Florida continues to build upon absurd NFL Draft record
After the 2022 NFL Draft was finished, the Florida Gators were able to boast a continued record that no other program in the SEC can claim. The Gators are the only school in the SEC to have a player selected in every single draft of the common draft era.
Three Florida players went to NFL teams this year — including first-round pick Kaiir Elam to the Buffalo Bills, third-round pick Zachary Carter to the Cincinnati Bengals and fourth-round pick Dameon Pierce to the Houston Texans.
Florida’s NFL draft record
In a stat shared by the SEC Network on Tuesday, Florida is still the only team in the conference to have a player selected in every draft of the common draft era — when the AFL and NFL merged. With the newest players drafted, Florida has now sent 364 total players to the NFL via the draft.
The consecutive drafts with a player taken is an SEC-record, but the Gators also continued a pair of other draft streaks as well. Florida had a defensive lineman selected in the draft for the 11th straight year, tied for the second-longest streak in the SEC. Zachary Carter also moved Florida into a tie for the lead for defensive linemen from SEC schools taken in the first three rounds, with 25 total now.
Kaiir Elam’s selection in the first round extended the school’s streak of first-round picks to three years in a row as well. Florida has had a player selected in the first round of the NFL draft in nine of the last ten years. Elam was the third Gators cornerback drafted in the first round since 2016.
In total, 65 players went to the NFL from SEC schools, with Georgia leading the way with a draft-record 15 players taken. The next closest conference was the Big Ten with 48 players taken overall, while the Pac-12 and Big 12 combined had less players taken than the SEC — as both conferences produced 25 draft picks each.