The most talented Florida State defensive back units have yet to come

Florida State’s secondary was already one of the bright spots in 2017, ranking 36th in passing yards against and 14th in passing efficiency defense. However, looking at the talent that has yet to hit the field in Tallahassee, Willie Taggart and whoever will be FSU’s next defensive coordinator will have a loaded defensive back roster to work with.

FSU’s top three defensive back signees in the 2018 class all rank inside the top-60 overall of 247’s composite rankings. Five-star Jaiden Woodbey (No. 28) and four-stars Anthony Lytton (No. 53) and Asante Samuel (No. 57) will all be taking their talents to Tallahassee.

Pairing the trio with the already talent-rich defensive back roster at Florida State will be a sight to behold.

If Tarvarus McFadden does forgo his senior season, the ’Noles will have 10 blue-chip defensive backs on their 2018 roster. The .9299 average rating would be the highest at defensive back in Tallahassee since at least 2010. To put that into perspective, a recruit with a .9299 rating in the 2018 247 composite rankings would be the 172nd overall prospect in the country — And that’s just the average in the defensive secondary.

Here’s a full breakdown of the projected 2018 defensive backs, again, assuming Tarvarus McFadden does not return. (Note: All charts were created by @Cblunt58)

If McFadden does return, it would bump up the average rating even further.

The Seminoles could potentially have three five-star and nine four-star defensive backs on their 2018 roster. The .9338 rating would be equivalent to the 156th overall prospect in the 2018 class.

Looking even further ahead to the projected 2019 defensive back depth chart, assuming five-star Levonta Taylor declares for the draft following his junior year, the talent rating will actually be higher than the previous year’s on paper.

Florida State currently has commitments from five-star Akeem Dent and four-star Kenyatta Watson. With the addition of the duo, the average rating of an FSU defensive back on the roster will be .9352, equivalent to the 148th overall prospect in the 2018 recruiting class. Think about that -- The average Florida State defensive back will have a rating better than the 150th best recruit in this years class.

Florida State head coach Willie Taggart has done a great job in just a few weeks of both receiving and retaining commitments at defensive back. He successfully recruited Jaiden Woodbey in just eight days, successfully flipped four-star Isaiah Bolden from Oregon and managed to convince four-stars Asante Samuel and Anthony Lytton to sign early. He also has the Seminoles in position to land a few more standout defensive backs in the 2018 and 2019 recruiting classes.

It should be an exciting group to watch for years to come.