Ranking Top FSU Football Alumni in NFL History: No. 1

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. 1 – Deion Sanders, Cornerback (Atlanta Falcons, San Francisco 49ers, Dallas Cowboys, Washington Redskins, Baltimore Ravens 1989-2000, 2004-2005)

He was flashy, he was brash, he let you know what he was going to do – and then, Deion Sanders would go out and do it. It started during his time in Tallahassee, where the ‘Prime Time’ moniker was born. By the time he became the highest draft pick from Florida State at the time (being selected fifth overall in 1989), Sanders had built a legacy as someone who wouldn’t shut up – but would give you everything on the field and be one of the best two sport players in pro history.

Sanders became Mr. Do It All during his time in the NFL – playing cornerback while also return both kicks and punts while dabbling on offense as his career went on. After five seasons and 24 interceptions with the Falcons, Deion went out west and got paid by the San Francisco 49ers – where he had six interceptions (a career high three returned for scores) in helping to lead them to a Super Bowl win, his first one.

The following season, Sanders got paid even more by going to the Dallas Cowboys – where he got another Super Bowl ring over four seasons with the team while dealing with injuries that forced him to miss games over that span. He would play one season in 2000 with Washington and retired from the game – or so we thought.

In 2004, Sanders (at the urging of players that included former Nole Corey Fuller and former Miami Hurricane Ray Lewis) signed a deal with the Baltimore Ravens, where he would start just six games over a two season span but have five interceptions – including a league record tying ninth returned for a touchdown) before hanging it up for good.

After a pro career that included eight Pro Bowls and All-Pro honors as well as being named the Defensive Player of the Year during his one season in San Francisco, Sanders became the second former Seminole inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame – the same year he was inducted to the College Football Hall of Fame for his work in Tallahassee.