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The 2025 NFL draft begins on Thursday night in Green Bay, Wisconsin, where 257 collegiate football players will be selected by 32 professional franchises over the course of the three-day event.
This spring, the Florida Gators do not have any alumni lined up to be taken in the first round — or even in the first two days — but are near-guaranteed to continue their epic streak of having a player drafted every year since 1952. Conversely, it will very likely be the first time since 2019 that a former Gator is not selected in the first round.
Ahead of football's biggest event of the season, ESPN's Jordan Reid cobbled together his full seven-round mock for the 2025 NFL draft, which sees five Florida football players taken — all in the fifth round and later. Take a look below at where he projects them to land.
"Massive nose tackle whose lack of productivity belies his potential to imprint on NFL games as a run defender," his NFL combine scouting report begins.
"Jackson is a complete non-factor as a rusher, so his spot on a draft board will be relative to a team’s willingness to take a two-down player in need of polish. He’s long and plays with extremely heavy hands and an ability to overwhelm single blockers at times. When he’s allowed to swap paint and focus on smaller areas of containment, he’s a tough out. He gets knocked off his spot more than he should, but better block take-on and technique should create better consistency.
"Jackson has freakish size and is a more enticing prospect when tape flashes are prioritized in the evaluation process."
"Niche receiver with average hands but good early speed to bypass man coverage and give life to the vertical game," his combine scouting report notes.
"Dike is a second- and third-level receiver whose routes have the energy of a youngster on a playground with all gas and no brakes. He is an early separator with his speed but won’t see nearly as many free or schemed releases as he saw at Florida. He catches with downfield focus and good toughness when contested but doesn’t always play with catch-ready hands, which will lead to frustrating misses.
"He’s more of a field-stretcher than a volume option, but his talent for opening intermediate and deep windows could appeal to teams in need of speed."
READ MORE: Elite speed headlines WR Chimere Dike's 2025 NFL draft scouting report
"James flashes speed but has never really developed the recognition and response talent to chalk up playmaking production," states his NFL combine scouting report.
"He has some twitch in his movement and does a nice job of working past blocks, but he might not be able to anticipate with enough consistency to play ahead of NFL blocking schemes. James is athletic in space and can play special teams, but he might never be more than an average backup."
"There are times where Badger looks like the youngster on the playground who’s a grade older than everyone else and able to do whatever he wants," Badger's scouting report begins.
"He’s on the lighter side and won’t outrun NFL coverage but the game comes naturally for him. His route running can be effective but needs better detail and urgency. He has above-average ball skills to track throws and win in tight spaces or pluck the ball from outside his frame.
"He’s slippery with the ball in his hands and can handle kick returns. If he can handle more physical NFL coverage, he has the talent to become a WR3."
"Outside cornerback with good size, athleticism and experience but too much inconsistency on tape," his scouting report begins.
"Marshall can disrupt the release from press and ride route turns to stay in position to defend the throw. He falls asleep against play-action and misdirection. Also, he has poor hands when it’s time to flip the field."
"For his size, he’s a disappointing tackler, especially in run support. The lack of urgency and determination Marshall shows on tape could hurt his stock."
READ MORE: 'Raw talent': Scouting CB Jason Marshall Jr. ahead of 2025 NFL draft
Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, as well as Bluesky, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.
This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: NFL draft: ESPN's mock draft has five Florida football players picked
Continue reading...
This spring, the Florida Gators do not have any alumni lined up to be taken in the first round — or even in the first two days — but are near-guaranteed to continue their epic streak of having a player drafted every year since 1952. Conversely, it will very likely be the first time since 2019 that a former Gator is not selected in the first round.
Ahead of football's biggest event of the season, ESPN's Jordan Reid cobbled together his full seven-round mock for the 2025 NFL draft, which sees five Florida football players taken — all in the fifth round and later. Take a look below at where he projects them to land.
Florida Gators picked in ESPN's NFL mock draft
DT Cam Jackson: Round 5 (147) - San Francisco 49ers (via WSH/NO)
"Massive nose tackle whose lack of productivity belies his potential to imprint on NFL games as a run defender," his NFL combine scouting report begins.
"Jackson is a complete non-factor as a rusher, so his spot on a draft board will be relative to a team’s willingness to take a two-down player in need of polish. He’s long and plays with extremely heavy hands and an ability to overwhelm single blockers at times. When he’s allowed to swap paint and focus on smaller areas of containment, he’s a tough out. He gets knocked off his spot more than he should, but better block take-on and technique should create better consistency.
"Jackson has freakish size and is a more enticing prospect when tape flashes are prioritized in the evaluation process."
WR Chimere Dike: Round 5 (159) - Green Bay Packers
"Niche receiver with average hands but good early speed to bypass man coverage and give life to the vertical game," his combine scouting report notes.
"Dike is a second- and third-level receiver whose routes have the energy of a youngster on a playground with all gas and no brakes. He is an early separator with his speed but won’t see nearly as many free or schemed releases as he saw at Florida. He catches with downfield focus and good toughness when contested but doesn’t always play with catch-ready hands, which will lead to frustrating misses.
"He’s more of a field-stretcher than a volume option, but his talent for opening intermediate and deep windows could appeal to teams in need of speed."
READ MORE: Elite speed headlines WR Chimere Dike's 2025 NFL draft scouting report
LB Shemar James: Round 5 (175) - Seattle Seahawks
"James flashes speed but has never really developed the recognition and response talent to chalk up playmaking production," states his NFL combine scouting report.
"He has some twitch in his movement and does a nice job of working past blocks, but he might not be able to anticipate with enough consistency to play ahead of NFL blocking schemes. James is athletic in space and can play special teams, but he might never be more than an average backup."
WR Elijhah Badger: Round 6 (214) - Los Angeles Chargers
"There are times where Badger looks like the youngster on the playground who’s a grade older than everyone else and able to do whatever he wants," Badger's scouting report begins.
"He’s on the lighter side and won’t outrun NFL coverage but the game comes naturally for him. His route running can be effective but needs better detail and urgency. He has above-average ball skills to track throws and win in tight spaces or pluck the ball from outside his frame.
"He’s slippery with the ball in his hands and can handle kick returns. If he can handle more physical NFL coverage, he has the talent to become a WR3."
CB Jason Marshall Jr.: Round 6 (215) - Las Vegas Raiders
"Outside cornerback with good size, athleticism and experience but too much inconsistency on tape," his scouting report begins.
"Marshall can disrupt the release from press and ride route turns to stay in position to defend the throw. He falls asleep against play-action and misdirection. Also, he has poor hands when it’s time to flip the field."
"For his size, he’s a disappointing tackler, especially in run support. The lack of urgency and determination Marshall shows on tape could hurt his stock."
READ MORE: 'Raw talent': Scouting CB Jason Marshall Jr. ahead of 2025 NFL draft
Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, as well as Bluesky, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.
This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: NFL draft: ESPN's mock draft has five Florida football players picked
Continue reading...
