2017 NFL Draft Begins Thursday Night
Wednesday, April 26, 2017 | Football
The NFL Draft opens Thursday and concludes on Saturday.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The 2017 NFL Draft begins Thursday night at the Philadelphia Museum of Art in Philadelphia, Pa. The first round of the draft will be held on Thursday, the second and third rounds on Friday night and the remaining rounds on Saturday.
The entire draft will be televised live on both the NFL Network and ESPN, beginning with the first round on Thursday at 8 p.m. On Friday, coverage begins at 7 p.m. for the second and third rounds. Rounds four through seven will be broadcast on Saturday beginning at noon.
For a complete viewers' guide to the draft, check out Richard Deitsch's SI.com article on how ESPN and NFL Network will cover the event.
One week away from the #NFLDraft.
— Atlanta Falcons (@AtlantaFalcons) April 20, 2017
We picked a good one last year, didn't we? #TBT pic.twitter.com/Ibn9hUENUA
UF has had the fourth-most first-round draft picks (48) among NCAA schools and the most in the Southeastern Conference in the Common Draft era (since 1967).
Southern California (68), Ohio State (61) and Miami (FL) [58] are the three programs in front of Florida. Behind the Gators sit Alabama (44) and Notre Dame (41).
Overall, UF has had 50 first-round selections in its storied history and has totaled 14 first-round picks since 2010, which is second most among all schools nationally. Only Alabama has more (19), while Ohio State (13), Florida State (12), Notre Dame (9) and Clemson (8) trail the Gators.
The SEC has continued its dominance in the first round as well.
Most NFL Draft picks by conference:
— Pick Six Previews (@PickSixPreviews) April 24, 2017
2007: SEC
2008: SEC
2009: SEC
2010: SEC
2011: SEC
2012: SEC
2013: SEC
2014: SEC
2015: SEC
2016: SEC
Based off our NFL Draft forecaster last week, linebacker Jarrad Davis and cornerback Quincy Wilson seem to be the main two Gators who may be selected in the first round on Thursday night.
If Davis were picked, he would become the first true UF linebacker selected in the first round since Clifford Charlton was the 21st overall pick to the Cleveland Browns in 1988. In addition, Davis would be just the fourth true Florida linebacker selected in the first round in program history.
Florida LB Jarrad Davis could fit nicely with the Giants in the first round of the NFL Draft: https://t.co/sQBqREw33D @TomRock_Newsday pic.twitter.com/q6aZO1Ky53
— Newsday Sports (@NewsdaySports) April 25, 2017
If Wilson is selected, he would become the ninth defensive back in UF history to be selected in the NFL Draft's opening round. Since 2007, Florida has now had five defensive backs selected in the first round, which is tied with Alabama for the most in the SEC.
So used to this ???? pic.twitter.com/Cs60jJMt9z
— Quincy Wilson (@dc_wilson954) April 23, 2017
LSU is directly behind the Gators and Crimson Tide with four defensive backs picked in the first round over the last 10 years.
With that, Florida leads the SEC with multiple players selected in the first round of the NFL Draft, as it has happened 13 times, including each of the past two years. Alabama (9), Tennessee (8) and Georgia (7) sit behind the Gators in this category.
Regarding the entire draft, Florida is one of five schools (Michigan, Michigan State, Nebraska and USC) to have had a player taken every year in the Common Draft era and has had a player selected every year since 1952.
For a complete list of Florida's football history in the draft, click here.
Six FBS programs that were top 10 in total draft picks '02-'05 drafts & '13-'16 drafts were: #Buckeyes #UF #FSU #NotreDame #Stanford #LSU
— SportSourceAnalytics (@SportSourceA) April 26, 2017
Fans interested in keeping up with former Florida football players and the draft can follow @GatorsFB on Twitter and check FloridaGators.com at the completion of each day's picks.
From the Gators' 2016 roster, most experts are projecting up to 17 former players who have a chance to be drafted or signed as an undrafted free agent following the draft.
2016 DRAFT-ELIGIBLE GATORS (listed alphabetically)
LB Alex Anzalone
QB Austin Appleby
DL Caleb Brantley
DL Bryan Cox, Jr.
LB Jarrad Davis
WR Ahmad Fulwood
RB Mark Herndon
DB Michael Iorio
DL Joey Ivie
K Neil MacInnes
DB Marcus Maye
LB Daniel McMillian
DB Mark Norvelis
OL David Sharpe
DB Teez Tabor
WR Chris Thompson
DB Quincy Wilson
Players Mentioned
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