Tampa Bay Buccaneers Take Florida Gators QB Kyle Trask in NFL Draft

Florida Gators quarterback Kyle Trask has been selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with the 64th overall pick in the second round of the 2021 NFL Draft.

After spending nearly seven years in a backup role to quarterbacks such as D'Eriq King and Feleipe Franks, Trask took the field for the injured Franks against Kentucky in the third game of the 2019 season and never looked back.

From there, the former two-star recruit would start 22 games, completing 68 percent of his passes for 7,224 yards, 68 touchdowns and 15 interceptions, adding seven touchdowns on the ground. Trask's 4,283 passing yards in 2020 are the most in a single season in Gators history. He is one of six SEC quarterbacks of all time to post at least 4,000 passing yards in one season.

After his electric 2020 campaign, Trask finished fourth in Heisman Trophy voting as a finalist and was named a Second Team All-American by the Associated Press and Sporting News.

Trask is the first quarterback to be selected in the NFL Draft directly from Florida since Tim Tebow was taken by the Denver Broncos in the first round in 2010.

Although he was not included in the group of five quarterbacks taken in the top 15 picks this year, Trask has more than a fair share of believers in his potential as an NFL quarterback. Trask makes up for a lack of great throwing strength and mobility with an advanced understanding of progressions and making accurate throws from the pocket.

"I think Kyle Trask is unique in that he probably has the football intelligence to come in and be a successful starter right away," former Atlanta Falcons and UCLA Bruins head coach Jim Mora Jr. described Trask in an interview with AllGators this week. "You know, I don't know that he has special traits that are going to propel his team to winning, just load them up on his back end and win. But I think he's got the emotional intelligence to go in and play and play efficiently."