Florida football’s 2022 NFL draft and free agent tracker

Didn’t watch the draft or catch all of the undrafted free agent signings that relate to UF? Gators Wire has got you covered.

The 2022 NFL draft has come and gone and another crop of talent is headed to the pros from Gainesville. Three players heard their names called over as many days of the draft, but several more former Gators are finding deals as undrafted free agents.

There’s no guarantee that any of the recent signees make it on an opening day roster or even a practice squad for that matter, but it’s the opportunity most of these players have been working toward for most of their lives. Squandering this chance to fulfill the dream of being an NFL athlete is something they aim to avoid.

There could be more to come too. While names like linebacker [autotag]Jeremiah Moon[/autotag] and running back [autotag]Malik Davis[/autotag] are already locked up, players such as offensive lineman [autotag]Stewart Reese[/autotag] and wide receiver [autotag]Rick Wells[/autotag] are still available.

With that said, let’s take a look at each member of the 2021 Florida Gators football team that currently finds himself with an NFL team.

Jeremiah Moon passed over in 2022 NFL draft, signs as UDFA

LB Jeremiah Moon didn’t hear his name called during the 2022 NFL draft, but it didn’t take very long for him to find a new home once the spectacle concluded.

No NFL team took a chance on former Florida Gator [autotag]Jeremiah Moon[/autotag] in the late rounds of the 2022 NFL draft, but the explosive edge defender turned linebacker is set to sign a contract with the Baltimore Ravens, according to a report from PFF’s Doug Kyed.

Moon’s combine performance showed just how much athleticism is on the table with him, but there is a history of injuries that may have soured his draft stock. Three of Moon’s six seasons ended prematurely due to injury, but he proved himself in 2021 by stepping into a starting linebacker role for the Gators following [autotag]Ventrell Miller[/autotag]’s torn bicep. Moon finished as a finalist for the Mayo Clinic Comeback Player of the Year Award and racked up 40 total tackles (20 solo), 3.5 tackles for loss, two sacks and a forced fumble.

At 6-foot-5-inches tall and 245 pounds, Moon possesses great size for an NFL linebacker and has the explosiveness to make an impact on a roster following a year or two of development. His 40.5-inch vertical and 11-foot-plus broad jump a the combine was considered elite by Math Bomb, but staying healthy will be the real key.

Although he wasn’t one of the three Gators drafted, Moon came out of the free-agent pool almost immediately following the draft’s conclusion. He was the fourth and final Gator expected to be selected behind Buffalo Bills first-rounder [autotag]Kaiir Elam[/autotag], Cincinnati Bengals third-rounder [autotag]Zachary Carter[/autotag] and Houston Texans fourth-rounder [autotag]Dameon Pierce[/autotag], but his name wasn’t a part of the late run of athletic defensive players taken in the final rounds.

Still, Moon will get his shot at the pros and wouldn’t be the first to make it from a practice squad to a gameday roster.

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Former Gator LB James Houston drafted by Lions in 6th round

Old friend alert! James Houston IV, who transferred to Jackson State before the 2021 season, has been drafted by the Detroit Lions.

Florida only had three players from the 2021 team selected in the 2022 NFL draft, but many in Gator Nation are celebrating the Detroit Lions‘ sixth-round pick, former Gator and Jackson State linebacker [autotag]James Houston IV[/autotag].

Houston signed with Florida as a three-star recruit out of American Heritage in Fort Lauderdale, Florida,  in 2017 and promptly sat out his first year with the team due to charges of credit card fraud. He served as a reserve linebacker in all 13 games in 2018 and 2019 before playing just nine during his junior year.

He joined Deion Sanders at Jackson State University for his redshirt senior season and finished tied for second across all FCS teams with 16.5 sacks. Gambling on himself paid for Houston and he became coach Prime Time’s first NFL product as the No. 217 overall pick in the draft.

Interestingly, Houston said that he had no contact with the Lions during his pre-draft preparations. Detroit also took edge rushers Aidan Hutchinson (Michigan) and John Paschal (Kentucky) in the first two rounds, so it’s clear that the front office wanted to load up at the position through the draft.

