A month ago at Florida’s Pro Day Taven Bryan said it would “suck” if he weren’t drafted in the first round. He’ll never find out if that feeling was right.
Taven Bryan was the first Florida Gator selected in the 2018 NFL Draft when the Jacksonville Jaguars selected him with the 29th overall pick in the first round.
Bryan’s selection in the first round marks the sixth year in a row the Gators have had a player selected in the first round. Bryan is the 12th Florida defensive lineman drafted in the first round since 1989, the most of any school in that span.
Bryan was widely considered a first round pick when he declared early for the draft and his combine did nothing but cement that status. Bryan ran a 4.98 40-yard dash, put up 30 reps on the bench press and had a 35” vertical jump. Bryan
A lot of the buzz around Bryan is focused on his potential. Bryan’s size, speed and agility drew comparisons to Houston Texans’ defensive lineman JJ Watt. However, Bryan’s production doesn’t jump off the page. In 34 career games with the Gators he tallied 67 tackles, 10 ½ for a loss with five sacks and 7 ½ quarterback hurries.
“Tape’s really what matters, honestly, and I feel like I have really exceptional tape, especially for a 4-3 defense, so, that’s most of what we played,” Bryan said at Florida’s Pro Day.