The Senior Bowl has come and gone as Florida Football had several NFL hopefuls in Mobile, AL last week looking to impress scouts and GMs.
One of Florida's more intriguing options hasn't gotten a ton of love from mock drafts, but he did just get a big endorsement from one of the most notable draft pundits.
Florida Football: Rising Stock
As we have noted a couple of times, Shemar James has been on the fringe of most mock drafts since he declared for the draft with a year of eligibility to spare.
James took part in the Senior Bowl and has the full attention of noted draft pundit Mel Kiper Jr.
Appearing on First Draft with Field Yates, Kiper had the following to say about James:
"This kid for three years when he was at his best looked like a guy who was just out there seeing things before everybody else did. Super instinctive, super aware, and he can do anything you want an off-ball linebacker to do. I mean, this guy can cover, he can go sideline-to-sideline, and he's moving faster than everybody else because he sees it quicker. I think that's what I always note. Shemar James always popped in games."
As Kiper also noted, James had to come back from injury in 2024 after dislocating his knee in 2023. While Kiper himself doesn't have James among his Day 1 draft picks, he also envisions an unlimited ceiling for the linebacker:
"Shemar James, hoo-hoo, this guy is gonna be a starting off-ball linebacker, and he's going to be, I think, a Pro Bowl-caliber linebacker in the NFL."
The NFL Combine starts February 27 and will run through March 2. The NFL Draft will then take place on April 24 and run through April 26. This year the draft is taking place in Green Bay.