Dominique Easley became the first former Florida Gator selected in the 2014 NFL Draft when the New England Patriots selected him with the 29th pick overall in the 2014 NFL Draft.
Easley was a top rated prospect who was an Under Armour All-American from Staten Island, New York. Easley was considered the No. 1 defensive tackle by ESPN coming out of high school and the #3 rated prospect overall.
The New York prospect played in six games during his freshman year and made four tackles as a true freshman in the SEC.
Easley’s sophomore year started off well as he started all 12 regular-season games but tore his ACL during the final minutes of the Florida State game to close the 2011 football season. Easley, however, recorded 37 tackles and 1.5 sacks as a sophomore.
Junior year was a year that saw Easley collect 26 tackles and record a team leading 4 sacks on the year including a break out game in the Sugar Bowl where he notched 3.5 tackles for a loss.
Easley was a dominating force early on during his senior year before suffering his second torn ACL in practice after the third game of the season.
The red flag of having two torn ACL’s is something that Easley has had to battle this offseason. Many draft pundits believe that Easley could have been a high first round draft pick if not for his injury concerns. In early April, Easley was able to perform at his own pro day at Florida where several NFL team were attendance.
The Patriots have a long history of drafting Florida Gators but Easley is the only Gator on the Patriots roster currently.