The Gators have now had at least one defensive back drafted in six consecutive years. The Arizona Cardinals selected cornerback Marco Wilson in the 4th round with the 136th overall pick.
Wilson’s college career was a rollercoaster ride. He started all 11 games as a true freshman in 2017 and led the team with 10 pass breakups. He lived up to the hype that came with being a four-star recruit and the brother of former Gator Quincy Wilson.
He was named to the Coaches’ Freshman All-SEC team and seemed poised to take the mantle as the Gators’ next superstar cornerback. He arguably outplayed classmate CJ Henderson, a future top-10 overall draft pick.
Unfortunately, misfortune struck in 2018. After being named to the Preseason All-SEC Third Team, he suffered a torn ACL in the second game of the year that ended his season. He was never quite the same player after that injury.
Wilson suffered some inconsistencies in 2019. He intercepted the only three passes of his career but also had a couple of rough outings along the way.
The 2020 season brought more of the same, which caused frustration among the fanbase to boil over.
However, he was still an interesting prospect from the NFL’s perspective, with some experts ranking him among the top-100 players available. Wilson is supremely athletic, as evidenced by his sub-4.4 40-yard dash, 43.5-inch vertical leap and 26 reps on the bench press on Pro Day.
Wilson played both outside corner and nickelback at Florida and could easily play on special teams at the next level. His athleticism, versatility and freshman film gave him a chance in the NFL and could keep him around for a while.