From Canada to Florida to NFL: St. Thomas Aquinas’ Josh Palmer heads to Chargers in Draft
Josh Palmer was already starting to draw the attention of college football coaches while he was playing in Canada for his first two years of high school. Looking for one final boost, there was only one place to turn.
Palmer moved to Florida, of course, and enrolled at Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas, where he played two more seasons to springboard himself to the Tennessee Volunteers. Now he’s headed to the NFL.
The Los Angeles Chargers selected Palmer with the 14th pick of the third round of the 2021 NFL Draft on Friday — No. 77 overall — after spending three productive seasons as a starting wide receiver in Knoxville.
Palmer caught nine passes for 98 yards as a freshman, then caught 23 passes for 434 yards and two touchdowns as a sophomore. As a junior, Palmer caught 34 passes for 457 yards and a touchdown, then wrapped up his career with 33 catches for 475 yards and four touchdowns in a shortened senior season.
Palmer declared for the NFL Draft and wound up going on the second day.
The 6-foot-1, 210-pound receiver is the third St. Thomas Aquinas player to be picked Friday, joining Ole Miss Rebels wide receiver Elijah Moore and Florida State Seminoles cornerback Asante Samuel Jr. He’s also the eighth player from South Florida to be picked and the sixth from Broward County.
Palmer was only a three-star recruit coming out of high school, according to the 247Sports.com composite rankings, but only dropped four passes on 164 targets at Tennessee. He’s not particularly flashy, but he’s sure-handed and steady.
Palmer is originally from Brampton, Ontario, and was orally committed to the Syracuse Orange before he flipped to the Volunteers shortly before National Signing Day in 2017 after he piled up more than 500 yards and earned all-state honors for the Raiders as a senior.
This story was originally published April 30, 2021 at 10:29 PM.
