FSU football: Much maligned DE Patrick Payton plans to enter the transfer portal

FSU football coaches have been hard at work with transfer portal players, looking to add the right fits for 2025. Simultaneously, a double-digit number of players have exited the FSU program for the transfer portal.

A name most FSU fans were waiting for finally popped on the horizon. FSU defensive end Patrick Payton.

Payton is a player FSU developed from high school into an All-ACC caliber player. He was the 2022 All-Defensive Rookie of the Year and All-ACC Honorable Mention in 2023.

However, Payton and others rubbed FSU fans the wrong way when he flirted with entering the transfer portal after the 2023 season before ultimately deciding to stay with FSU. It was a clear ploy for more money and Payton's play in 2024 did himself no favors.

He was lethargic, gave minimal effort most of the time, and only had sacks in two of 12 games. He was a player most people were counting on to lead by example since he had been with FSU through good and bad times. However, by the time the 2024 season ended, most fans wanted him to declare for the NFL Draft or enter the transfer portal because they didn't think he was worth the money.

Well, it's obvious he wasn't good enough to declare for the draft since he's entering the transfer portal. It'll be interesting to see where he ended up, but I think it's addition by subtraction overall. FSU needs guys on defense who play with an edge and are not afraid to get physical, and that wasn't Patrick Payton.

I pointed it out in 2023 when he led the conference in batted balls. He did that because he realized he didn't have a pass rush and would stop and wait for a pass to get thrown and try to bat it down. He wasn't even good at that in 2024. FSU got a commitment from one of the top defensive ends in the portal on Tuesday, James Williams. They may look to bring in another edge guy from the portal. Stay tuned to Chopchat for more news and analysis!