The Florida State Seminoles had a gut wrenching, heartbreaking end to their 2023 season after going 13-0 and then getting screwed out of the college football playoff. It’s no question this Florida State team was loaded with talent in 2023 and currently have 15 players eligible to get drafted in the 2024 NFL Draft. Without going through all of them lets dive into the top five players projected first off the board for the Seminoles in the 2024 NFL Draft coming up at the end of April.
Florida State Seminoles Best Defensive Player Projected First Off The Board For The Noles
Jared Verse is definitely the best defensive end on the Seminoles and the second-best defensive end in the whole 2024 draft behind UCLA’s Laiatu Latu. Verse started his collegiate career at Albany before transferring to Florida State with a four-star transfer prospect rating and being regarded as the second-best end in the portal. He defiantly showed his worth at Florida State putting up strong numbers in his opening season for the Seminoles.
In his 2022 season with Florida State, Verse continued to impress, accumulating nine sacks and 17 Tackles for losses in one campaign. His performance earned him first-team All-ACC honors, confirming his standing as a defensive force against top collegiate competition. Verse was actually looking to get drafted in the first round last year in the 2023 NFL Draft. However, he chose to return to Florida State for another season, and now he’s a for-sure first-round selection most likely by the Denver Broncos or Seattle Seahawks.
Next Up Off The Board Florida State’s #1 Wide Receiver Keon Coleman
Keon Coleman first showcased his athletic prowess at Opelousas Catholic High School. He was rated four-star out of high school by both ESPN and 247 Sports as a wide receiver. His freshman year was at Michigan State in 2021, where Coleman participated in seven games, tallying seven receptions for 50 yards, averaging over seven yards per reception, and scoring one touchdown.
His performance soared to another level during his sophomore season in 2022, playing in over twelve games, making 58 catches, totaling 798 yards with an average of over 13 yards per reception, complemented by seven touchdowns. Consistently proving to be a reliable target, and after his standout sophomore season, Coleman then announced his transfer to Florida State.
His transfer to Florida State for the 2023 college football season, aligned perfectly with the Seminoles promising 2023 roster, especially due to the chemistry with quarterback Jordan Travis, Coleman is undoubtedly a player to pay attention to heading up to the 2024 NFL Draft looking to most likely go late first round or early second round to a team like the Buffalo Bills, or Kansas City Chiefs who could use a young athletic, physical, and explosive wide receiver to add to their roster.
Another Defensive Lineman Off The Board For The Seminoles Next Pick
Braden Fiske spent most of his collegiate career playing for Western Michigan, starting in 2018 as a freshman Fiske saw action in just two games and played a total of 17 snaps for the Broncos. He recorded zero tackles, and zero assist while adding zero stops. In his sophomore year for the Broncos in 2019, Fiske played in twelve games and took part in 279 snaps for the Broncos. Recording ten tackles, eight assists, adding ten stops, and one sack during the year.
2020 as a junior Fiske played in six games and contributed on 305 snaps. He recorded 13 tackles, and four assists while making 13 stops. He produced 14 total pressures that included one QB hit, and two sacks that year. Skip ahead to 2022 as a fifth-year senior Fiske logged playing time in 12 games logging a total of 737 snaps adding 40 tackles, 14 assists, and 36 stops. He also tallied 45 total pressures, including 32 QB hurries, and an impressive 8 sacks on the season
After the 2022 season, Fiske entered the portal and transferred to Florida State University starting in all 13 games recording 43 tackles, with five QB hurries, and six sacks earning him third-team All-American and Second-team All-ACC. The best fit for Braden Fiske in the NFL is with a team like The Minnesota Vikings, or the Baltimore Ravens according to Chris Trapasso of CBS, and Molly Bauer of the Canal Street Chronicles.
Florida State Safety Renardo Green Next To Go For The Noles In The 2024 NFL Draft
Emerging as a four-star recruit out of Wekiva High School, Renardo Green chose Florida State University, and in his freshman season in 2019, Green appeared in 11 games, contributing five tackles and two pass breakups, playing a total of 164 snaps. This laid the groundwork for his development as a cornerstone in the FSU secondary. After the COVID-19 season, the upward trajectory continued into 2021, with Green taking part in four games and tallying eight tackles, five assists, and three stops on 209 snaps.
His senior campaign in 2022 saw him reach new heights participating in 12 games and tallying 48 tackles, six assists, and 17 stops across 526 snaps, in addition to securing three pass breakups. 2023 was Green’s evolution into defensive stardom recording 36 tackles, five assists, and 12 stops, along with a career-best 13 pass breakups and his first collegiate interception. Projected in the later rounds really any team could scoop up Green, especially since all of the safety releases that happened over the offseason. So teams like the Buffalo Bills, Jacksonville Jaguars, and even the Detroit Lions are contenders in the safety sweepstakes.
5th Player Projected Off the Board For FSU Is Their Explosive Running Back
Trey Benson’s collegiate journey began at Oregon as a three-star recruit, and following a severe knee injury in 2020, he transferred to Florida State in 2022. He quickly emerged as a key player for the Seminoles, and in his sophomore year, he played 12 games, rushing 969 yards on 141 carries with nine touchdowns, and catching 11 passes for 109 yards. His junior year in 2023 saw further development, as Benson played 13 games, rushing for 906 yards on 156 attempts with 14 touchdowns. Trey also made 20 receptions for 227 yards, and his impressive performances earned him second-team All-ACC honors in both 2022 and 2023.
This draft class may not have a Saquon Barkley or Bijan Robinson, but it does still have some solid depth players Trey Benson is ranked the fourth-best running back in this class and could go easily in the second round to a team in need of a solid running back like the Dallas Cowboys, according to Mitch Vosburg and the Daily Press.
Follow me on X(twitter) @Crain_Sports1 for more SEC News to keep up to date on everything going on in college football and the SEC, and Good Luck to all of these Florida State players and it will be fun to see what these players do in the future at the professional level.