Two Gators Early Contenders for Top Ten Picks in 2026 Draft

While the 2026 NFL Draft is about a full calendar year away, two members of the Florida Gators are already receiving early predictions to be picked in the top 10.

Redshirt senior defensive tackle Caleb Banks was predicted to be drafted with the No. 4 overall pick to the New York Jets by CBS Sports, while redshirt senior edge rusher Tyreak Sapp was predicted to be drafted with the No. 7 overall pick to the Cleveland Browns by Fox Sports.

The duo is coming off strong individual seasons in which they emerged as crucial pieces of Florida's defensive turnaround late in the year. Banks recorded a career-high 21 tackles with 4.5 sacks, 3.5 of which came in the wins over LSU and Ole Miss.

"Banks is a taller prospect that throws his weight around," CBS Sports' Josh Edwards wrote in his mock draft. "There is a stack and shed element to his game. After recording 4.5 sacks this past season, Banks will need to take his game to another level. The Jets had been linked to defensive tackles leading up to the 2025 NFL Draft, but they did not select one this year. 

Meanwhile, Sapp set career-high marks in tackles (47), tackles for loss (13) and sacks (7) with the tackles for loss and sack totals leading the team.

"With the selection gained in the Travis Hunter trade, the Browns turn a good pass rush into a potentially lethal one," Fox Sports draft analyst Rob Rang wrote. "Sapp has a compact build yet offers intriguing positional versatility, showing enough core strength and quickness to rush from anywhere along the defensive line. He led the Gators in both tackles for loss (13) and sacks (seven) last year and could be on the verge of a monster senior season."

While the NFL hype surrounded the two after strong end-of-season performances, the two decided to come back for one final year with the Gators. Sapp cited "unfinished business" as the main reason for his return.

“My teammates, those young guys. I couldn’t look those young guys in the eyes without giving them one more time," he said during spring camp. "This program, everything that it’s done for me. I wanted to pay this program my full service and just give it everything I got one last time for everybody before me and after me.”

While Banks was out for spring camp with an injury, the goal for 2025 will be to carry over his late-season performance at the beginning of the season while developing his leadership abilities.

"I'm looking for him to continue to grow as a man, as a whole person, besides the football piece of it. Just, you know, I really just care about him as a person and his life," defensive line coach Gerald Chatman said during camp. "And then just continue to develop his leadership. Like I said, just an all-around person, all-around man. I think that's going to be huge for him. And then, obviously having a guy like that who started to reach a peak towards the back end of the season last year, it's getting him to do that from Day 1 - and then be consistent throughout the whole year. That's the challenge.

Although it's far too early to predict who will be drafted where, 2026 is shaping up to be a strong draft for the Gators after no players were taken in the first three years in 2025.

Florida last had multiple players selected in the First Round in 2021 with Kyle Pitts to the Falcons with the fourth overall pick and Kadarius Toney to the Giants with the 20th overall pick. Florida has never had two players selected in the top 10 in the same draft.

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