Gators Teez Tabor and Quincy Wilson are projected as first-round picks in the 2017 NFL Draft. (Photo: Jim Burgess/For UAA Communications)
Forecasting Gators in the NFL Draft: 1.0
Thursday, January 19, 2017 | Football
Cornerbacks Teez Tabor and Quincy Wilson are consensus first-round picks.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The deadline to declare for the NFL Draft was Monday, and with the East-West Shrine Game this weekend and the Senior Bowl the following weekend, pundits have made their first projections for the upcoming NFL Draft.
In the common draft era (1967), Florida has had more first-round picks, 46, than any other school in the Southeastern Conference. Alabama is second with 42.
As we get closer to Signing Day!!!! #GatorMade pic.twitter.com/bAy7b2qAGw
— Ryan Smith (@coachsmithUF) January 7, 2017
As the 2017 draft approaches, cornerback Teez Tabor is a unanimous first-round selection, although his draft position is widely debated among various media outlets. Maurice Morton of Bleacher Report has Tabor going as high as No. 5 to the Tennessee Titans, while Emily Kaplan of Monday Morning Quarterback has Tabor going 30th to the Kansas City Chiefs. Along with Morton, Pro Football Focus is very high on Tabor and projects he will be taken sixth by the New York Jets.
Due to his size (6-1, 213) and outstanding play on the field for the Gators in 2016, cornerback Quincy Wilson has risen on draft boards across the country. Four of the mock drafts have him being taken by either the Philadelphia Eagles or Baltimore Ravens in the middle of the first round. In addition, four of the mocks have Wilson being selected prior to Tabor.
Linebacker Jarrad Davis remains a possibility late in the first round, but due to the depth of the linebacker class it may not be a sure thing. ESPN's Mel Kiper has Davis selected as the 22nd overall pick to the Miami Dolphins. Other mocks have the Kingsland, Ga., native going to Kansas City or Houston.
Defensive tackle Caleb Brantley has received a wide range of projections from pundits across the country. For example, Brantley is only listed on two of the 10 mock drafts below, but SBNation.com writer Dan Kadar called him "a disruptive defensive tackle," and WalterFootball.com said Brantley will be the top defensive player available late in the first round.
If the Gators do in fact have three first-round selections, it would be the first time since 2010 that three Florida players were taken in the opening round (Joe Haden No. 7 to Cleveland, Maurkice Pouncey No. 18 to Pittsburgh, Tim Tebow No. 25 to Denver). If Tabor and Wilson are selected on the first day of the draft, it would be the second time in school history that UF had a pair of defensive backs selected in the first round. The first was in 2016, when Vernon Hargreaves III and Keanu Neal came off the board early.
Florida has never had four players selected in the first round.
Here's a look at how all four players are projected among 10 mock drafts from various media outlets:
NFL.com's Daniel Jeremiah: No. 16 Baltimore Ravens, Quincy Wilson; No. 24 Oakland Raiders, Teez Tabor; No. 27 Kansas City Chiefs, Jarrad Davis
ESPN's Mel Kiper: No. 13 Arizona Cardinals, Teez Tabor; No. 14 Philadelphia Eagles, Quincy Wilson; No. 22 Miami Dolphins, Jarrad Davis
CBSSports' Dane Brugler: No. 12 Cleveland Browns, Teez Tabor; No. 30 Kansas Chiefs, Quincy Wilson
The Sports Xchange/CBSSports' Rob Rang: No. 12 Cleveland Browns, Teez Tabor
WalterFootball.com: No. 14 Philadelphia Eagles, Quincy Wilson; No. 21 Detroit Lions, Caleb Brantley; No. 28 Dallas Cowboys, Teez Tabor
SBNation's Dan Kadar: No. 18 Tennessee Titans, Quincy Wilson; No. 22 Miami Dolphins, Teez Tabor; No. 25 Houston Texans, Jarrad Davis; No. 29 Atlanta Falcons, Caleb Brantley
USA Today's Luke Easterling: No. 16 Baltimore Ravens, Quincy Wilson; No. 18 Tennessee Titans, Teez Tabor
MMQB's Emily Kaplan: No. 24 Oakland Raiders, Quincy Wilson; No. 30 Kansas City Chiefs, Teez Tabor;
Pro Football Focus: No. 6 New York Jets, Teez Tabor
Bleacher Report's Maurice Morton: No. 5 Tennessee Titans, Teez Tabor; No. 27 Kansas City Chiefs, Jarrad Davis
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