2027 NFL Draft Prospect Preview: RB Jadan Baugh, Florida

• Elite early-season production: Jadan Baugh has rushed for 438 yards and eight touchdowns through Florida's first three games of 2026 while earning a 91.7 PFF rushing grade.

• Power meets elusiveness: Baugh has generated 255 yards after contact and forced 27 missed tackles on 55 carries this season.

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The 2027 NFL Draft class does not yet appear to feature a can’t-miss running back prospect in the mold of Ashton Jeanty or Jeremiyah Love, but Florida’s Jadan Baugh may be the closest thing it has.

PFF currently ranks only five running backs in the top 150 of its 2027 NFL Draft big board (coming soon), but Baugh’s outstanding start to the 2026 season has seen him rapidly rise through the ranks. Some analysts now believe he could be selected as early as the top 10.

The Decatur, Ga., native was only a three-star recruit coming out of high school, where he played on both sides of the ball and took snaps at quarterback, wide receiver and defensive back in addition to running back. When Florida first began recruiting Baugh, the program initially believed it was getting a defender. That changed after his standout senior season on offense.

Florida signed 12 higher-ranked recruits than Baugh in its 2024 class, including another running back. Three seasons later, he has outplayed all of them and become the heartbeat of the Gators offense.

• Height: 6-foot-1
• Weight: 225 pounds
• Expected draft position: Rounds 1-2
• Best film: 2025 Week 14 vs. Florida State

Baugh’s final game of his sophomore season against Florida State could not really be considered a breakout performance, given that he was already an integral part of Florida’s offense. It did, however, leave a lasting impression on fans and draft analysts heading into the offseason.

Baugh ran the Seminoles into submission in that contest, carrying the ball 39 times for 264 yards and pushing his season total beyond the 1,000-yard mark in the process. Of those 264 yards, 153 came after contact, while he forced 12 missed tackles and earned a positive grade on 42.6% of his snaps.

He has picked up exactly where he left off. Baugh has rushed for 438 yards through Florida’s first three games of 2026, topping 130 yards in each contest, including 172 yards on the road against Auburn. Of those 438 yards, 255 have come after contact, with his 4.6 yards after contact per attempt on pace to be a career high. He has also earned a positive grade on 31.2% of his snaps, which would be another career-best mark if sustained.

Baugh has already matched last season’s total of eight rushing touchdowns. His lack of end-zone production had previously been a concern, but eight scores in three games have gone a long way toward putting that concern to bed.

Baugh is also forcing missed tackles at twice the rate he did last season, albeit with his most difficult opponents still to come, as Florida is scheduled to face three of the country’s top four ranked teams before Halloween.

Where Baugh excels

Baugh possesses almost everything teams look for athletically at the position. Florida strength and conditioning coach Tyler Miles has described him as “pound for pound the strongest guy that we’ve ever had.”

Baugh has posted eye-catching numbers in the weight room and, despite carrying significant muscle mass, has been clocked at more than 21 miles per hour during games.

Unsurprisingly, that combination of size and strength makes Baugh exceptional through contact. When Florida needs him to operate as a bruising power back, he is more than capable of doing so. He has also made considerable progress in avoiding negative plays. He was stuffed on 19% of his carries during his freshman season but cut that rate in half as a sophomore.

Despite his size, Baugh is deceptively agile. He forced 13 missed tackles against Auburn in Week 3, showing that he can evade defenders from a variety of angles rather than unnecessarily seeking out contact.

Even without the benefit of consistently dominant offensive-line play, Baugh is one of only two leading running back prospects in the 2027 class averaging more than 2.0 yards before contact per attempt. The other is Georgia’s Nate Frazier.

Ball security is another genuine strength for Baugh. He fumbled on just his fourth collegiate carry, but the ball has not left his grasp on more than 400 attempts since then.

In the passing game, Baugh checks most of the necessary boxes without doing anything spectacular. His career PFF pass-blocking and receiving grades rank first and second, respectively, among the top five running back prospects on PFF’s 2027 big board. He has allowed five pressures but no sacks across 90 career pass-blocking snaps. His route tree and receiving production remain relatively ordinary, but he has recorded just one career drop.

The final major positive on Baugh’s report card is that he has produced against the strongest competition college football has to offer. Since the beginning of 2024, no SEC running back has recorded more carries or rushing yards, while his 93.8 PFF rushing grade also leads all SEC backs over that span.

Areas for improvement

Baugh could benefit from becoming less bounce-happy in the backfield. Over his Florida career, he has changed his intended point of attack on 15% of his carries, the highest rate among the leading running back prospects in the current class.

Florida’s offensive line has not always created clean running lanes, but Baugh’s combination of size and power should allow him to take a more direct approach, particularly on inside handoffs. There are times when he spends too long searching for an alternative route instead of taking the available yardage, although the early signs in 2026 suggest he has made progress in this area.

Some evaluators have also questioned whether his GPS-recorded speed consistently translates to the field. Baugh entered the 2026 season with only one career carry of more than 40 yards, making his long speed a legitimate concern entering the year.

He has responded with a run of at least 40 yards in each of his first three games this season, going some way toward answering that criticism. It is still worth noting, however, that he was caught from behind in the open field on one of those long runs.

Best team fits

Baugh is remarkably versatile from a run-scheme perspective. His PFF rushing grade is above 90.0 on both gap- and zone-scheme runs, and Florida now boasts a more balanced rushing attack under Billy Napier than the zone-heavy scheme Baugh played in last season.

Only 16% of Florida’s handoffs last season came on power or counter concepts. That figure has risen to 33% so far this season, giving Baugh valuable exposure to staple NFL run concepts.

His best NFL fits will therefore be determined more by situation than scheme. PFF ranked the Washington Commanders and Jacksonville Jaguars as having the league’s two weakest running back rooms entering the 2026 season. Both would make sense as potential destinations, although each already has young runners on rookie contracts who retain some long-term promise.

The Minnesota Vikings are another interesting possibility. Jordan Mason and Aaron Jones are both scheduled to hit free agency after the 2026 season, with Jones approaching the latter stages of his NFL career.

Similarly, the Tennessee Titans could enter the running back market, with Tony Pollard in the final year of his contract. Tennessee missed out on the opportunity to select top 2026 prospect Jeremiyah Love when he did not fall to the fourth overall pick.

NFL outlook

Baugh has a realistic chance to finish his junior season with more than 500 career carries and 3,000 rushing yards. Heavy college usage is not always viewed positively when evaluating running backs, but his workload is not an obvious red flag. He has remained remarkably durable to this point and has no significant injury history.

He should impress evaluators throughout the pre-draft process, both during athletic testing and in interviews. There will be a much clearer picture of his draft stock after the 2026 season, but if he continues producing at this level against the most difficult portion of Florida’s schedule, he could play his way into the top half of the first round.

Missouri’s Ahmad Hardy and Ole Miss’ Kewan Lacy will both have a say in the race to become RB1, but Baugh currently offers the strongest combination of size, power, production and passing-down reliability in the class. For now, he is the running back setting the pace.