NFL Draft 2017: Eddie Jackson Selected 112th Overall By Chicago In Fourth Round

Alabama football breaks its NFL Draft record as Eddie Jackson became the 10th Tide player chosen in the 2017 NFL draft. Chicago Bears drafted Jackson in fourth round.

In the 2013 NFL Draft, Alabama set a school draft record with nine drafted players. With Eddie Jackson being selected in the fourth round of the 2017 NFL Draft, the Crimson Tide has a new draft record. The national record, since the NFL became seven rounds in 1994, belongs to the Miami Hurricanes with eleven selections.

Eddie Jackson has not played football since October. Had he not suffered a broken leg, Jackson would likely to have been picked early in the second round of the 2017 NFL Draft. Eddie missed the NFL Combine workouts and Alabama’s Pro Day as well.

In recent workouts for teams, Jackson declined to be timed in the 40-yard dash. Jackson may not have had time to fully recover from his injury and condition himself for a solid 40 time.

Unfortunately with his injury history also including a torn ACL, not being timed in the 40 and pushed Eddie down to the fourth round.

Alabama Crimson Tide Football

Ian Rapoport announced on Twitter that Eddie received some good medical information earlier this week. Residual pain in his leg was alleviated by removing a screw from his fall surgery. According to the report Jackson “will be available for all football activity, including rookie mini camp.”

Eddie Jackson had a great 2015 for Alabama, selected as first team All-SEC and third-team All-American. A healthier Eddie Jackson could have easily been a NFL second round pick in 2016. The keys to his NFL future will likely be determined by his durability and whether he fully regains his 4.5 speed.

If you have not read Eddie’s Alabama football story published by the Players’ Tribune, we highly recommend it.

Here’s an excerpt:

"I was such a different person when I first arrived in Tuscaloosa. I showed up here as a three-star wide receiver from Florida who hadn’t played high school football until his senior year. At first, like a lot of freshmen, I was scared to death that I was out of my league. I didn’t just have to learn how to be a defensive back; I had to learn how to be a coachable human being.I’ll never forget lining up against Amari Cooper one day in practice. He was just destroying me — making me look silly on every single play. I was embarrassed. At some point I looked over at Coach Saban, begging for some relief. Coach looked back at me and yelled, “Eddie, I’m not taking him off you, so you better get used to it!”We ran another play. I got roasted again. And then, as we were walking back to the line, Coop said to me, “Every play you go up against me, you’re getting better."

There are so many great stories from Alabama football players. As Eddie Jackson made clear with his comments, the experience of playing football at Alabama is being challenged by the best, to be the best. Some NFL experts doubt Eddie has all the tools necessary for an NFL roster.

We Alabama fans will be hoping – no, looking forward to Eddie proving them wrong.

Next: Post- Spring Depth Chart

Former Alabama football players Gehrig Dieter, Cole Mazza, Adam Griffith and Brandon Greene will also be hoping for an NFL phone call. For these four, joining the NFL will most likely come by way of a rookie free agent contract.