11 players from South Florida get picked in 2023 NFL Draft. Here’s where they all landed

It’s no secret South Florida is one of the most talent-rich regions of the country when it comes to football, but the 2023 NFL Draft made it clear just how many overlooked gems are playing each year at high schools across the Miami metropolitan area.

Eleven players from nine different high schools — representing Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties — found homes during the first six rounds of NFL Draft this weekend and only six were blue-chip recruits, according to the 247Sports composite rankings, and three weren’t even top 1,000 prospects in their class.

The trend started right from Round 1, when Northwestern’s Calijah Kancey landed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and NSU University’s Zay Flowers went to the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday. Both were three-star prospects in the Class of 2019 and got picked before 30-plus of their high-ranked area counterparts.

Round 1, Pick 19: DT Calijah Kancey, Pittsburgh (Northwestern) → Buccaneers

Kancey was the first South Floridian picked and he did it by shrugging off questions about his size, which dogged him since he was starring in Miami. He won two state titles with the Bulls, then was a unanimous All-American at Pittsburgh and tested off the charts at the NFL Scouting Combine last month to solidify his place as a top-20 pick, with the Buccaneers grabbing him to try to reload on defense. Although Kancey was only a three-star recruit in the 2019 recruiting class, the 6-foot-1, 281-pound defensive tackle was a first-team all-county selection by the Miami Herald as a senior.

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Round 1, Pick 22: WR Zay Flowers, Boston College (NSU University) → Ravens

Flowers was the first player from Broward County picked and, like Kancey, he did it by overcoming size concerns and outperforming his recruiting rankings. He was a first-team All-Broward County selection by the Herald as a senior and also won a pair of state titles in boys’ basketball, playing with Raptors forward Scottie Barnes and Jazz center Vernon Carey Jr. Like Kancey, he was only a three-star recruit — ranked outside the top 1,000 in 2019, in his case — and didn’t get recruited by the high-profile in-state schools. Instead, the 5-9, 182-pound wide receiver went to Boston College and set records in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, to develop into a first-round pick.

Round 2, Pick 56: CB Tyrique Stevenson, Miami (Southridge) → Bears

Tyrique Stevenson was the top-ranked player in South Florida for the 2019 class and a first-team all-county selection at Southridge, started his career at Georgia and then transferred back home to play his final two seasons for the Miami Hurricanes. At Miami, he went back to playing cornerback and his 6-foot, 198-pound frame made him one of the most tantalizing prospects at the position in this Draft. There was a bit of first-round buzz around the defensive back and ultimately he wound up going early on Day 2.

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Round 3, Pick 65: T Tyler Steen, Alabama (St. Thomas Aquinas) → Eagles

Tyler Steen wasn’t even a top 1,000 recruit when he graduated from St. Thomas Aquinas in the Class of 2018 and he started his career as a defensive end at Vanderbilt before eventually moving back to tackle and blossoming into a star. After four good years in Nashville, he transferred to play one year with the Alabama Crimson Tide and solidified his place as a second-day prospect. The 6-6, 321-pound offensive lineman landed with the defending National Football Conference champions.

Round 3, Pick 95: S Jordan Battle, Alabama (St. Thomas Aquinas) → Cardinals

Two former Raiders went in Round 3, with Jordan Battle landing with the Cardinals as the eighth to last pick of Day 2. The 6-1, 190-pound also played at Alabama and won two national titles there after winning at state title at St. Thomas Aquinas. He was a top-100 prospect in the 2019 recruiting class and one of the Herald’s Broward County Defensive Players of the Year as a senior.

Round 5, Pick 136: LB Yasir Abdullah, Louisville (Carol City) → Jaguars

Yasir Abdullah was a two-sport star in high school, earning all-county honors in both football, and track and field. As a coach’s son, Abdullah blends athletics with instincts and was an All-Atlantic Coast Conference linebacker for the Louisville Cardinals. The 6-1, 237-pound linebacker is the son of Xavier McCray, who was also at Carol City and went on to win a national championship at Florida. He was a three-star prospect in high school.

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Round 5, Pick 151: DE Mike Morris, Michigan (Delray Beach American Heritage) → Seahawks

Mike Morris was the first player from Palm Beach County picked in the 2023 Draft after earning first-team All-Big Ten Conference honors for the Michigan Wolverines last year. The 6-5, 275-pound defensive end was a four-star recruit coming out of Delray Beach American Heritage in the 2019 recruiting cycle and is the second American Heritage graduate to ever be drafted, joining Texans running back Devin Singletary.

Round 6, Pick 184: WR A.T. Perry, Wake Forest (Park Vista) → Saints

A.T. Perry is only the second Park Vista graduate to ever be drafted, joining former running back Tre Mason, and he rose from unheralded, three-star recruit in the 2018 class to NFL prospect with the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. The 6-4, 198-pound wide receiver topped 1,000 yards in each of his final two seasons in North Carolina, blending size and speed to become one of the top wideouts in the ACC.

Round 7, Pick 231: DT Nesta Jade Silvera, Arizona State (Plantation American Heritage) → Raiders

Nesta Jade Silvera continues Plantation American Heritage’s run of Draft success and now gives the school nine drafted players in the last three years. The 6-2, 204-pound defensive tackle was part of the Patriots’ vaunted 2018 recruiting class and won a state title as a senior in Plantation before signing with the Hurricanes as one of the prizes of their recruiting class as a top-100 prospect. After a solid career in Coral Gables, Silvera transferred and finished his career with the Arizona State Sun Devils.

Round 7, Pick 237: RB Kenny McIntosh, Georgia (NSU University) → Seahawks

Kenny McIntosh was a four-star running back and Broward County Offensive Player of the Year for the Sharks, then a key piece of two national titles with the Georgia Bulldogs, even delivering a signature moment in the 2021 semifinals when he threw a touchdown early in Georgia’s rout of Michigan. The 6-foot, 204-pound running back was one of two former NSU University players picked in the Draft, making the school one of only two in the region to have multiple graduates picked this year.

Round 7, Pick 246: CB DJ Ivey, Miami (South Dade) → Bengals

DJ Ivey was the 11th and final player from the area to be picked in the Draft, an increase of four from the 2022 NFL Draft. The 6-1, 195-pound cornerback was a four-star prospect and decided to stay home to play for the Hurricanes, and he became a five-year contributor, earning the trust of multiple coaching staffs to start more than 30 games in his college career. It’s the second straight year South Dade has had a former player drafted after the high school went seven years without a Draft pick.