Super Bowl LVII is officially in the books after the Kansas City Chiefs rallied to defeat the Philadelphia Eagles in large part to a second-half breakout by former Florida Gator [autotag]Kadarius Toney[/autotag]. The former first-round draft pick in 2021 by the New York Giants made his way to the midlands via a midseason trade, and the rest as they say is history.
The next big event for the National Football League is its annual amateur draft, which serendipitously takes place in Kansas City, Missouri, this year from April 27 to 29. Among the many in the media casting their prognostications is CBS Sports’ Ryan Wilson, who published his draft board and included a pair of Gators in the first half of the opening round.
Here is what he had to offer on Gainesville native [autotag]Anthony Richardson[/autotag], who was the starting signal-caller for the Orange and Blue this season.
Anthony Richardson is one of the most exciting prospects in this class. The problem: he’s short on experience, and while his physical tools are rare, the Panthers are in dire need of a starting QB right now. David Tepper could choose to go the free agency route (again), but that has been, shall we say, a crapshoot. At the end of the day, Carolina may have to move inside the top 5 if it wants to get a quarterback with Day 1 starter potential.
The other member of [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag]’s 2021 squad to make the mock is offensive lineman [autotag]O’Cyrus Torrence[/autotag], who followed his head coach from the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns to Florida and found a tremendous amount of success, earning a consensus All-American honor.
O’Cyrus Torrence transferred from Louisiana and didn’t miss a beat. He was dominant for Florida last fall, he was dominant during Senior Bowl practices, and if history is any guide, he’ll be dominant in the NFL, too.
The previous UF alumni taken in the first round of the draft are cornerback [autotag]Kaiir Elam[/autotag] (2022, No. 23), tight end [autotag]Kyle Pitts[/autotag] (2021, No. 4), wide receiver [autotag]Kadarius Toney[/autotag] (2021, No. 20) and cornerback [autotag]CJ Henderson[/autotag] (2020, No. 9).
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