{"id":378699,"date":"2026-08-22T23:20:08","date_gmt":"2026-08-22T23:20:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/378699\/"},"modified":"2026-08-22T23:20:08","modified_gmt":"2026-08-22T23:20:08","slug":"florida-footballs-jadan-baugh-among-top-prospects-in-nfl-mock-draft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/378699\/","title":{"rendered":"Florida football&#8217;s Jadan Baugh among top prospects in NFL mock draft"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Aug. 22, 2026, 6:07 p.m. ET<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">The 2027 NFL Draft is shaping up to be one of the deepest and most intriguing classes in recent memory, with several high-profile quarterbacks and blue-chip prospects leading the group.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Much of the early attention has centered around players such as Texas quarterback Arch Manning, Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, and a pair of elite edge rushers; there are plenty of other prospects positioned to make their mark at the next level.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">That list includes <a data-autotag=\"5f17983d-3ab8-4b35-9954-23714ad248dd\" href=\"https:\/\/sportsdata.usatoday.com\/football\/ncaaf\/teams\/florida-gators\/3472\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" data-t-l=\":b|e|k|\u2691u\" class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\">Florida<\/a> running back Jadan Baugh, who has the potential to emerge as the top running back prospect in the 2027 class.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">In <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/nfl\/2027-nfl-mock-draft-includes-six-qbs-first-round\" data-t-l=\":b|z|k|\u2691u\" class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Sports Illustrated&#8217;s first 2027 NFL mock draft<\/a>, Baugh is projected to come off the board at No. 26 overall to the Chicago Bears. The projection would make the Gator a first-round selection and the first back off the board.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">The potential fit would give him an ideal landing spot alongside Kyle Monangai in Chicago&#8217;s backfield, with D&#8217;Andre Swift scheduled to become a free agent following the upcoming season.<\/p>\n<p>Need a news break? <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" data-t-l=\":body nav (play)|e|auto spike click:5|\u2691u\" class=\"gnt_ar_b_sp_a\" href=\"https:\/\/play.usatoday.com\/?itm_source=SPIKE&amp;itm_campaign=PLAYSPIKE&amp;itm_medium=ONSITE\">Check out the all new PLAY hub with puzzles, games and more!<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Baugh&#8217;s combination of size and physicality is a major reason for his early draft stock. The Florida standout is listed at 6-foot-1-inch and 225 pounds, giving him the frame to handle a significant workload at the next level.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Last season, the Florida workhorse rushed for 1,170 yards and eight touchdowns. He also added another 210 yards and two touchdowns through the air.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">With the 2026 season still ahead, Baugh has plenty of time to strengthen his draft stock, as he continues to develop and produce at a high level for the Gators.<\/p>\n<p><img class=\"gnt_em_cp_cw_i\" data-g-r=\"lazy\" data-gl-src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1787440808_595_86373768007-gators-1.jpg\" data-gl- decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Follow us <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/GatorsWire\" data-t-l=\":b|z|k|\u2691u\" class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">@GatorsWire<\/a> on X, formerly known as Twitter, as well as <a href=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/gatorswire.bsky.social\" data-t-l=\":b|z|k|\u2691u\" class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Bluesky<\/a>, and like our page on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/GatorsWire\" data-t-l=\":b|z|k|\u2691u\" class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Facebook<\/a> to follow ongoing coverage of <a data-autotag=\"13e400dd-2caf-4743-8f66-2d6e34ba4e99\" href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/sports\/college-sports\/sec\/florida\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\" data-t-l=\":b|e|k|\u2691u\" class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\">Florida Gators<\/a> news, notes and opinions.<\/p>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Aug. 22, 2026, 6:07 p.m. ET The 2027 NFL Draft is shaping up to be one of the&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":378700,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[31,28,30,29,113869,5609,303,298,299,39,4814,4815,4819,41153,96,4818,4821,300,34],"class_list":["post-378699","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-florida","tag-accessfree","tag-florida","tag-florida-headlines","tag-florida-news","tag-sourcegators-wire","tag-sstssportscollegegatorsfootball","tag-sstsnfootball","tag-tagamerican-football","tag-tagcollege-sports","tag-tagflorida","tag-tagflorida-gators","tag-tagflorida-gators-football","tag-tagncaa-southeastern-conference","tag-tagnfl-draft","tag-tagoverall-positive","tag-tagsec-conference-football","tag-tagsec-hub","tag-tagsports-news","tag-typestory"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/378699","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=378699"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/378699\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/378700"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=378699"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=378699"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=378699"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}