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Florida's Dante Fowler has visits with 4 teams picking in top 8

Florida edge rusher Dante Fowler is going to be a busy man in the next few days, as he has visits set up with the Jacksonville Jaguars, Tennessee Titans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Atlanta Falcons.



NFL Media's Albert Breer reported Fowler will be in Jacksonville on Wednesday, Nashville on Thursday, Tampa on Friday and Atlanta on Sunday.

While all four of those teams need an edge rusher, three of them -- all but Tampa Bay -- likely have some interest in Fowler with their first pick. The Bucs pick first and seem set on a quarterback, most likely Jameis Winston. The Titans pick second, Jacksonville third and Atlanta eighth. It's seen as extremely unlikely that Fowler is still there past the eighth pick.

Fowler (6-foot-2 5/8, 261 pounds), who had his pro day Tuesday, is considered the top edge rusher in this draft by some analysts. Fowler was used in a variety of roles by Florida coaches -- as a "traditional" hand-down defensive end, as a stand-up end and as a linebacker -- in an effort to get him the best matchups.

Fowler is No. 4 on NFL Media analyst Daniel Jeremiah's list of the top 50 draft prospects. "He's not a finished product yet, but he has an enormous upside based on his blend of agility, power and effort," Jeremiah says.

Fellow analyst Lance Zierlein says Fowler is the draft's best edge rusher and has "double-digit sack potential."

All six NFL Media analysts who have done mock drafts have Fowler going in the top three; one has him going to the Titans and the other five have him headed to Jacksonville.

Fowler is well-acquainted with new Falcons coach Dan Quinn: Quinn was Florida's defensive coordinator in 2011 and '12, and Fowler was a true freshman with the Gators in 2012.

Fowler is a Tampa-area native, so his meeting with the Bucs won't count against their 30-visit limit.

Mike Huguenin can be reached at mike.huguenin@nfl.com. You also can follow him on Twitter @MikeHuguenin.