Florida Gators Wide Receiver Declares for NFL Draft

The Florida Gators wide receiver is heading to the pros after one year with the program and out of eligibility

Florida Gators wide receiver Elijhah Badger is going pro / Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

Gainesville, Fla. – Florida Gators wide receiver Elijhah Badger announced on Christmas day that he will declare for the 2025 NFL Draft in April, per his Instagram. 

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Badger was only with the Gators for a year, but it was a pretty exciting and productive one for the wide receiver. He slowly became the go-to target for quarterbacks Graham Mertz and DJ Lagway. 

The Arizona State transfer recorded 789 receiving yards and four touchdowns on 37 receptions during 11 regular-season games. He also made two more catches for 17 yards in their bowl game against Tulane, which brought him to a season total and team-leading 806 yards. 

Additionally, he had 100 or more yards in three separate games this season. 

And when averaging out all these stats, Badger was one of the best in the country and SEC during the regular season in yards per catch (20.7) and yards per game (71.7). 

His best game of the season came against Kentucky in the middle of October, finishing with 3 catches for 148 yards. 

As for how his time went prior to his stop in Gainesville, Badger was dominant in a Sun Devil uniform as well. A former top-150 overall prospect coming out of South Sacramento, Calif., he totaled 1,640 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns on 142 receptions in 35 games in Tempe. 

Badger joins a continuously growing list of Gators to have declared for the draft, including Mertz, Jason Marshall Jr., Cam Jackson, Derek Wingo, Montrell Johnson Jr. and Jeremy Crawshaw.