Ranking Top FSU Football Alumni in NFL History: No. 3

FSU football has sent hundreds of players to the NFL over the years – here’s another look at one of the ten best to play in the pro game.

This weekend, another class of talented former FSU Seminoles made their way to the National Football League when their respective teams drafted them. It was just another time when it was great to be associated with Florida State – a program that has sent hundreds of the best players to the next level since the first player was picked in 1951.

The list of former Noles who have excelled in the pro game is a who’s who of not just the best to come from FSU football, but some of the best to EVER play in the NFL. However, the question then becomes this: who were the best 10 players in NFL history who spent their college time in Tallahassee?

It may have been one of the hardest list we have ever had to come up with – dozens of former All-Pros, Pro Bowlers and even Super Bowl Champions didn’t make the cut. That’s how talented FSU’s crop of former players is. We also looked at the length of a career and what they did over that time – so while players like Jameis Winston, Devonta Freeman and Jalen Ramsey could make this list in another decade, they have to wait their turn.

Without further delay, here’s the latest installment of the top players in NFL history from Florida State.

Florida State Seminoles Football

No. 3 – Fred Biletnikoff, Wide Receiver (Oakland Raiders 1965-78)

It’s hard to believe that there was a time that the state of Florida was not the bastion of football talent it is today. Such was the case in the 1960’s, when FSU football got plenty of players from the Midwest and Northeast – such as this Erie, PA product who quickly became the best receiver the school had before his arrival and for a good time afterward.

Biletnikoff’s career took him to the West Coast for 13 seasons, where he was on a Raiders team who spent more time running the ball than throwing it around. Throughout his career, he had just one 1,000-yard season and topped 800 yards just four other seasons.

Even in spite of that early on, he put up quality numbers and thrived in the 1970’s, when head coach John Madden brought in more of a passing attack and quarterbacks found Biletnikoff. During his career, Oakland went to two Super Bowls, winning one in which he was named the game’s MVP while catching four passes for 79 yards.

His career was recognized when, in 1988, he became the first former Seminole to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. One could only wonder what someone with Biletnikoff’s talent could do in the wide-open offenses of today’s NFL – but for now, we’ll have to recognize what he did as one of the best former Noles to play in the league.