street. He was here, we moved him to fullback, he played defensive tackle, he played guard. He played all of those positions. When you find a player who just loves the game of football no matter what the coach asks him to do, it’s a great player in my mind. And Pharms displays that.”

Pharms took the longest route possible to the NFL. Coming out of Stagg High School in Stockton, Calif., Pharms began his college career at Sacramento City College before playing at San Joaquin Delta College and Friends (Kansas) College. After the game when asked about his journey, Pharms took ownership of the fact that he didn’t take his grades seriously enough, and that’s why he never made it to a Division I football program.

After going undrafted, Pharms played for the Wichita Force of the Champions Indoor Football League and the Pittsburgh Maulers of the USFL. He was invited for a tryout with the Patriots after his season in the USFL.

“I just knew this is the workout of my life,” Pharms recalled Thursday. “This is something I’ve been chasing since I was 7 and then coming from NAIA, I’m the only person who made it to the NFL from my school. So, I decided to make the most of it, come out here, no regrets, let it all go.”

He spent a year and a half on the Patriots’ practice squad before finally getting added to the 53-man roster in November 2023.

Already a favorite to make the 53-man roster after the first two weeks of training camp, Pharms helped himself in a big way on Thursday night.

“Taking everything day-by-day and try to win each day, each rep,” Pharms said of his approach. “I can’t look too far ahead, can’t look to the past, last year’s last year, tomorrow’s too far. Let’s go ahead and keep winning the day every day.”

With starting defensive tackle Christian Barmore out indefinitely with blood clots, Pharms is joined on the Patriots’ defensive tackle depth chart by Davon Godchaux, Daniel Ekuale, Armon Watts, Mike Purcell, Trysten Hill, Sam Roberts and Josiah Bronson.

Godchaux and Ekuale should be viewed as locks to make the 53-man roster. Watts, a free-agent addition, was playing later into Thursday night’s action than Pharms. Purcell was signed after Barmore was diagnosed with blood clots and is a valuable veteran addition. Hill, Roberts and Broncos are battling for spots on a team that usually keeps five interior defensive linemen on its 53-man roster.

“I just focus on me. We got a lot of good guys in that room, but if I focus on me and what I can do, I’ll take it, and I’ll eventually grow as a player,” Pharms said.

Pharms still has a month to solidify a spot on the Patriots’ roster. He took a strong step towards that on Thursday night.