It’s not technically a Florida player gone pro, but it’ll do in a down year for the Gators to put it kindly. He joins cornerback [autotag]Kaiir Elam[/autotag] (Bills), defensive tackle [autotag]Zachary Carter[/autotag] (Bengals) and [autotag]Dameon Pierce[/autotag] (Texans) as members of the 2020 Gators that went in this year’s draft.

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Twitter reactions to the Cincinnati Bengals selecting Florida’s Zachary Carter

Congratulations to Zachary Carter who was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in the third round of the 2022 NFL draft on Friday.

Florida defensive end [autotag]Zachary Carter[/autotag] was the second player from the Orange and Blue to hear his name called in the 2022 NFL draft. The Cincinnati Bengals selected him with the 95th overall pick in the third round. It’s an exciting time for Carter and Gators fans as he joins a team that came up just short in this year’s Super Bowl.

Carter with the Gators racked up 102 tackles, 26 tackles for a loss, 17 sacks, eight pass deflections, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery. In his final season, he recorded 31 combined tackles, 11.5 tackles for a loss and 7.5 sacks.

Carter originally was a member of former coach [autotag]Jim McElwain[/autotag]’s 2017 recruiting class. The 247Sports composite rankings had him as the 130th overall prospect, the third-best player at his position and the 23rd most talented player in the state of Florida.

Gators and Bengals fans took to Twitter in full force to welcome and congratulate Carter. Here are the best tweets that Gators Wire found.

Florida running back Dameon Pierce taken in 4th round by Houston Texans

Congratulations to Florida running back Dameon Pierce who was just selected by the Houston Texans in the 2022 NFL draft.

It may have taken Florida running back [autotag]Dameon Pierce[/autotag] a while for his name to be called but it finally was on Saturday. The Houston Texans selected Pierce with the 107th pick in the fourth round, becoming the third former Gator to be chosen in the 2022 NFL draft.

Pierce was criminally underused during his four years at Florida. Former head coach [autotag]Dan Mullen[/autotag] rarely gave Pierce more than 10 carries in a game, despite holding an average of 5.5 yards per attempt during his career. In his final season, he racked up 574 yards on 100 carries for 13 touchdowns. He also contributed 19 catches for 216 yards and three more scores.

NFL.com believes Pierce can be a good backup with the potential to become a starter. He should have a long career ahead of him in the league since he doesn’t have much mileage on him coming out of college.

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Cincinnati Bengals select Zachary Carter at No. 95 in 3rd round

The wait is over! Zachary Carter’s name has been called, and the former Gator is headed to the Super Bowl runner up.

Florida’s leader on the defensive line over the past two seasons, defensive tackle [autotag]Zachary Carter[/autotag], is headed to the Cincinnati Bengals, who selected the former Gator with the 95th overall pick in the third round of the 2022 NFL draft.

That makes him the second UF alumnus to come off the board in the draft behind cornerback [autotag]Kaiir Elam[/autotag], who was taken by the Buffalo Bills with the 23rd pick overall. NFL.com projected Carter as an early fourth-rounder and many expected his teammate, running back [autotag]Dameon Pierce[/autotag], to be taken ahead of him, but the Bengals wanted their guy on Friday night.

Carter signed with the Gators as a four-star recruit out of Hillsborough High in Tampa. He was ranked No. 130 overall in the class of 2017 and No. 3 at strongside defensive end. After redshirting in his freshman year, Carter saw glimpses of the field in 2018 as a reserve defensive lineman and special teams guy. He wouldn’t become a regular player on the defense until 2019.

As a redshirt sophomore, Carter appeared in all 13 games for Florida, starting two of them against Vanderbilt and Missouri. He finished with a then-career-high 4.5 sacks and 7.0 tackles for loss. Carter finally got a regular starting role in 2020 playing 11 games at defensive tackle.

He came into 2021 as the unquestioned leader of the defensive line and quickly backed it up with a three-sack game against Florida Atlantic. That level of production didn’t quite hold up, but Carter finished the season with eight sacks and 11 tackles for loss.

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WATCH: The moment Kaiir Elam found out he was headed to Buffalo

How do you celebrate being drafted to the NFL? With a big ol’ Gator Chomp, of course.

A lifelong dream came to fruition Thursday night as the Buffalo Bills drafted former Gators cornerback [autotag]Kaiir Elam[/autotag] at No. 23 in the first round.

