Where Are They Now? The 2013 NFL Draft Seminoles

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We have finally gotten to the class where Jimbo Fisher’s talent development went on full display. The 2012 college football season itself ended with an ACC crown and a BCS bowl victory and 12-2 record. Following Florida State’s loss to Florida, the Seminoles would not lose for more than two years. It wasn’t the most fulfilling of seasons as some had predicted that the Seminoles would make it to the national championship and even win it. A late collapse at N.C. State in October at Carter-Finley Stadium effectively ended those dreams. At one point the ‘Noles had climbed all the way to third in the country.

The following NFL Draft saw 11 FSU players get selected, a school record at the time. Florida State actually led all colleges in picks that year and had three players chosen in the first round. By all accounts, it was a legendary draft that boosted Florida State’s name back to the top of draft boards of teams looking for NFL worthy talent. But what happened to these players after they got selected? We’ll tell you.

E.J. Manuel (QB) – 1st Round, 16th Pick, Buffalo Bills

There was not a player who fans had a more love/hate relationship with than Manuel. His talent was not a secret and when he got into a rhythm, few quarterbacks were better. When he was good, he was great as was the case in his 380-yard passing performance against Clemson as a senior, but when he was bad, he was awful as was shown in a turnover prone Doak Campbell Stadium finale against Florida. Despite this inconsistency, Manuel was a leader for the Seminoles who brought the team their first BCS bowl victory since January of 2000 and compiled a 25-6 record as a starter. He ranks in the top 10 at Florida State for passing yards in a season, passing yards in a career, and passing touchdowns in a career.

Many were shocked when Manuel got selected by the Buffalo Bills in the first round, Jimbo Fisher included if you believe some reports, and suddenly the expectations got a whole lot higher. Manuel had an okay rookie year but it was pretty obvious that he was a project who needed time to develop. Unfortunately, many teams don’t like to wait at the quarterback position and Manuel was benched four games into the 2014 season. Not many people will deny his physical potential — he’s clearly athletic and has the mold to be a dangerous player at the position. Whether or not he could ever progress beyond a simple starter is a debate many still have to this day. It’s beginning to seem like we may never be able to truly tell if that’s possible.

Bjorn Werner (DE) – 1st Round, 24th Pick, Indianapolis Colts 

The Berlin Wall was always a fan favorite during his time in Tallahassee. Coming in as a 3-star foreign born recruit, very few could have predicted that Werner would have turned into the force that he did. His junior season was one of the best ever for a Seminole lineman and gave him a laundry list of achievements. Being named a unanimous All-American, ACC Defensive Player of the Year and first team All-ACC, with 42 tackles, and 13 sacks speaks for itself.

It’s a bit hard to judge whether or not he deserves the “bust” label just yet. He has been disappointing with the Colts, but it’s still early. While his performance against the run is very good, Werner has yet to fill into the pass rusher that the Colts originally wanted when they drafted him. Part of this is injuries, part of it is the position switch to outside linebacker, and part of is just his lack of moves. How he progresses in the next year will be key in deciding whether or not Indianapolis wants to stick with him for the foreseeable future. After all, he did have a good beginning to 2014 and started in 15 games. Only 6 sacks in two seasons however, is concerning.

Keep an eye on Werner this upcoming season. He’ll be trying to prove that he belongs and convince the Colts that he deserved to be their first round pick.

Xavier Rhodes (CB) – 1st Round, 25th Pick, Minnesota Vikings

It was readily apparent while watching Rhodes that he had a skill set that could translate beautifully to the NFL. In his three years at FSU, he amassed 140 tackles and eight interceptions to go along with a first team All-ACC selection in 2012 and an ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year award in 2010.

The transition to the NFL has been nicer to him than for a lot others on these lists. While he sometimes goes into slumps due to the nature of the cornerback position, Rhodes is regarded as one of the up-and-comers in the league and a building block for the Vikings’ defense. Sites like ProFootballFocus love him and have numerous times ranked him as one of the best cornerbacks for multiple stretches of the season. Keep in mind that he puts up those numbers while covering receivers like Calvin Johnson, Kelvin Benjamin, Eric Decker and other elite talents.

Cornellius “Tank” Carradine (DE) – 2nd Round, 40th Pick, San Francisco 49ers

It’s a shame that we didn’t get to see more of Carradine at FSU. The JUCO transfer participated in only two seasons with the Seminoles and saw his best season end prematurely with a torn ACL. ‘Tank’ racked up 80 tackles and 11 sacks in his final season with FSU and was named first team All-ACC. It’s true that Florida State has not had the same vaunted pass-rush since Carradine left.

Either way, Carradine is going to have the spotlight on him all next season for the 49ers. With Ray McDonald out and Justin Smith considering retirement, Carradine is going to be thrust into a starting role and be expected to produce. If he was a lower round pick then he wouldn’t have as much pressure as he does currently, but the situation with San Francisco is an urgent one. They are expecting their second round pick be ready to make an impact in 2015.

Menelik Watson (OT) – 2nd Round, 42nd Pick, Oakland Raiders

There might be no stranger an original story than how Watson ended up as an offensive lineman on the Florida State Seminoles. ESPN’s David Hale did an excellent piece on this years ago and it still stands to amaze. From an undersized power forward at Marist College to starting left tackle, Watson impressed FSU coaches with his potential and he eventually earned an All-ACC honorable mention for his junior season.

