FSU Football: Predictions for draft eligible players after 2020 season

Leaves: Late rounds

James Blackman- He’s hard to project. I hope he can play well enough for him to keep the job for the season. If not, he deserves a shot at another program. He has been dealt the worst hand, and I hope he pulls through and makes something happen. If he does good enough, during a season with not a lot of top QBs active, he could get some valuable draft stock and go 3rd round. His team-first mentality has surrounded his college journey (often to his detriment, but NFL coaches still love it). His ability to learn different offenses will come in handy. His intangibles will also tip the scales in his favor. I think he has recovered mentally from last year and has still performed well throughout his Nole career despite the adversity he faced. He will get pushed out in favor of young talent like Chubba Purdy and Luke Altmyer coming in. I think he transfers or enters the draft and could be drafted in the late rounds with a big year in 2020.

Cyrus Fagan-He is a talented player, but the previous staff and the new one seem to be pushing for youth to get starting experience. Similarly to Blackman, he could be forced out of the lineup. He has had some definite bright moments. The interception against Louisville being one but needs a considerable performance season to move up in the draft, which will depend on the recovery of Hamsah Nasirildeen and Jaiden Lars-Woodbey. He could get significant minutes this season and provide stability in the deep secondary at FSU.

Meiko Doctson- He just needs tape against Power 5 talent. The Group of 5 has been getting more love in the draft but, he needs to show that he is ready for an NFL jump, and last season’s FBS interception leading season was no fluke. If he leaves, unless he has a remarkable season, I see him going in the 4th round. He will be an important contributor, so there will be plenty of opportunities to show that he can hang and dominate in the Power 5. Early in camp, he has been setting himself away from the pack, and I think he ends up starting across from Asante, so it’s plausible Doctson’s stock moves up.

Carlos Becker- He is hard to place, because he is not getting a lot of love, and the media prefers the younger talent in the competition like Travis Jay and Damorie Tate. He has been dealt a bad hand after being highly touted out of high school but has been restricted and overlooked in college but has solid tape, size, and skill, as demonstrated in the Orange Bowl way back. I think he can be an NFL player; if not, he wouldn’t have been so highly recruited, and Becker wouldn’t be a Seminole, so he will find a team and make his presence felt. The highest I can see him going is fifth round, but it is feasible that he could go 3rd round, especially if he wins the job. I think the former is most plausible because if the staff were high on him, they wouldn’t have brought in two defensive back transfers.

Leonard Warner- He is a strong “Mike” linebacker and has excellent athleticism and IQ, and it shows when he reads the play and attacks. These skills are evident when he smartly clogs the running lanes and gets pretty high on his vertical when in coverage. He has had two solid seasons in the past couple of years but needs to take another step to be on an elite level, like most linebackers. The current staff seems to be pushing youth at the position, so the highest I can foresee is 4th round because I think despite all the young love, he starts and gets meaningful minutes. If he can maximize his talent and perform well in the combine, he can get a boost.

Deonte Williams-He was in a similar situation as Wilson, needing more experience, but Wilson is given a mulligan this year because of his injury, a luxury not afforded to Williams. He is coming off of “medical retirement,” so no one has an idea of how he will look come game time. He was mainly brought in for depth on the edge, behind Robinson and Kaindoh, and could be a great help to emerging young players like Josh Griffis, with whom Williams seems to be at “2a&b”. Due to his medical issues, I think he will go undrafted, but I don’t think his focus is mainly on the league. I’m not sure how his eligibility will work given COVID and his “retirement,” so maybe he can waiver for another year and help out as a starter alongside Griffis in the coming future.

Armani Kerr- He made his first start in 2019 and graduated that same year. He got a bachelor’s in finance, so if you need help with stocks, hit him up. It looks like he may get minutes at full-back, so that could be a fun position for him, but that won’t lead to opportunities in the league, I don’t think. I could totally be wrong because I didn’t believe Nabers would get a chance in the NFL, and Nabers currently is on the Chargers. Who knows at this point, with him, it’s a crapshoot, but at least he has a degree, which is awesome.

Emmett Rice- Played all 13 games last season with nine starts, and was reliable. He is someone who is poised to be big this year. He hits super violently, covers sideline to sideline, and has one of the nastiest clothesline tackles I have ever seen. He has improved every year and is a targeted missile at the ball and will punish anyone who has it. The highest I can see him going is the 3rd or 4th round. He would have to be special this upcoming year to move up, but with so many question marks in the air surrounding COVID and the linebacker position as a whole, I don’t see him going any higher. He is one of the players that have to play in the fall, play in the bowl, and have a strong combine for me to have a better projection on if he will go higher.

Andrew Boselli- The whole line needs to show massive improvement, not just him if he wants to get higher in the draft. Bar that, he is a 6th round-undrafted pick right now, but he does have NFL talent and is a hard worker, so I think that finds him a team. I think he could have a strong season, bowl game and combine, and move up a lot in the draft.

Baveon Johnson- If he doesn’t win Boselli’s job, he moves to guard, which could push Devonte Love-Taylor to tackle. I think that is the best line combo. His situation is similar to Boselli’s, where if the whole o-line doesn’t improve, no one will get a shot at the next level. I think he goes late-round or undrafted, but like Boselli, he finds a home no matter what. He needs a combine and a fall season to show improvement and increase his draft stock like everyone else on the team, specifically the o-line.

Devonte Love-Taylor- He is in a very similar situation to Meiko Doctson. He didn’t transfer just to opt-out. He needs to demonstrate his talents on Power 5 level consistently. He showed up well against the Miami front seven, especially in his matchup against Gregory Rousseau, but needs to face more people on Rousseau’s level, if he will be drafted higher than the 5th round. I think he has a good season at guard or tackle and does so. Right now, though, I think he is goes in the later rounds.

Jay Williams- He is vital to the improvement of this o-line as a left tackle and is the player that needs to improve the most outside of James Blackman. The quicker we play (pace-wise), the better the O-line will look. Williams (LT), Johnson (LG), Boselli [C], Lucas/Scott(RG) Love-Taylor (RT) would be the best combination to put out on the line. Currently, I see him going undrafted, but if he puts together an outstanding season, has a good bowl game, and performs well in the combine, he could possibly sneak into the last round.