The moment Elam got word of the Bills’ decision was captured on camera and it was an emotional moment. He picked up the phone and told the Buffalo staff that he was in Palm Beach, Florida, before getting the good news. Fighting back tears of joy, Elam thanked his new coach for the opportunity as his friends and family began to celebrate in the background.

Shortly after, everyone at the watch party celebrated again as things became official and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell announced the pick. Elam removed his “self-made” hat and donned a fresh blue and red cap with the Bills logo front and center. Don’t worry about him forgetting his roots, though. Elam made sure to give a big Gator Chomp in celebration.

Elam isn’t the only one in the video that quickly acquires some Buffalo gear. There was a sense coming into the draft that Buffalo could be a likely destination after strong interviews with the team, so the family prepared accordingly. Speaking to WKBW, an ABC affiliate in Buffalo, Elam said that he felt something special when visiting with the Bills and that it was a huge relief to finally come off the board.

The Bills traded up two spots to get Elam after the Kansas City Chiefs took Trent McDuffie with the 21st overall pick. General manager Brandon Beane said that Elam was the only player left on the Bills’ board with a first-round grade and they felt like they needed to get him.

Joining the Bills puts Elam in a good spot to contend for a championship at the onset of his professional career. That opportunity isn’t lost on him, and he says that his goal now is to win a Super Bowl.

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Best Twitter reactions to Buffalo Bills’ selection of Florida CB Kaiir Elam

Here are the best Twitter reactions to Florida cornerback being drafted by the Buffalo Bills with the 23rd overall pick.

The Buffalo Bills drafted Florida cornerback [autotag]Kaiir Elam[/autotag] to pair opposite of their star defensive back Tre’Davious White with the 23rd overall pick in the 2022 NFL draft on Thursday. He was also the first Gators player to hear his name called.

Elam was a lockdown corner the past three seasons under former Gators head coach [autotag]Dan Mullen[/autotag] and defensive coordinator [autotag]Todd Grantham[/autotag]. He recorded 78 career total tackles, 2.5 tackles for a loss, five interceptions, 20 pass deflections and a fumble recovery. In his final season with Florida, Elam tallied 29 total tackles, 1.5 for a loss, one pick and five pass deflections in only 10 games.

He came to the Swamp as a four-star recruit, the 48th overall prospect and the sixth-best player at his position in the 2019 recruiting class, according to the 247Sports composite rankings.

It’s exciting for Elam and for Gators fans because he joins a Super Bowl-contending team right away. The Bills came up just short in the AFC Divisional Round versus the Kansas City Chiefs.

Here are some of the best Twitter reactions to Elam getting selected in the first round by the Bills.

Florida Gators NFL draft history: The last 30 Gators to be selected in the first round

A look back at the last 30 Florida Gators to be selected in the first round, from Kyle Pitts to Ike Hilliard.

The Florida Gators have produced 56 total first-round NFL draft picks in program history, the sixth-most in the nation.

Just in the last 10 years, Florida has had multiple players chosen in the first round on four occasions, and while there’s never been a No. 1 overall pick from Florida, scores of Gators have gone on to NFL stardom.

2010 was Florida’s best year for first-round talent in recent NFL history, as three Gators – Joe Haden, Maurkice Pouncey and Tim Tebow – were selected within the first 25 picks.

Here’s a look back at every Florida Gators star drafted in the first round of the NFL draft since 1997.

Everything you need to know to follow the 2022 NFL draft

It’s not the biggest crop of future Gators this year, but here’s what you need to know to follow for this year’s draft.

The 2022 NFL draft has finally arrived as the cream of the college football crop gets set to make their move into the professional ranks. The annual event is being held in Las Vegas, Nevada, this year, with the first round of picks taking place on Thursday night while the remaining six rounds follow on Friday and Saturday.

For fans of the Florida Gators, there are four student-athletes who are expected to be selected at some point over the next few days. Cornerback Kaiir Elam is expected to go first — and many have mocked him in the first round — while running back Dameon Pierce is very likely to go on Day 2. Defensive end Zachary Carter and linebacker Jeremiah Moon are expected to be taken in the later rounds, respectively.

Below is a look at everything you need to know to follow the NFL draft starting on Thursday night as well as some other helpful information to improve your viewing pleasure. Fingers crossed that the Orange and Blue are well-represented despite one of the lightest draft classes in recent memory.