2018 NFL Draft Begins Thursday Night
Wednesday, April 25, 2018 | Football
The NFL Draft opens Thursday and concludes on Saturday.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The 2018 NFL Draft begins Thursday night at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. 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.
In addition, the NFL Network's broadcast for rounds 1-3 on Thursday and Friday will be simulcast on FOX.
Florida has had the fourth-most first-round draft picks (49) among NCAA schools and the most in the Southeastern Conference in the Common Draft era (since 1967). Southern California (69), Ohio State (64) and Miami (FL) [59] are the three programs in front of Florida. Behind the Gators sit Alabama (48) and Notre Dame (41).
Overall, UF has had 51 first-round selections in its storied history and has totaled 16 first-round picks since 2007, which is tied for the second most among all schools nationally. Only Alabama has more (23), while the Gators are tied with Ohio State (16) and lead Florida State (12), Clemson (10) and Notre Dame (9).
According to ESPN's Mel Kiper, Jr. and Todd McShay, defensive lineman Taven Bryan is likely to be selected in the first round on Thursday night. Meanwhile, they have cornerback Duke Dawson and wideout Antonio Callaway slated to go in the second and third rounds, respectively.
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.
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.
Notables
- If Taven Bryan is selected in the first round …
- UF will have had 12 defensive lineman selected in the first round since 1989, which would be the most of any school over that span.
- After becoming the first set of kicker and punter teammates to attend the NFL Combine together since 2007, Eddy Pineiro and Johnny Townsend are trying to become the fourth kicker/punter tandem to be selected in the same draft in the Common Draft era.
- 1985 – Clemson
- 1977 – Clemson
- 1975 – Tennessee
- Individually …
- Pineiro is looking to become the first Florida kicker drafted since Caleb Sturgis went in the fifth round to the Miami Dolphins in 2013.
- Townsend is trying to become the first UF punter picked since Ray Criswell was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles in the fifth round of the 1986 NFL Draft.
- If both defensive backs Duke Dawson and Marcell Harris (pictured above) are selected this weekend, the Gators will have had multiple defensive backs selected in the same draft for the third-consecutive year, which would be a program record.
- Florida has had five defensive backs selected in the NFL Draft since 2016, which is tied for the top mark in the country entering Thursday's first round.
From the Gators' 2017 roster, most experts are projecting up to 13 former players who have a chance to be drafted or signed as an undrafted free agent following the draft.
2018 DRAFT-ELIGIBLE GATORS (listed alphabetically)
DL Taven Bryan
WR Antonio Callaway
DB Duke Dawson
TE DeAndre Goolsby
DB Marcell Harris
K Eddy Pineiro
WR Brandon Powell
DB Joseph Putu
DB Garrett Stephens
RB Mark Thompson
P Johnny Townsend
DB Nick Washington
QB Malik Zaire
Players Mentioned
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