Five Gators Projected To Be Picked In NFL Draft

The 2025 NFL draft starts Thursday at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The draft begins at 8 p.m. ET and you can tune in on NFL Network, NFL+, ESPN, ESPN2, and ESPN Deportes. CBS analyst Chris Trapasso released a seven-round mock draft, which includes multiple Gators going in the later rounds.

draft week pic.twitter.com/1zjVWp5kO0

— Florida Gators Football (@GatorsFB) April 22, 2025

 Players’ Off Board

The first two days of the draft might not hear any Gator players names. Since 1967 the Gators have had 55 players drafted in the first-round. In Trapasso’s mock draft, Elijhah Badger is the first Gator expected to go off the board in the fourth round to the Carolina Panthers.

Day three of the draft is when all of the Gators are expected to be taken. In the fifth round, Defensive-Tackle Cam Jackson is predicted to join his former teammate Ricky Pearsall in San Francisco. Staying in-state, linebacker Shemar James has been predicted to be drafted by Tampa Bay in the sixth round.

Finishing things off, the mock draft has two Gators being selected in the final round of the draft. Offensive tackle Brandon Crenshaw-Dickson is projected to go to the Atlanta Falcons with the 218th pick. Not far behind him, Miami native Jason Marshall is projected to be west-coast bound as the Arizona Cardinals 225th pick in the draft.

Two Gator Starters Left Out Of Mock Draft

Running back Montrell Johnson Jr. spent three seasons at Florida after transferring in from Louisiana.  Johnson suffered a knee injury during the season that limited his availability. However, he still proved to be a productive back averaging 5.9 yards on 100 rushing attempts.

Another offensive weapon that was left out of the mock draft was wide receiver Chimere Dike. Transferring from Wisconsin, Dike spent one season with Florida in order to reunite with quarterback Graham Mertz. Dike caught passes from three different quarterbacks during the season, but still managed to record the most receiving yards of his career (783). The Gators have had 45 receivers taken in the NFL Draft since 1967 which is the third most in the NCAA and the most in the SEC.

This offseason, the #Bills added Joshua Palmer to the WR room. Could they add a player like Chimere Dike?

– Willing and able run blocker
– Great speed at 6’1″
– Can line up anywhere#BillsMafia | #GoBills | #BuiltinBuffalo

Full prospect profile by @ShoopBen below pic.twitter.com/vEYhNAi06v

— Built in Buffalo (@BuiltInBuffalo_) April 15, 2025

Gator Draft Predictions According to CBS Sports

• Round 4, Pick 114 (Carolina): WR Elijhah Badger
• Round 5, Pick 147 (San Francisco): DT Cam Jackson
• Round 6, Pick 185 (Tampa Bay vis mock trade with Pittsburgh): LB Shemar James
• Round 7, Pick 218 (Atlanta): OT Brandon Crenshaw-Dickson
• Round 7, Pick 225 (Arizona): CB Jason Marshall