Gators safety Keanu Neal has climbed into the first round according to many draft analysts. (Photo: Tim Casey/UAA)
Gators NFL Draft Primer: A look at UF Players in Mix
Thursday, April 28, 2016 | Football, Scott Carter
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The NFL Draft opens tonight and concludes on Saturday
By: Scott Carter, Senior Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The first round of the NFL Draft is tonight and for the ninth time in the last 10 years, the Gators will have a player taken in the opening round.
They could have two. Or perhaps three.
You see, this is when rumors and speculation and mock drafts are flying at a dizzying pace.
No one really knows who is going where until NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell makes the announcements starting tonight at 8 on ESPN.
Still, there is no shortage of predictions.
Gators cornerback Vernon Hargreaves III is expected to be UF's first player taken in the 2016 NFL Draft. (Photo: Tim Casey/UAA) In his final mock draft before the show starts, ESPN analyst Todd McShay projects three Gators to be selected in the first round: cornerback Vernon Hargreaves III (No. 13, Miami), safety Keanu Neal (No. 17, Atlanta), and defensive tackle Jonathan Bullard (No. 29, Arizona). If that were to happen, it would mark just the third time in school history three Gators were selected in the first round.
The first time was 1989 when Trace Armstrong (12th, Bears), David Williams (23rd, Oilers) and Louis Oliver (25th, Dolphins) were taken in the opening round. The last time was 2010 as Joe Haden (seventh, Browns), Maurkice Pouncey (18th, Steelers) and Tim Tebow (25th, Broncos) all heard their names called on the draft's first day.
Meanwhile, McShay's verbal sparring partner, original draft guru Mel Kiper Jr., has Hargreaves going No. 15 to Tennessee and Neal at No. 20 to the Jets in his final mock draft. Kiper does not have Bullard selected in the first round.
And then there is NFL Network senior draft analyst Mike Mayock, who does only one mock draft and announced it on Wednesday night. Mayock has Chicago selecting Hargreaves with the No. 11 overall pick without mentioning Neal or Bullard in the first round.
The second and third rounds are Friday, and the draft concludes Saturday with rounds four through seven.
Whatever happens tonight, Hargreaves appears a definite first-round pick. Most pre-draft speculation has focused on Hargreaves going to Tampa Bay as the ninth overall pick. That talk has cooled some in the final week before the draft due to critics referencing Hargreaves' lack of height (5-foot-10) in comparison to most elite NFL cornerbacks.
Still, Hargreaves proved he was an elite talent in college and no one has him falling out of the first round.
Neal's stock has soared late in the draft process, and Bullard continues to be a stellar candidate to get drafted in the upper half of the draft, perhaps as high as late in the first round or as low as the bottom of the second round.
The draft is almost here and to help you prepare, here is a look at nine Gators in the mix:
