A Look Ahead To The 2018 Draft: Florida State

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Florida State Has Multiple Players Who Could End Up Being High Level Prospects In The 2018 Draft.


So far in this series prospects from Alabama and Ohio State have been examined. Next in line is Florida State.

Florida State has sent some very talented players to the NFL in recent years. Notable examples are Jameis Winston, Jalen Ramsey and Dalvin Cook.

Part of the reason for this is head coach Jimbo Fisher, who aside from having a pretty cool name is also a good coach. The Seminoles are seemingly one of the best teams in the country, both on the field and with recruiting, just about every season.

Meet the Prospects:

Florida State lost some key players from last years team. Fortunately they have a lot of talent returning as well. They have multiple players who are expected to be stars.

These are some of the players that could end up being solid prospects for the 2018 draft:

Safety Derwin James, 6’3” 211, Redshirt Sophomore:

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Last season was a disappointment for James. It wasn’t his fault though. He suffered a season-ending knee injury during the second game of the season and ended up taking a redshirt. As a freshman in 2015 he was outstanding, logging 91 tackles, nine and a half tackles for loss, four and a half sacks and two forced fumbles. It’s rare for a freshman to perform that well. Expectations will be high for James this season. He’s a good athlete who can hit like a linebacker and has good cover skills. If he can bounce back from the knee injury and show he can be the player he was as a freshman he will get a lot of interest from NFL scouts.

Cornerback Tarvarus McFadden, 6’2” 198, Junior:

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Corners with length and ball skills are generally high coveted on draft day. McFadden has both of those things. Last season he led the nation with eight interceptions. His play got better as the year went on last year. If he can keep improving he could end up coming off the board early in the 2018 draft.

Defensive Tackle Derrick Nnadi, 6’1” 312, Senior:

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Nnadi had a really solid year last season. He recorded 49 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss and six sacks. That’s really good production for an interior defensive lineman who are generally guys who do a lot of the dirty work. Nnadi is a strong guy who is tough for offensive lineman to move. He also has enough athleticism to get up-field and make plays.

Defensive End Josh Sweat, 6’5” 250, Junior:

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Coming out of high school Sweat was one of the highest rated players in his class. As a senior in high school he suffered a major knee injury that caused his college career to get off to kind of a slow start. He was able to be a solid contributor last season. Sweat had seven sacks, 11.5 tackles for loss and a forced fumble in 2016. If he can take another step forward next year he could become one of the better prospects for the 2018 draft.

Wide Receiver Auden Tate, 6’5” 225, Junior:

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Florida State lost some of there key receivers from last years team. Tate will look to take on a larger role in the offense and help replace some of the lost production. Last year he emerged as a threat in the red zone. If he can take advantage of the situation and have a strong year he could draw interest from the NFL.

Linebacker Matthew Thomas, 6’3” 227, Redshirt Senior:

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Thomas led Florida State with 77 tackles in 2016. He also had 11 tackles for loss. A shoulder injury caused him to miss the 2015 season so it was good to see that he was able to bounce back and perform well. If he can manage to have another year of production and stay healthy he will likely be a pretty solid prospect.

I really hope you enjoyed the article! Follow me on twitter @CHayes95 and join the discussion on the Lions’ subreddit!

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About the Author

Cory Hayes
I attend Central Michigan University, I am majoring in Journalism and minoring in Sport Management. I am a junior. I am from Marysville, MI. I love following sports, both professional and collegiate. I follow the Lions, Pistons, and Tigers very closely, and the college team that I choose to cheer for is Ohio State.