The upcoming season looks to be Watson’s first chance to make waves in the NFL. He has been affected by injuries the past couple of years, though still healthy enough to start nine games last season while playing in 12 of them. Word from the Raiders’ side is that there will be a camp battle between Watson and free agent Austin Howard, with the latter having a slight edge coming in. Watson however, is yet another Seminole to keep a tab on for the next NFL season.

As a side note, here was an inspiring story from last year that makes Florida State fans happy to call Watson one of their own.

Chris Thompson (RB) – 5th Round, 154st Pick, Washington Redskins

Every single college football team in the nation has a player that would have been amazing if they were able to stay healthy. Chris Thompson is one of those players. As a sophomore in 2010, Thompson averaged 6.3 yards-per-carry on his way to 845 yards rushing, 155 yards receiving, and seven total touchdowns. He was as talented a back as ‘Noles fans had seen in years and many felt he could be the backbone of the offense for years to come. Unfortunately, the injuries began to strike. Thompson would only play in 14 total games over his final two seasons before heading off to the NFL, though not before having over 600 yards and a 7.5 yards-per-carry average in 2012.

Perhaps the biggest testament to Thompson’s talent is the fact that he was selected in the fifth round despite his injury concerns. His original stint with Washington wasn’t exactly positive as he got reduced to a practice squad member early in 2014. But Thompson continued fighting and received his chance in a December match-up with the New York Giants. Thompson caught a touchdown pass and received a milestone football for what was his first career NFL touchdown. Should he stay away from the injury bug that derailed him in college, Thompson could become a valuable contributor for Washington.

Brandon Jenkins (DE) – 5th Round, 162nd Pick, Washington Redskins

Jenkins was undoubtedly one of the best Florida State pass rushers of the decade, impressing fans and coaches alike with his sheer knack for getting into the backfield. Jenkins’ sophomore season was by far the best of his career. He had 63 tackles, 13.5 sacks, and two forced fumbles to round out a first team All-ACC and second team All-American year. As with many previous players, injuries would force him to miss games the next couple of seasons and his senior year saw him participate in only one game before a Lisfranc injury crushed his hopes of a resurgence. He was being talked about as a first round pick before he got hurt.

Jenkins was instead a fifth round pick put on a fairly short leash. After not making an impact on special teams and being unimpressive in training camp, Jenkins was cut by Washington on July 27th, 2014. No team has signed him.

Dustin Hopkins (K) – 6th Round, 177th Pick, Buffalo Bills

FSU has been particularly spoiled with amazing kickers as of late…maybe its karmic retribution for all the famous misses. Either way, Dustin “Golden Shoes” Hopkins was insanely fun to watch and you never wondered if he had enough leg for any given kick. He always had the power, the only question was accuracy. His first team All-American and two All-ACC selections are testament to his impressive accomplishments at the position. He still holds the NCAA record for field goals made in a career with 88.

Hopkins actually won the starting job over incumbent Bills’ kicker Rian Lindell in 2013 before sustaining a groin injury. The Bills then signed Dan Carpenter for the season and Hopkins was eventually released in 2014. Hopkins is now with the New Orleans Saints and looks to compete for the kicking job in the upcoming season.

Nick Moody (LB) – 6th Round, 180th Pick, San Francisco 49ers

Moody was always the crowd pleaser with his hits, and was a constant mainstay in the FSU defense for years. That being said, he never seemed to get into a rhythm at his projected linebacker position. Moody had played free safety for two years before getting switched to the inside linebacking position, so his erratic play was not surprising. He finished with 155 tackles for his career with a chance to be a late round draft pick.

The 49ers weren’t particularly needy at linebacker for next season until Patrick Willis and Chris Borland retired, so Moody hasn’t seen many starts. Recent happenings seem to suggest however that San Francisco will indeed help at the position, and he can certainly provide that. He might never be an All-Pro, but Moody can be a contributor and valuable rotation guy for 2015.

Vince Williams (LB) – 6th Round, 206th Pick, Pittsburgh Steelers

Before Karlos Williams, there was older brother Vince Williams. Vince played in all four years at FSU and started in both his junior and senior seasons. He was a proficient tackler that could always sense where a play was going and stop it. His lack of over-the-top athleticism and weaker pass coverage meant teams would be primarily looking at him as a rotation player.

A slew of injuries and roster changes to the Steelers’ starting defense meant that Williams would see early playing time. He started 11 games in 2013 and played in all 16 games in 2014. Inside linebacker is an open position for the Steelers right now and they need someone to step up and take the reigns. Williams has almost 100 tackles over the past two years and looks to be the slight favorite right now to line up next to another former Seminole, Lawrence Timmons.

Everett Dawkins (DT) – 7th Round, 229th Pick, Minnesota Vikings

Dawkins had some high expectations coming into FSU as a 4-star defensive tackle from South Carolina. He may not have succeeded in living up to all of them, but Dawkins was still valuable at a position where it’s hard to find consistent players. Defensive tackle is a hard position to forecast and the fact that he was able to come in and immediately contribute should always be lauded. He forced blockers away from the ends and allowed FSU to generate a consistent pass rush. Dawkins was also given second team All-ACC honors for his senior season of 2012.

Dawkins never stuck to an NFL roster unfortunately. He bounced around some practice squads before signing with the Tampa Bay Storm of the Arena League, where he currently plays and has excelled. If you’re keeping track, this was the fourth defensive lineman to be drafted in 2013 from FSU. As the old saying goes, “you truly don’t know what you have until it’s gone”.

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