FSU Alums: Is Derwin James a better pro Nole now than Jalen Ramsey?

FSU football has long been known as the factory for producing great secondary talent, but is the youngest player out of the current group clearly the best?

It’s been a debate that has taken over the world of college football for decades – which program is the real DBU, producing the best talent in the secondary at the next level? While it’s cute that other programs think they are in the same conversation as FSU, the reality is that there is no program close to the Seminoles.

From names in the past like Deion Sanders and Terrell Buckley to the current trio of stars in the game, there is almost no question that when it comes to the best players in the secondary of the NFL the place they want to play their college ball is in Tallahassee with the Seminoles.

The most recent example would be in the NFL Network’s rankings of the top 100 players in the league entering the upcoming season, with both FSU alums Derwin James and Jalen Ramsey being ranked in the top 31 players not just in the secondary – but in the entire league.

While Ramsey did drop a total of 10 spots from last season’s rankings, he still is the highest player to come out of FSU on the list – but when you look at the numbers, is he even the best defensive back to come out of Tallahassee.

When you look at the stats from Ramsey’s three seasons with the Jacksonville Jaguars and the single season from James with the Los Angeles Chargers last year, it comes off like the man in the City of Angels could be the best out of the group:

• Ramsey (2016-2018): 193 total tackles, zero sacks, nine interceptions
• James (2018): 105 total tackles, three and a half sacks, three interceptions

So, at the current pace between the FSU football legends, James is on pace to totally pass Ramsey in tackles this coming season while obliterating him in sacks and on pace to tie him in interceptions by year three.

Ramsey, for his part, doesn’t seem to think that he is anywhere close to being the 27th best player in the NFL for this coming season.

However, just judging by the numbers, there is a decent argument that he isn’t even the best defensive back to have worn garnet and gold during his college career.