Alabama Football: Minkah Fitzpatrick’s direct path to NFL dreams

Minkah Fitzpatrick was on a direct path to the NFL for years before he became an Alabama football player. Thursday night his NFL dreams will come true.

UPDATE: Minkah was drafted by the Miami Dolphins with the No. 11 pick in the NFL Draft first round.

Alabama football fans look forward to seeing NFL dreams come true for former Crimson Tide players. The 2018 Draft may become noteworthy for the Tide as it potentially breaks its own one season draft record of 10 picks.

The first former Alabama football player likely to be chosen in the first round is Minkah Fitzpatrick. Scour dozens of mock drafts and Minkah will be tabbed as a top 15 selection is almost all of them. The top draft experts have him being selected between the seventh and thirteenth pick.

Although NFL teams may see another cornerback or another safety as being slightly better than Minkah in certain skills, no other player has his full complement of positives. Some of those positives are mental rather than physical. Smart, focused, intense, driven are all words appropriate for Minkah.

What the experts have to say

All these quotes are from Charlie Potter of Bama Online.

St. Peter’s Prep (N.J.) head coach Rich Hansen

"The NFL needs Minkah Fitzpatrick. They need his persona, they need his professionalism, they need his approach to the game, they need his approach to life, his community service, his work ethic."

ESPN Analyst, Kirk Herbstreit,

"I think he’ll be as good as there is in the league eventually. I think he’s a perennial Pro Bowler type of guy. And I think he’ll be a first-class professional."

Senior Bowl executive Phil Savage commenting on the response from Minkah’s NFL team visits,

"the comment that the person (NFL exec) made to me is that this guy already conducts himself like an NFL player who’s been in the league 4-5 years."

These accolades are just three of a multitude of praise about Minkah as a player and a person. Check out this superb video.

No one who has spent much time around Minkah can be surprised by his Alabama football success and his future NFL success. He was driven to excellence even as a pre-teen. He is often described as a clone of Nick Saban. That description misses a key point. Minkah arrived in Tuscaloosa already Saban-like in his thoughts and actions.

For some of the background on Minkah and his family and their tough times in New Jersey, check out, this earlier Bama Hammer post.

Next: Some NFL Execs can't decide where to play Minkah

This post will be updated Thursday night after Minkah is selected in the first round. Whichever team chooses Fitzpatrick will be making a very smart decision.