![Florida Gators defensive lineman Cam Jackson (99) runs out of the tunnel with the team as fireworks and fire shoot out of towers before the start of the game at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, FL on Saturday, October 5, 2024. [Doug Engle/Gainesville Sun]](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,x_0,y_654,w_3680,h_2070/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/213/01jscebv6bfpzabvnc8d.jpg "Florida Gators defensive lineman Cam Jackson (99) runs out of the tunnel with the team as fireworks and fire shoot out of towers before the start of the game at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, FL on Saturday, October 5, 2024. [Doug Engle/Gainesville Sun]")
The NFL Draft is this week in Green Bay, and Florida Football might have one of the more difficult pools of players to try and project a landing spot for. The Gators sent a bunch of players to the NFL Combine, and had some standout performances at their Pro Day, but mock drafts have been all over the place trying to project which Gators will get drafted and which ones will be UDFAs.
ESPN just dropped a full seven-round mock draft, and it has five players projected to get selected this week.
Cam Jackson is still the first member of Florida Football off the board
Last week, we highlighted how mock drafts didn't know what to do with Cam Jackson. He has been featured as high as the 3rd round in some mock drafts floating around.
The ESPN projection has Jackson going in the 5th round to San Francisco, which would reunite Jackson with Ricky Pearsall.
Chimere Dike boosted his stock
Coming into the 2024 season, Chimere Dike was probably nowhere near getting drafted. And even midway through the 2024 campaign one would probably argue that Dike wasn't a draft prospect.
But his strong back half of the season, combined with the 4.34 second 40-yard dash he ran at the NFL Combine, seems to have solidified Dike as a solid Day 3 pick.
ESPN has him in the 5th round, going to Green Bay.
Shemar James gets his chance
It was a bit of a risk for Shemar James to leave for the NFL Draft early, considering he wasn't projected as a Day 2 pick. And his 4.69 second 40-yard dash probably didn't help his confidence heading into Draft Day.
But the calling card for James is his read of the game and ESPN views him as a 5th round pick heading to Seattle.
Elijhah Badger, Badger, Badger, Badger
He came to Gainesville as a yards-after-catch receiver, and Gator fans expected him to pair well with Tre Wilson. What he emerged as in the end was the main deep threat for DJ Lagway who was among the leaders in the nation in yards per catch.
Badger doesn't have elite speed, but it's good enough to be a viable NFL receiver and ESPN has him going in the 6th round to Los Angeles Chargers.
Jason Marshall gets his shot
At a point prior to the 2023 season, Jason Marshall was viewed as a potential first-round pick. But he had a disappointing 2023 campaign, and when he was having a great 2024 campaign, he got hurt against Kentucky and was knocked out for the rest of the year.
Marshall feels like a high-upside project for a number of teams, and while ESPN has him going in the 6th round, it wouldn't be shocking to see a team needing a DB to take a shot at him sooner.
UDFA's
There are a handful of other Gators who easily could get drafted but ESPN did not include in its mock draft.
Notably, Brandon Crenshaw-Dickson was not included nor was Montrell Johnson. Crenshaw-Dickson has been viewed as a potential 4th round pick in some other mock drafts while Johnson ran 4.41 second in the 40 at the Combine.
Desmond Watson, Graham Mertz, and Trikweze Bridges are among the other Gators who are long shots to get drafted but should get into a training camp as an undrafted free agent.