Dante Fowler, Jr. Drafted No. 3 Overall by Jacksonville Jaguars
Thursday, April 30, 2015 | Football
CHICAGO, Ill. -- Former Gator defensive lineman Dante Fowler, Jr. was selected third overall in the first round of the 2015 NFL Draft on Thursday night by the Jacksonville Jaguars. Fowler was the first defensive and Southeastern Conference player taken in the Draft.
"I'm excited about this moment, as I'm just living it up right now," said Fowler following his selection. "All my hard work has paid off, but I still have a lot of great things to do. I'm just very blessed."
Fowler is the 47th Gator drafted all-time in the first round and tied him for the highest a Gator was picked since the 1966 NFL-AFL merger. UF has had 12 defensive lineman in the selected in the first round since 1989, which is most of any school over that span.
"Dante is the most gifted edge-rusher in this draft class," said NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock following the selection. "He's 261 pounds, he's got a freaky first step and he also sets a physical edge in the run game."
ESPN analyst Mel Kiper Jr. echoed those comments and said, "Dante is mild-mannered and respectful off the field, and he is a beast on the field.”
Jacksonville has now drafted nine Gators, most recently selecting Josh Evans in the sixth round of the NFL Draft. In addition, Fowler joins Fred Taylor (1998), Reggie Nelson (2007) and Derrick Harvey (2008) as Jaguars first round draft picks from Florida.
UF has now had at least one pick in every NFL Draft since 1952, longest streak in the SEC.
UF Top-3 Draft Picks:
- 1945 - RB Paul Duhart by the Pittsburgh Steelers: 2nd pick overall
- 1950 – RB Chuck Hunsinger by the Chicago Bears: 2nd pick overall
- 1967 – QB Steve Spurrier by the San Francisco 49ers: 3rd overall
- 1978 – WR Wes Chandler by the New Orleans Saints: 3rd pick overall
- 2001 – DT Gerard Warren by the Cleveland Browns: 3rd pick overall
UF Draft Notes:
- The Gators have had four first round picks in the last three drafts.
- Florida has had a first round pick in eight of the last nine years.
- UF had a defensive tackle taken in the first round in three-straight years for the first time in school history.
- The Gators had three first round picks on defense in the last two years, tied with Alabama for the top total in the nation.
- Florida's 47 all-time first round picks in school history is the sixth-best total in the nation and second in the SEC (Alabama, 49).
- The Gators have totaled 12 first round picks since 2007, tied for the second-most in the country (Alabama 16, LSU 12).
- Fowler is the ninth player selected by the Jaguars from Florida, the most of any college/university in franchise history.
SEC Draft Notes:
- The SEC had seven First Round picks in 2015. During the last nine NFL Drafts, the SEC has a nation-leading 81 players taken in the opening round, an average of nine per season.
- Over the last five NFL Drafts, the SEC has now accounted for 40% of the Top 10 selections.
- Six SEC schools had a player drafted in the First Round in 2015.
- This is the 13th time in last 17 NFL Drafts, and fifth in a row, the SEC has had a Top 3 pick.
- This marks the fifth time since 2008 the SEC had multiple Top 5 picks.
- For the second straight year and fourth of last seven NFL Drafts, half of the Top 4 selections are from the SEC.
- The SEC has now had at least three Top 10 selections in the NFL Draft every year since 2007.
- The SEC now has 26 Top 10 picks since 2009 and 32 since 2007.
- Since 2009, Top 10 NFL picks by league: SEC (26); Big 12 (17); ACC (12); Pac-12 (10); MAC (2); AAC (1), BYU (1), B1G (1).
- Seven of the first 24 selections of the 2015 NFL Draft were from the SEC.
- This is the ninth year in a row and 11th in last 13 NFL Drafts the SEC has had multiple picks in the Top 7.
- Over the last 17 NFL Drafts, the SEC has had the No. 1 pick seven times; Have also had a Top 3 pick 13 times and Top 5 pick 16 times.
Dante Fowler, Jr. – Jacksonville Jaguars, 1st Round (No. 3 overall)
Fowler declared for the NFL Draft after his junior season after being named a Second Team All-American by Sporting News and Walter Camp, and a Fourth Team All-American by Phil Steele. In addition, the St. Petersburg product earned Honorable Mention All-America honors from Sports Illustrated. From the SEC, he was selected as an All-SEC First Team performer by the leagues' coaches, ESPN.com and Phil Steele. Fowler was also voted the Defensive MVP and Ray Graves Award winner (Overall Team MVP), and was selected a season captain by his teammates.
Statistically, Fowler finished the 2014 season fourth on the team with 60 total tackles and led the team with 15.0 tackles-for-loss and 8.5 sacks. Overall, he played in 32 games for the Gators and made 26 starts on the defensive line. He recorded 72 total tackles with 18 tackles-for-loss and 5.5 sacks in his career.
