Florida State boasted one of the most vaunted defensive lines in the nation in 2023, and in the 2025 NFL Draft, Patrick Payton maintains the Seminoles’ representation on the circuit with his scouting report.
Here’s what Payton brings to the table.
Patrick Payton’s Draft Profile and Measurements
- Height: 6’5″
- Weight: 250 pounds
- Position: Edge Rusher
- School: Florida State
- Current Year: Redshirt Junior
Originally a four-star recruit from Miami Northwestern High School in Florida, Payton signed with the Seminoles as one of their higher-upside prospects in the 2021 class. He kept his redshirt in 2021, but it wasn’t long before he showcased his potential.
In 2022 as a redshirt freshman, Payton picked up 31 tackles, five sacks, and six tackles for loss, as well as three pass breakups and a forced fumble. Then, in 2023, he took the next step and became a breakout star on a defensive line that seemed to have room for no more.
Alongside first-round pick Jared Verse and second-round pick Braden Fiske, Payton managed to claim for himself 44 tackles, seven sacks, 14.5 tackles for loss, two forced fumbles, and a whopping 10 pass deflections.
Not only did Payton establish himself as an elite producer with two early-round picks on the defensive line, but he also tied for second place on the team in PBUs, outscoring many defensive backs.
Payton’s production is evidence of his uncommon physical gifts, but just how does his talent translate to the field? That’s what we’re here to discuss.
Payton’s Scouting Report
Strengths
- Lean and streamlined rusher with quantifiably elite proportional length and reach.
- Has truly overwhelming length, which affords him rare playmaking and disruptive range.
- Has elite initial explosive capacity and fires off the ball with rapid, voracious snap timing.
- Can cover massive amounts of ground with long strides and long-track explosiveness.
- Hyperactive lateral mover with rare short-area energy and bend to unleash on rushes.
- Flashes unnatural ankle flexion and cornering ability around the arc for his build.
- Has the hip flexibility to roil, redirect, and pinch tight angles when invading the pocket.
- Uses crisp lateral agility and lightning-quick hands in tandem to deconstruct run blocks.
- Can win quickly off the snap with fast and violent swim moves, then overwhelm gaps.
- Has shown he can leverage his base and length into forceful power exertions at contact.
- Able to bait OTs up the outside track, then attack the outside shoulder with long arms.
- Flashes the ability to supplement bend and burst with steady rip moves working outside.
- Shows glimpses of proficiency using his length to pry past blocks as a looping rusher.
- Instinctively transitions between contain and attack modes with sharp diagnosis skills.
- Combines swarming range and length with a hot motor in pursuit and on second effort.
Weaknesses
- Lighter playing weight in 2023 contributed to lapses in play strength and power.
- Middling mass sometimes impacts his ability to keep control when selling out with power.
- Sometimes crumples beneath opposing power when attempting to reduce and corner.
- Without high-end grip or core strength, can be prone to snatch moves on extensions.
- Can be more easily rerouted by combo blocks when interior linemen get inside his chest.
- Hip flexibility, while great, sometimes experiences slight fluctuations with taller frame.
- Can sometimes be uncontrolled and uncoordinated with his hands on lateral stunts.
- At times, can be more controlled with initial rush angles to properly displace blockers.
- Overall control and sturdiness diminish greatly on second- and third-effort after contact.
- Has room to improve his hand efficiency, elbow load, and deepen pass-rush arsenal.
- Hand strength stands to improve in 2024; sometimes fails to finish through swipes.
- Can easily stack blocks with his length, but sometimes struggles to shed and decouple.
- Lighter lower body sometimes impacts edge-setting ability and sturdiness against power.
- Occasionally struggled to finish as a solo tackler with mass and strength issues in 2023.
Current Draft Projection and Summary
Entering the 2025 NFL Draft cycle, Payton grades out as a top-50 prospect. With improved play strength and hand usage, he could feasibly command Round 1 capital and grow to become one of the top EDGE prospects in the class.
Payton is a freakish physical specimen who might even supersede Verse with his overall physical potential. He has a quantifiably elite combination of explosiveness and bend, and his arms may measure close to 35″ or 36″ inches — granting him power potential and swarming range.
Payton’s pure playmaking imprint is already clear, and his 2023 production is proof of that. But Payton also brings a hot motor on every down, and there’s untapped potential with his hand usage and pass-rush arsenal. He can win with bend or power, and adapt with ease.
As of now, Payton is still relatively unrefined past the bedrock physical qualities. Though he’s added mass in the 2024 offseason, he’ll need to prove that it translates to improved play strength in 2024. And his hand usage, while not without its flashes, is largely underdeveloped and can be inconsistent after initial moves.
Nevertheless, Payton is already an early-round prospect with physical potential at the center of his game. If he can continue to build around that potential in 2024, he has a ceiling in the early-to-mid first-round range. And particularly as a stand-up EDGE in odd-front schemes, Payton has impact starter upside.
