Florida State safety Derwin James has made his declaration to enter the 2018 NFL Draft, and he will not be playing in the school’s bowl game.
Taking to Instagram on Tuesday, James shared a picture of himself with the caption, “On to the next chapter of my life I will be entering the 2018 NFL Draft and will not participate in the bowl game, FOREVER NOLE NATION #dj3”
https://www.instagram.com/p/BcVIo1yHjpU/?hl=en&taken-by=derwinjames
A short while later, he retweeted a Pro Football Focus message highlighting the fact that he was part of the site’s All-ACC First Team Defense.
The 2017 PFF All-ACC First Team Defense pic.twitter.com/6BAHrE81Mr
— PFF College (@PFF_College) December 5, 2017
Those who have been tuned into James’ prowess as a defensive back for the past few years fully expected him to declare for the NFL draft. He’s a rare athlete who blends excellent size (6-foot-3, 211 pounds) with elite athleticism and a nasty streak that shows up when he attacks ball carriers, both at the line of scrimmage and on the back end.
After missing almost all his sophomore season with a knee injury, James came back healthy in 2017 and had another fantastic season for the ‘Noles. He racked up 84 total tackles, 5.5 for a loss, one sack and two interceptions (one returned for a touchdown), he did a little bit of everything for Florida State this past year.
Most analysts have Derwin safely slotted in as a first-round talent who could very well be taken in the top half of Round 1 next April.