Jadan Baugh Remains in Mel Kiper's Top 25 Prospects
Nov 13, 2026 10:00 PM

Despite a midseason slump, the Gators' powerhouse remains the premier back on ESPN’s 2027 draft board, clinging to a top ranking fueled by his historic early-season dominance.

While he fell all the way to No. 25, Florida Gators running back Jadan Baugh is still on Mel Kiper's radar.

The ESPN analyst posted his latest top 25 prospects list on Thursday, Nov. 12, and it saw Baugh come in at No. 25.

He may have been the last player in the top 25, but he's still the top overall running back that Kiper has on his 2027 NFL draft Big Board rankings.

Baugh sits above Boise State's Dylan Riley, Ole Miss's Kewan Lacey, Georgia's Nate Frazier, and Miami's Mark Fletcher Jr.

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Louisville's Isaac Brown and BYU's LJ Martin just missed the cut.

Florida must get Baugh back on track

Even though there are only three regular season games remaining, one of the things that made this Gators team so special was Baugh's abilities in the backfield.

Suddenly, defenses have been able to shut him down, and he's not getting much help from his offensive line.

Baugh may still be the top RB on Kiper's big board, but things can change in an instant, and that's the last thing the junior wants with the season coming to an end sooner rather than later.

Baugh stands 6-foot-1, 225 pounds, and exploded onto the scene this season with four straight games with 100+ yards.

That was highlighted by his 162-yard performance at Auburn, and if that wasn't good enough, he followed it up with another three-touchdown day with 142 yards against No. 4 Ole Miss.

After rushing for 600 yards with 11 touchdowns in his first four games, he's racked up just 236 over his next five with only three touchdowns.

Baugh was consistently having three-touchdown games to start the year, and all of a sudden he's only been able to reach that number in a five-game sample size.

The main reason Florida fell off everyone's radar was that teams like Missouri, South Carolina, and Georgia were able to contain him.

Oklahoma should be included in that list as well, as Baugh had just eight carries for 35 yards in that game. His 4.4 yards per carry was a step in the right direction, but it should be noted that he averaged 4.9+ yards per attempt with 26 and 29 carries from Sept. 19-26.

Kipper has Baugh in the top 25 for a reason, and even with how poorly things have gone these past few weeks, he did enough early in the year to maintain his spot as the top running back on his big board.

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