Breaking down where the Gators rank at developing NFL draft talent
One of the most important benefits a school can offer its athletes is the ability to step to the next level after their collegiate career — especially among the big three sports of football, basketball and baseball. Programs that place their former players into the professional ranks have a leg up against their competitors on the recruiting front as the allure of future returns is hard to turn down.
Among the top schools in the nation at landing its alumni in the NFL draft is the University of Florida, which is the only institution to have a player taken in every NFL draft in the common era. The Orange and Blue have also had a player selected in the first round in the past three drafts and nine of the last 10 years.
Using the 247Sports composite rating, The Athletic’s college football staff tallied the total three-, four- and five-star prospects signed at each of the 65 Power 5 programs from 2009 through 2019 and how many of each star rating were drafted from 2012 through 2022 in the seven-round event that features more than 250 picks each year, tallying the percentages for each school with the resulting data.
According to The Athletic’s numbers, Florida has been the sixth-best at turning five-star recruits into NFL draft picks at a 66.7% clip (12 of 18). Interestingly, the Stanford Cardinals are at the top of the list with their 83.3% success rate, landing five of six five-stars in the annual selection process. Three other SEC schools were listed: No. 3 Texas A&M Aggies (8 of 11, 72.7%); No. 5 Alabama Crimson Tide (30 of 44, 68.2%); No. 9 Georgia Bulldogs (22 of 34, 64.7%).
The Gators did not make the top 10 for four-star recruits but did come in at No. 4 when it comes to turning three-star recruits into NFL draft picks, successfully graduating 21 prospects out of 113 for an 18.6% clip. They trail only the Ohio State Buckeyes (14 of 68, 20.6%), LSU Tigers (21 of 103, 20.4%) and Alabama (13 of 65, 20.0%) in that department, respectively. The Arkansas Razorbacks (17 of 106, 16.0%) were also listed at No. 6 and represent the only other SEC team in that category.
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