Florida Football: What Gator fans should watch for on Day 3 of NFL Draft

Day 2 of the NFL Draft came and went and it was a quiet day for Florida Football. After the fireworks of getting Ricky Pearsall drafted in the first round, no Gators were taken in the second or third round of the draft.

As the final day of the draft gets underway, here are three story lines for Gator fans to follow as the festivities get underway at 12 PM.

Florida Football: Draft Day

1. Does Kingsley Eguakun get drafted?

Beyond Pearsall, the only other Gator coming into the 2024 draft with any hope of having his named called was center Kingsley Eguakun. After an injury riddled season, Eguakun is seen as a 6th or 7th round prospect at best, depending upon the rankings one wants to use.

If Eguakun does get drafted and Florida finishes with two draft picks, it will be the fewest amount the Gators have had since 2012 when Jaye Howard and Chris Rainey had their names called. But if Eguakun doesn't get his named called and Pearsall winds up as the only one, it will be the first time since 1980 Florida only had one player drafted (Scot Brantley).

2. What happened with Miami?

Coming into the 2023 season, there were some prognostications that claimed the Miami Hurricanes could have as many as five guys drafted in the first round. That never came to fruition and if it wasn't for the LA Rams drafting Kamren Kinchens with the second to last pick of the third round, the Hurricanes would be entering Day 3 of the draft with zero players drafted.

Some have argued its a sign of what Mario Cristobal inherited in Coral Gables, but others have pointed out he wasn't exactly churning guys out to the NFL when he was at Oregon.

3. Do any other Gators sign as an UDFA?

Perhaps emblematic of the state of the Gators during the 2023 and a sign of the youth that Billy Napier was forced to play, Florida is not only expected to have its fewest amount of draftees in over a decade, but the list of guys who could sign as an undrafted free agent isn't the deepest either.

At Florida's Pro Day, Lyndell Hudson, Micah Leon, Eddie Battle, Jacob Watkins, and Griffin McDowell went through workouts to try and impress NFL. Of that group, Hudson is the only one who feels like he has any kind of shot to make it to an NFL training camp. He transferred to Florida last year after four years with FIU and did appear in seven games in 2023, starting two (Charlotte and Vanderbilt).