Florida is one of three schools having a player picked in every draft in the common era, which began in 1967.
Las Vegas – Three former Florida Gators received the call during the 2022 NFL Draft, which finished with running back Dameon Pierce going to the Houston Texans in the fourth round (107 overall) Saturday.
Pierce became the 31st UF running back to be drafted and the 135th offensive player from Florida since 1967. He is also the third Gators running back drafted in the past four years, joining La’Mical Perine (2020, NY Jets, 4th round – 120 overall) and Jordan Scarlett (2019, Carolina Panthers, 5th round – 154 overall).
The Gators were also represented in the first and third rounds with cornerback Kaiir Elam going 23 overall to the Buffalo Bills Thursday and defensive lineman Zachary Carter drafted to the Bengals with 95th overall pick Friday.
Florida remains as one of three schools having a player picked in every draft in the common era, which began in 1967 (Florida, Michigan and USC).
UF also leads the State of Florida with the most selections in the last 10 drafts (2013-22) with 63, followed by FSU and Miami with 49 and 43, respectively.
KAIIR ELAM DRAFTED IN THE FIRST ROUND BY THE BUFFALO BILLS
Kaiir Elam – Buffalo Bills, 1st Round (No. 23 overall). Complete UF Bio HERE.<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__floridagators.com_sports_football_roster_kaiir-2Delam_14347&d=DwIFAg&c=sJ6xIWYx-zLMB3EPkvcnVg&r=o5LKAX7slotfFMyE71jI7L22NYBIi1-KbRGNSXudTPo&m=EozcSnNdVV7yvSWsrAo8leCbAXSPrF5yuyU2S85mcqmo3CUUoX_4JYrTkO-AIFRb&s=B8Z66nK1umQRUV1NhD9juT93IR8EGAIXjziT9Fk-aew&e= >
Cornerback Kaiir Elam opened this year’s draft for the Gators after being selected by the Buffalo Bills with the 23rd overall pick.
Elam became the Gators’ 54th first-round draft pick since 1967 (common draft era), which ranks second-most among the SEC and fifth in the NCAA. The pick also marked the third-straight year with a first-round pick out of Florida. He is Florida’s sixth DB drafted in the first round since 2010, which is tied for second most in the SEC.
Florida is one of only two schools in the nation to have had at least one first-round selection in nine of that last 10 NFL Drafts (2013-22).
A three-year letter winner, Elam played in 35 career games with 26 starts. He was a Coaches All-SEC First Team and AP All-SEC selection along with a Jim Thorpe Award Semifinalist in 2020. He totaled 79 tackles with 26 pass breakups and six interceptions. A member of the Coaches All-Freshman team in 2019, he has three pass breakups vs. No. 1 Alabama this past season and only allowed two catches in seven targets against the Tide
What they are saying about Kaiir Elam:
“There’s a lot to like about Kaiir Elam. He’s 6-foot-1, he’s 191 pounds. He can flat-out cover guys. He’s extremely athletic, has great ball skills, can run, likes to play press coverage and get his hands on you,” said Desmond Howard on the ABC broadcast. “He’s good in zone coverage as well at watching the quarterback’s eyes trying to beat them to throws. This is a great team for a Buffalo Bills team that really has a complete roster… this can be the piece that puts Buffalo over the top.”
-Desmond Howard on the ABC/ESPN broadcast
“It (the pick) fills a need, too. There were guys that we had first round grades on that you wouldn’t say is the top of our needs list. If you’re ranking I would say corner was at the higher end, you guys would probably say the top end. That’s usually when you’re going to see, if I’m gonna get aggressive, it’s usually when there’s a value there, and it fills a need. If it wasn’t more of a stronger need for us, I probably would have just waited and see what happens and just take the best player on the board. But again, I told you last year we thought a couple of times corner may be available, but when we got on the clock, those players were gone that fit that value.”
-Brandon Beane, Buffalo Bills General Manger
CINCINNATI BENGALS PICK ZACH CARTER IN THIRD ROUND
Zachary Carter – Cincinnati Bengal, 3rd Round (No. 95 overall). Complete UF Bio HERE.<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__floridagators.com_sports_football_roster_zachary-2Dcarter_14331&d=DwIFAg&c=sJ6xIWYx-zLMB3EPkvcnVg&r=o5LKAX7slotfFMyE71jI7L22NYBIi1-KbRGNSXudTPo&m=EozcSnNdVV7yvSWsrAo8leCbAXSPrF5yuyU2S85mcqmo3CUUoX_4JYrTkO-AIFRb&s=wKnXsDMr2WPyS0QiH-vJFLlw44VmMySt7Yy5mIyRAvI&e= >
The Cincinnati Bengals Friday selected defensive lineman Zachary Carter in the third round with the 95th overall pick.
He became the 133rd defender and 51st defensive lineman drafted from Florida, which marked the 11th-straight draft that a Gator DL was picked and tied for the second longest active streak.
