NFL front offices will be stretched thin on Sunday, Jan. 2.
With four bowl games featuring dozens of future NFL players, all 32 teams will scatter across the country, with many heading to Tampa, Fla., where Iowa and Florida's prospects will try to make one final good impression before the 2017 NFL Draft.
Though the Gators own more elite prospects, including the top three in our Outback Bowl rankings, the Hawkeyes boast numerous draftable players too. Here are the eight players in the Outback Bowl that should be selected in the 2017 NFL Draft, ranked:
| Rank | Player | Pos. | School |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jalen Tabor | CB | Florida |
| 2 | Jarrad Davis | LB | Florida |
| 3 | Caleb Brantley | DT | Florida |
| 4 | Desmond King | CB | Iowa |
| 5 | Marcus Maye | S | Florida |
| 6 | Jaleel Johnson | DT | Iowa |
| 7 | Bryan Cox | DE | Iowa |
| 8 | C.J. Beathard | QB | Iowa |
Jalen 'Teez' Tabor sits atop a mountain of future NFL defensive backs playing in the Outback Bowl.
His college career was laced with off-the-field incidents and countless emotionally charged tweets that will come up in pre-draft interviews, but he is still a potential shutdown corner with great ball skills, closing speed and instincts. If teams look past the baggage, Tabor may slide into the top 10.
Tabor is one of five Florida defenders who could be selected on Thursday or Friday.
He'll be most closely followed by linebacker Jarrad Davis and defensive tackle Caleb Brantley. Davis, a 6-foot-2, 230-pound outside linebacker with a first-round grade, had 17 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks over the last two years. He is a textbook tackler, as fast as a safety and is above average in third-down pass coverage.
Brantley, another first-round talent, is a well-built 6-foot-2, 300-pound elite run-stopper. With good lower- and upper-body strength and a powerful first step, he can attack the quarterback and quickly shoot the gap.
The other draftable Gator defenders are safety Marcus Maye and defensive end Bryan Cox, the latter of whom is particularly intriguing.
The 6-foot-3, 258-pound Cox has experience playing in both two- and three-point stances, routinely confusing offenses with a rare combination of quickness and power that allowed him to record 10.5 tackles for loss in 2015.
Iowa's draft contingent is led by 2015 Jim Thorpe Award winner, cornerback Desmond King. He spurned the NFL last season and though he didn't have a bad 2016 campaign, his first-round stock did not improve. In fact, most projections have him hovering between picks 30-50.
King is 5-foot-10, 200 pounds but plays much bigger. With elite ball skills, instincts and responsible physicality, the decent run-stopper can do a little of everything. Don't let his interception decline fool you — eight in 2015 to one in 2016 — King is one of the nation's best.
The Hawkeyes' other potential draftees are defensive tackle Jaleel Johnson, a 6-foot-3, 311-pounder lauded for his motor and lower-body quickness, and quarterback C.J. Beathard. Johnson should comfortably settle in as a day-two prospect, while Beathard's stock continues to fluctuate.
Beathard's numbers are mediocre — 59 completion percentage, 7.3 yards per attempt, 2:4:1 TD to interception ratio — but he's still a decent-sized body (6-foot-3, 220 pounds) with a compact delivery and running skills. A late third-day pick seems most likely for him.
