The state of Florida should be well represented in the NFL Draft

By Jordan McPherson

Updated April 25, 2018 12:49 PM

Florida State defensive back Derwin James runs a drill during the NFL football scouting combine on Monday, March 5, 2018, in Indianapolis. James is the highest ranked player in the 2018 draft from a Florida college, according to both ESPN's Mel Kiper and NFL Network's Mike Mayock Darron Cummings AP

They have made their lists and checked them (at least) twice.

And now, the final NFL draft boards from ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. and the NFL Network's Mike Mayock are out. Kiper's list has his top 300 prospects who could be taken during the three-day draft that begins Thursday night. Mayock kept his list to just his top 100 players.

One common thread between the two (other than Penn State's Saquon Barkley being ranked No. 1): The state of Florida is well represented.

Twenty-seven players on Kiper's list — 9 percent — went to college in the Sunshine State. Another four played their high school careers in South Florida. As for Mayock, 13 of his 100 fit one of those two criteria.

Florida State and Miami each had seven players land inside Kiper's top 300. The University of Florida had six, UCF had four and the University of South Florida had three.

Below is the order in which those Florida groomed players appeared on Kiper's list, with their ranking by Mayock in parenthesis (if applicable). If we have written about any of these prospects recently, links to more in-depth coverage is also provided:

7: Florida State safety Derwin James (No. 6 by Mayock)

15: Pomapno Beach native and Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson (No. 23 by Mayock)

16: University of Florida defensive tackle Taven Bryan (No. 26 by Mayock)

17: Coconut Creek native and Alabama wide receiver Calvin Ridley (No. 27 by Mayock)

25: UCF cornerback Mike Hughes (No. 30 by Mayock)

28: Fort Lauderdale native and Georgia running back Sony Michel (No. 32 by Mayock)

61: UCF tight end Jordan Akins

71: Florida State defensive lineman Josh Sweat (No. 91 by Mayock)

74: Florida wide receiver Antonio Callaway

80: Florida cornerback Duke Dawson (No. 90 by Mayock)

82: UCF wide receiver Tre'Quan Smith (No. 82 by Mayock)

92: Miami defensive tackle R.J. McIntosh