Is former Gators center Brett Heggie a sleeper in the 2021 NFL Draft?

As we get closer to the 2021 NFL Draft, analysts and draft junkies will start to have a list of their favorite guys they would draft. These guys may not necessarily be the top-ranked, most talked about players in the draft, but instead, they are players that people feel are being slept on and will have successful NFL careers. One name that we have not mentioned, but NFL Network’s Charles Davis has, is former Florida Gators offensive lineman Brett Heggie.

Heggie has not received much draft buzz, and I personally felt he would go undrafted in the 2021 NFL Draft. However, NFL Network’s Davis said he would “pound the table” for Heggie and had this to say:

"Heggie battled through injuries in his first two seasons and answered the bell in the SEC against some big-time talents in the past two years. I’m a big fan of his intelligence, toughness and physicality. He’s going to be dependable. Years ago, I saw Corey Linsley play at Cal when he was with Ohio State. I was really impressed with the way he played in that Buckeyes victory. We got to the draft the next spring, and he ended up going in the fifth round to Green Bay. That stuck with me, because I thought he was a good player. He turned out to be an incredible value for the Packers, earning first-team All-Pro honors last season, and he was rewarded last month by the Chargers with a free-agent deal that made him the league’s highest-paid center. Heggie will probably be drafted on Day 3, and he could follow the same kind of path as Linsley, becoming a starting center before long."

That is extremely high praise from Davis, as newly signed Los Angeles Chargers center Corey Linsley is the best center in the NFL.

I agree that if Heggie is drafted, it would be Day 3, but I feel it would be very late on Day 3. I will say, Heggie does have versatility playing guard and center at Florida, so I could see a team pulling the trigger earlier than that.

I think Heggie would be best suited to a team where he can sit behind a great center, maybe even someone like Linsey, so he can learn and progress as a player. He is not ready to play in Year 1, and it will take some time for him to develop into a starter.

Regardless, it is nice to see yet another former Florida Gators player in the draft getting some love. Heggie did his job at Florida and was part of one of their explosive offense last season. If Heggie can get drafted, Florida will have a very impressive number of draft picks this year, which is good for the former Gators, and it is good for future Gators in recruiting.