FSU defensive lineman Demarcus Christmas: 6th-round pick of Seattle in 2019 NFL Draft

Florida State defensive tackle Demarcus Christmas will be adding bright green, blue, and silver to his closet of garnet and gold. The Seminole defensive tackle has been drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in the sixth round of the 2019 NFL Draft.

Christmas arrived in Tallahassee via Bradenton’s Manatee High School as part of FSU’s highly touted 2014 recruiting class that included Dalvin Cook, Derrick Nnadi, and Roderick Johnson. He redshirted in his first season, going on to appear in 51 games, with 38 starts.

During his career with the garnet and gold, the space-eating Christmas amassed 105 total tackles, 10.5 of which occurred behind the line of scrimmage. He finished with 3.5 sacks and 13 pass breakups. He’s also credited with a trio of quarterback sacks, a pair of fumble recoveries, and a blocked kick.

As far as plusses and minuses go, Christmas has nice size and a powerful build, with solid lateral movement as a run stopper. But he’s also inconsistent and not of much value on passing downs, as he needs work with his hands.

Christmas showed flashes of dominance during his time in Tallahassee, but even when he wasn’t at his best, his floor never seemed too low. He could be a valuable role defender at the next level, depending upon the defense he’s asked to play. Christmas was drafted late for a reason: he’s demonstrated potential, but still has aspects of his game to round out.