Saturday was a productive day for the Florida Gators as seven players were selected on Day 3 of the NFL Draft. When the dust settled, Florida wound up with the 6th most players selected of any school in the country.
There were plenty of surprises in the draft when it came to players outside of Florida, but there were four notable surprises, both good and bad, for the Gators over the three days in Green Bay.
Florida's Trikweze Bridges gets drafted to the Los Angeles Chargers
After not getting an invite to the NFL Combine, most mock drafts had Trikweze Bridges nowhere near their radar to get drafted. But Bridges had an excellent Pro Day that included a 4.45-second 40-yard dash, and those paying attention to the Gators in 2024 would note that Bridges was one of the key members of the defense down the stretch.
So even though mock drafts didn't have Bridges getting selected, it was a worthwhile pick from the Chargers.
Chimere Dike is the first pick of Day 3
After a monster NFL Combine, Chimere Dike saw his draft stock shoot up. But even then, there were only a couple of mock drafts that had him sniffing the fourth round, while the bulk of mock drafts still viewed him as a 5th or 6th round guy.
Instead, he was the first pick of the 4th round and is off to Tennessee to join forced with Cam Ward
Cam Jackson slips to the 5th round to the Carolina Panthers
Coming into the draft, Cam Jackson felt like the Gator who would go first. Mock drafts had Jackson as a probable 4th round pick, and some had him flirting with the third round.
So, watching him fall to the 5th round was a bit surprising, but Panthers fans don't seem to mind that they were able to grab him when they did.
Montrell Johnson goes undrafted
After the NFL Combine, Montrell Johnson just never got a big boost in his draft stock. Even after running a 4.41-second 40-yard dash, faster than Trevor Etienne, he was viewed as a 6th or 7th-round guy.
It was weird that no one was willing to take a flyer on him, though, and he is off the Philadelphia as a UDFA