Gridiron Heroics partners with Draft Scout to give each school’s Top 5 NFL Draft prospects in the SEC. Welcome to a list of the Florida Top 5 NFL Draft prospects for the 2023 class (underclassmen will come in when they actually declare), as seen by Draft Scout.
Each week brings us closer and closer to one of the most anticipated days on the sports calendar — the NFL Draft. This year’s draft will be held in Kansas City, Mo. from April 27-29.
Our series will run beginning Oct. 31 and running for five consecutive days, with three schools running per day in alphabetical order. A master conference list of the SEC’s Top 20 NFL draft prospects will wrap things up on Friday, Nov. 4. Please check the team links below frequently so you can check out the other schools’ top prospects as the week progresses.
SEC TOP 25 NFL PROSPECTS FOR 2023: Overall SEC Top Prospect List
SEC EAST PROSPECTS FOR 2023: Florida | Georgia | Kentucky | Mizzou | South Carolina | Tennessee | Vanderbilt
SEC WEST PROSPECTS FOR 2023: Alabama | Arkansas | Auburn | LSU | Mississippi State | Ole Miss | Texas A&M
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So we all know that not every team in the country has five surefire draft picks on it. Some programs do, especially in some of the more elite conferences, but the vast majority don’t have that many top-flight prospects. But, we also know that the definition “top-flight” doesn’t always pan out, and at the same time that strong undrafted free agent everybody forgot? He ends up making an NFL and flourishing.
Below is a look at Florida’s Top 5 Draft Prospects, and how they project in the eyes of Draft Scout. For now, we’ll go strictly with seniors, as no underclassmen have been allowed to declare earlier yet, though when they do? We’ll update the lists below.
FLORIDA TOP 5 NFL DRAFT PROSPECTS OF 2023 CLASS
NO. 1 PROSPECT
NAME: O’Cyrus Torrence (OG)
DRAFTSCOUT PROJECTION: 2nd round
CAREER STATISTICS: Transferred to Florida this year after three years at Louisiana-Lafayette. Has started in seven games in 2022.
THE TRUTH: The NFL scouts love this guy. Could he use the “CoVid rule” for another year, since he never took a redshirt? Yeah, he could — but why? He’s already good enough. Torrence is already being looked at by many NFL teams as one of the best — if not the best — offensive guards coming out of the 2023 draft class. Yes, we don’t know who is coming out early yet, but we know Torrence is. Don’t be surprised if he drifts up the draft charts when we hit the spring.
NO. 2 PROSPECT
NAME: Trey Dean III (FS)
DRAFTSCOUT PROJECTION: 5th to 6th round
CAREER STATISTICS: 230 career tackles, 23 passes defended, 4 INTs, 12.5 TFLs,
THE TRUTH: Dean has been seen as a potential 4th to 7th-rated strong safety/free safety by our partners at DraftScout. Hell, if he’d come out in 2021 he probably could have gotten a job in the pros — but now it’s a definite. Keep an eye on “Trey” as things progress in the NFL Draft process. Scouts love loyalty, and he’s been in the Florida Gators’ program since day one as a true freshman in 2018 — when he performed as a reserve DB and a special teams star. He’s the real deal.
NO. 3 PROSPECT
NAME: Justin Shorter (WR)
DRAFTSCOUT PROJECTION: 7th to HPFA round
CAREER STATISTICS:
THE TRUTH: Shorter is a talented prospect who came from Penn State before the 2020 season and has performed ever since. So far this year he’s been a starter in all eight games as a redshirt junior (thank you CoVid) and he’s been a solid contributor.
NO. 4 PROSPECT
NAME: Ventrell Miller (ILB)
DRAFTSCOUT PROJECTION: 7th to HPFA round
CAREER STATISTICS: Miller has recorded 220 career tackles with the Gators, with 19.5 tackles for loss.
THE TRUTH: Ventrill Miller came from a blue-blood Polk County program — Kathleen. From the moment he hit the field as a redshirt freshman in 2018 he’s been a contributor to Florida Gators football. As a reserve LB in 2018, he played in 13 games, and his career has only flourished since then.
NO. 5 PROSPECT
NAME: Richard Gouraige (OT)
DRAFTSCOUT PROJECTION: 7th to HPFA round
CAREER STATISTICS: Gouriage has played in 36 career games since 2019 before he ever entered his senior season with the Florida Gators. The Tampa native has been a mainstay for Florida.
THE TRUTH: A knee injury is in the past, and this stout lineman is somebody to keep an eye on going into the late rounds of the 2023 draft.
