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The 2024 NFL Draft begins Thursday night in Detroit.
Only the first round of the draft will take place Thursday. The second and third rounds will be Friday with rounds 5-7 on Saturday.
The Stage is set for Night 1 of the 2024 #NFLDraft, courtesy of @Lowes! 🤩 pic.twitter.com/6oVS873HRq
— NFL (@NFL) April 25, 2024
Kiper Jr. Predicts Record-Breaking First Round
Draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. predicts a record number of offensive players to be selected in the first round. The current record is 19 offensive players selected, which has happened three different times (1968, 2004, 2009). “We might see 21 this year, and we’ll definitely get 20,” Kiper Jr. states in the article.
He also projects the first seven picks of the draft to all be offensive players. Kiper Jr. has four of the first five picks being quarterbacks. He projects Heisman Trophy winners Caleb Williams and Jayden Daniels kicking off the draft, followed by Drake Maye at three and J.J. McCarthy at five.
Wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. is projected as the fourth pick. If drafted fourth, he would be the highest receiver selected in the draft since Amari Cooper (No. 4 pick) in 2015.
Where Will Former Gators Land?
Former Florida Gators wideout Ricky Pearsall is expected be drafted in the second round, according to ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr., Matt Miller and Jordan Reid. However, Pearsall received as high as a first-round projection from Gennaro Filice of NFL.com. He slotted Pearsall at pick 32 to the Kansas City Chiefs in his latest mock draft.
Offensive lineman Kingsley Eguakun is the other Gators football representative in this year’s draft. Eguakun is a projected seventh-round pick, according to ESPN’s Jordan Reid.
Pearsall and Eguakun are both ranked 10th in their respective positions, according to Kiper Jr.’s Big Board prospect rankings.
All the time, the effort, the work… is for this moment. #NFLDraft | @S1ickSzn pic.twitter.com/ebY3LWqr6s
— Florida Gators Football (@GatorsFB) April 25, 2024
The Chicago Bears have the first overall pick.
Coverage of the draft starts on WRUF at 7 p.m.
