NFL Draft Will Be Just as Important for Dan Mullen as His Prospects

The Gators that will be in the NFL next season are of the utmost important for Dan Mullen.

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The No. 46 offensive guard in the country. 

It was Nov. 29, 2015. Then-coach Jim McElwain's Gators had just lost to in-state rival Florida State by an embarrassing 27-2 score the day before. Per usual in his tenure with the Gators, McElwain's recruiting class was wowing nobody. 

But in that lackluster class, you had a three-star guard in Jawaan Taylor out of Cocoa, Florida. He had 45 offensive guards ranked ahead of him in the Composite rankings. And in his first two seasons, he proved to be better than that, but still not anything special. 

Insert now-head coach Dan Mullen and offensive line coach John Hevesy. One season under those two, and Taylor had his name called early on day two of the 2019 NFL Draft in Nashville. 

And had it not been for an apparent knee injury that inexplicably caused NFL general managers to refrain, Taylor would have been a first-rounder, with mock draft having him go as high as top-10. 

So take Taylor's story, and now look at UF's recruiting class this season when it comes to the offensive line. The Gators snatched two of the top-25 ranked tackles in the country with Joshua Braun and Issiah Walker. 

You better believe that before those two guys committed, Mullen and Hevesy were constantly in their ear telling them about Taylor. And why wouldn't they? 

If they can develop a three-star guy barely in the top-50 at guard into a second-round draft pick at offensive tackle in just one year, imagine what they can do with two guys in the top-25 at tackle in three to four? 

But right now, the only highly-sought-after prospect for the Gators is cornerback C.J. Henderson. Barring a Taylor-like situation with a questionable narrative about an injury, he will be on a team by the time the first round wraps up. 

But what about defensive ends Jonathan Greenard and Jabari Zuniga? Running back Lamical Perine? Wide receiver Van Jefferson? 

These guys are all in that second-tier, or later, of prospects. We know they will be drafted, but we also know that they won't be some of the select names that ESPN and NFL Network discuss on night one. All of them are somewhat unknown as far as what round they will land in. 

But it is crucial for those guys to land as favorably as possible for Mullen and his staff when it comes to the recruiting trail. It is no coincidence that the best developers of talent typically win on the recruiting trail. 

What could it do for years to come on the trail for Mullen if Perine has an excellent NFL Combine and Senior Bowl (an event in which GatorMaven's Zach Goodall will be covering all week in Mobile, AL.) and winds up a late second, early third-round selection? 

What if a team thinks Greenard is the edge rusher they need and he is off the board in round two or perhaps even late round one? 

These are flexes that Mullen needs to have when he is in living rooms. To approach Kirby Smart, Nick Saban, Ryan Day or Dabo Swinney in recruiting, it starts with NFL Draft weekend.