Zachary Carter’s selection marks the 11th-straight NFL Draft a Gators defensive lineman was selected, tied for the second longest active streak.
LAS VEGAS – The Cincinnati Bengals selected former Gators defensive lineman Zachary Cater in the third round with the 95ht pick overall on Friday.
Carter becomes the 133rd defender and 51st defensive lineman drafted from Florida, which marks the 11th straight draft that a Gator DL was picked, tied for the second longest active streak. The pick also ties 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
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
Most Defensive Players Drafted since 2010 (NCAA)
Rk.
College
Picks
1
Alabama
57
2
Ohio State
48
2
LSU
48
4
Florida
43
5
Georgia
38
6
Clemson
37
7
Florida State
34
8
Michigan
31
8
Penn State
31
11
Miami (FL)
28
Gators DLs Drafted in First Three Rounds since 1967 (by Pick)
Season
Rnd
Pick
Overall
Team
Player
2001
1
3
3
Cleveland Browns
Gerard Warren
2015
1
3
3
Jacksonville Jaguars
Dante Fowler Jr.
1995
1
6
6
St. Louis Rams
Kevin Carter
2008
1
8
8
Jacksonville Jaguars
Derrick Harvey
1989
1
12
12
Chicago Bears
Trace Armstrong
1991
1
15
15
Pittsburgh Steelers
Huey Richardson
1995
1
15
15
Indianapolis Colts
Ellis Johnson
1999
1
16
16
Tennessee Titans
Jevon Kearse
2007
1
17
17
Denver Broncos
Jarvis Moss
1971
1
20
20
Los Angeles Rams
Jack Youngblood
2013
1
23
23
Minnesota Vikings
Sharif Floyd
1999
1
24
24
San Francisco 49ers
Reggie McGrew
2014
1
29
29
New England Patriots
Dominique Easley
2018
1
29
29
Jacksonville Jaguars
Taven Bryan
1978
2
10
38
Buffalo Bills
Scott Hutchinson
1982
2
11
38
St. Louis Cardinals
David Galloway
2010
2
21
53
New England Patriots
Jermaine Cunningham
2010
2
22
54
Cincinnati Bengals
Carlos Dunlap II
2019
3
4
68
New York Jets
Jachai Polite
1989
3
12
68
Dallas Cowboys
Rhondy Weston
2016
3
9
72
Chicago Bears
Jonathan Bullard
1996
3
17
78
Denver Broncos
Mark Campbell
2020
3
15
79
New York Jets
Jabari Zuniga
2021
3
31
95
Cincinnati Bengals
Zachary Carter
2007
3
33
97
San Francisco 49ers
Ray McDonald
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
Most DLs selected Since ’67 (SEC)
College
Total
Alabama
52
Florida
51
LSU
48
Auburn
38
Texas A&M
37
Georgia
34
Tennessee
29
Arkansas
27
Missouri
25
Mississippi State
24
Mississippi
22
Kentucky
21
South Carolina
15
Vanderbilt
8
Most DLs selected in first three rounds since ’67 (NCAA)
College
Total
Miami (FL)
32
Florida State
28
Notre Dame
27
Florida
25
Alabama
25
LSU
24
USC
24
Nebraska
22
Nebraska
22
Ohio State
21
Texas
20
Clemson
19
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
Former Florida cornerback Kaiir Elam was selected by the Buffalo Bills in the first round with the 23rd pick in the 2022 NFL Draft on Thursday night. The pick continued the streak of Florida being one of three (Michigan and USC) schools having a player picked in every draft in the common era, which began in 1967.
Last season’s AFC East champions, Buffalo traded up to the 23rd pick with the Baltimore Ravens in exchange for its 2022 first round pick (25th overall pick) and 4th round pick (130th) this year.
Elam becomes the Gators’ 54th first-round draft pick since 1967, which ranks second-most among the SEC and fifth in the NCAA. The pick also marks the third straight year with a first-round pick out of Florida and back-to-back corners going in the first round. He also is Florida’s fourth CB drafted since 2010, tied for second most in the SEC.
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:
“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. 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 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 on Kaiir Elam being the guy the organization wanted.
NOTES AFTER DAY 1:
* 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
* Six Gators defensive backs have been drafted in the first round since 2010, which ties for the second-most 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
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