The pick also tied Florida for the lead (25 picks) among DLs from SEC schools in the first three rounds from 1967. UF is second all-time in the SEC with 51 defensive linemen drafted since the modern draft era.
Across 46 career games for the Gators, Carter totaled 107 tackles, 28.8 TFLs and 17.5 sacks. In the 2021 season opener, he had three sacks to total 23 yards of loss along with a forced fumble to earn one of two career SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week awards. His 11.0 tackles for a loss this past season ranked tied for 39th in FBS as he recorded one in every game, but three. The Reese’s Senior Bowl invitee and member of the 2021 SEC Community Service Team, he ended with 21 quarterback hurries.
What they are saying about Zach Carter:
“[We’re] excited about this guy. We’ve been talking about him for a while. I think that he’s going to bring a lot of value over there to our defense and help provide some depth and competition over there. So, we’ll be trying to get him over here and get to know him a little bit better, but he’s a guy we have high regard for.”
-Zac Taylor, Cincinnati Bengal Head Coach.
DAMEON PIERCE GOES TO HOUSTON EARLY IN THE FOURTH ROUND
Dameon Pierce – Houston Texans, 4th Round (No. 107 overall). Complete UF Bio HERE.<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__floridagators.com_sports_football_roster_dameon-2Dpierce_14386&d=DwIFAg&c=sJ6xIWYx-zLMB3EPkvcnVg&r=o5LKAX7slotfFMyE71jI7L22NYBIi1-KbRGNSXudTPo&m=EozcSnNdVV7yvSWsrAo8leCbAXSPrF5yuyU2S85mcqmo3CUUoX_4JYrTkO-AIFRb&s=EiuL2Sn2S2jorQ8KRFJZX-9RKgUXy7yae0s1_RhyegE&e= >
Pierce became the 31st UF running back to be drafted and the 135th offensive player from Florida since 1967. He is also the third Gators running back drafted in the past four years, joining La’Mical Perine (2020, NY Jets, 4th round – 120 overall) and Jordan Scarlett (2019, Carolina Panthers, 5th round – 154 overall).
The native of Bainbridge, Ga., he totaled 1,806 rushing yards, 422 receiving yards, 23 rushing and five receiving touchdowns in his 50-game career as a Gators. He had a team-leading 16 touchdowns last season to tie sixth all-time in a single season. Pierce averaged 5.5 yards per attempt as his 23 rushing touchdowns are tied for 10th all-tine in program history. He concluded his senior year with five multi-scoring performances and a score in nine of 13 games.
NOTABLE
* Florida is one of three (Michigan and USC) schools having a player picked in every draft in the common era, which began in 1967.
* Florida is one of only two schools in the nation to have had at least one first-round selection in nine of that last 10 NFL Drafts (2013-22).
* Florida has had 54 first-round picks since 1967 (common draft era), which ranks fifth in the nation and second in the SEC
Most 1st Rnd. Picks (NCAA) since ’67
Rk.
College
1st Rd Picks
1
Ohio State
74
2
USC
73
3
Alabama
66
4
Miami (FL)
62
5
Florida
54
6
Florida State
46
7
Notre Dame
45
* Six Gators defensive backs have been drafted in the first round since 2010, which ties for the second-most in the SEC.
Most SEC DBs in the 1st Rnd. since 2010
Rk.
School
Picks
1
Alabama
8
2
Florida
6
2
LSU
6
4
Georgia
3
5
South Carolina
2
* With Zach Carter’s selection in the third round, Florida has the third-most picks in the top-three rounds of the draft among SEC school since 1967.
Most Top 3 Rnd. Picks (SEC) since
1967
Rk.
College
Total
1
Alabama
134
2
LSU
122
3
Florida
119
4
Tennessee
103
5
Texas A&M
93
6
Georgia
90
7
Auburn
76
8
Arkansas
45
9
Mississippi
45
9
Mississippi State
44
11
Missouri
41
12
South Carolina
39
13
Kentucky
33
14
Vanderbilt
21
* Florida ranks third in the nation and second in the SEC for most defensive linemen drafted since 1967.
Most DLs selected Since ’67 (NCAA)
College
Total
Miami (FL)
57
Alabama
52
Florida
51
Florida State
50
LSU
48
USC
49
Nebraska
47
Notre Dame
45
Oklahoma
44
Texas
41
* Florida is tied for the lead (25 picks) among DLs from SEC schools in the first three rounds from 1967.
Most DLs selected in first three rounds since ’67 (SEC)
College
Total
Florida
25
Alabama
25
LSU
24
Texas A&M
19
Auburn
17
Tennessee
17
Georgia
12
Mississippi
10
Arkansas
9
Kentucky
9
Mississippi State
8
Missouri
7
South Carolina
4
Vanderbilt
2
* Florida leads the State of Florida with the most selections in the last 10 drafts (2013-22)
Most Overall Selections in the State of Florida in the Last 10 NFL Drafts (2013-22)
College
Total
Florida
63
Florida State
49
Miami
43
UCF
19
