The Jacksonville Jaguars selected Dante Fowler Jr. with the No. 3 overall pick on Thursday night.
“Somebody gotta catch me really soon because I’m dreaming right now,” Fowler said after he was drafted. “I know the right end position was in need and I told them I was the guy and I would do it, and they got me.”
The St. Petersburg native stayed near home, after the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Tennessee Titans both selected quarterbacks ahead of him.
Fowler becomes the highest-drafted Gator since the Cleveland Browns took Gerard Warren also No. 3 overall in 2001.
Unlike Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota, who went No. 1 and No. 2 overall, respectively, Fowler chose to attend the draft in Chicago.
The 6-foot-3 defensive end led Florida with 8.5 sacks last season, his junior year at Florida.
After UF chose to let go of former coach Will Muschamp, Fowler decided quickly that he didn’t want to play another year at Florida.
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Dante Fowler Jr. hypes up the crowd during Florida's 28-20 win in the Birmingham Bowl against East Carolina on Jan. 3 at Legion Field. The Jacksonville Jaguars selected Fowler No. 3 overall in the 2015 NFL Draft on Thursday.
