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Florida football continued its streak of players selected in the NFL draft this April, maintaining the tradition of sending its alumni to the professional ranks every year since 1952. However, in 2025, the Gators did not have a player taken in the first round for the first time in five years.
The 2026 NFL draft is looking a bit brighter for the Orange and Blue — at least according to PFF's early 2026 NFL draft big board, which projects a pair of future Florida alumni to be taken among the first 32 selections next April. The first of the two is redshirt senior starting center Jake Slaughter, who PFF has listed at No. 15 on the big board.
"Slaughter was the only Power Four center with 80.0-plus PFF grades both as a pass blocker and as a run blocker. Making that even more impressive is the fact that he faced a murderer’s row of defensive tackles like Walter Nolen, Alfred Collins, Shemar Turner, Deone Walker, Omarr Norman-Lott and Joshua Farmer, all of whom were picked in the first four rounds of this year's draft," the blurb reads.
"Slaughter’s 85.8 overall grade since 2023 trails only Jackson Powers-Johnson among Power Four centers. He moves very well at 6-foot-4, 308 pounds, which allows him to dominate in a zone-blocking scheme."
Listed at 6-foot-4-inches and 308 pounds, the offensive lineman originally from Sparr, Florida, is a consensus first-round pick among early 2026 NFL draft projections.
The other is edge defender Tyreak Sapp, who logs in at No. 27 overall. The 6-foot-2-inch, 272-pound defensive lineman played 416 snaps last season and graded out at 90.4 according to PFF — 14th best in the nation out of 869 total players and fifth in the Southeastern Conference at the position.
That PFF grade was the highest among all qualified Florida players in 2024 and the best mark of any Florida defender since Jonathon Greenard's 90.5 in 2019. Sapp led the Gators with seven sacks and 13 tackles-for-loss for 48 yards, while tying for the team lead with two forced fumbles.
Four other Gators are also listed on the big board following the first round, led by wide receiver and overall versatile offensive weapon Eugene Wilson III at No. 57, followed closely behind by defensive lineman Caleb Banks at No. 60. Tackle Austin Barber lags a bit at No. 180 while guard Roderick Kearney rounds out Florida's players on PFF's NFL draft big board.
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: Florida Gators projected for first round of 2026 NFL draft by PFF
Continue reading...
The 2026 NFL draft is looking a bit brighter for the Orange and Blue — at least according to PFF's early 2026 NFL draft big board, which projects a pair of future Florida alumni to be taken among the first 32 selections next April. The first of the two is redshirt senior starting center Jake Slaughter, who PFF has listed at No. 15 on the big board.
Jake Slaughter's 2026 NFL draft outlook
"Slaughter was the only Power Four center with 80.0-plus PFF grades both as a pass blocker and as a run blocker. Making that even more impressive is the fact that he faced a murderer’s row of defensive tackles like Walter Nolen, Alfred Collins, Shemar Turner, Deone Walker, Omarr Norman-Lott and Joshua Farmer, all of whom were picked in the first four rounds of this year's draft," the blurb reads.
"Slaughter’s 85.8 overall grade since 2023 trails only Jackson Powers-Johnson among Power Four centers. He moves very well at 6-foot-4, 308 pounds, which allows him to dominate in a zone-blocking scheme."
Listed at 6-foot-4-inches and 308 pounds, the offensive lineman originally from Sparr, Florida, is a consensus first-round pick among early 2026 NFL draft projections.
Tyreak Sapp also projected for first round
The other is edge defender Tyreak Sapp, who logs in at No. 27 overall. The 6-foot-2-inch, 272-pound defensive lineman played 416 snaps last season and graded out at 90.4 according to PFF — 14th best in the nation out of 869 total players and fifth in the Southeastern Conference at the position.
That PFF grade was the highest among all qualified Florida players in 2024 and the best mark of any Florida defender since Jonathon Greenard's 90.5 in 2019. Sapp led the Gators with seven sacks and 13 tackles-for-loss for 48 yards, while tying for the team lead with two forced fumbles.
Where other Florida players rank on PFF's big board
Four other Gators are also listed on the big board following the first round, led by wide receiver and overall versatile offensive weapon Eugene Wilson III at No. 57, followed closely behind by defensive lineman Caleb Banks at No. 60. Tackle Austin Barber lags a bit at No. 180 while guard Roderick Kearney rounds out Florida's players on PFF's NFL draft big board.
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: Florida Gators projected for first round of 2026 NFL draft by PFF
Continue reading...
