Alabama Football: Big exit of SEC stars to the NFL after ’19 season

A big group of SEC stars will move up to the NFL after the 2019 season and an astounding number of them will be Alabama football players.

It is not a big stretch to call what will happen to the SEC next spring an exodus. In the horde leaving for the NFL will be a staggering number of Alabama football players.

The SEC set a record with the 2019 NFL Draft when the league had 64 players drafted. Nine of those 64 came in the first round. The record for picks by one conference in the first round is 12, set by the SEC in 2013 and 2017 Drafts.

Going back the last 12 NFL Drafts, the disparity among the leagues is almost shocking. Perhaps we should say between the leagues because the SEC has left the other four Power Five conferences way behind. The number of first-round Draft picks in the 12-year span is SEC, 109; ACC, 63; Big Ten and PAC 12, 53 and the Big 12, 45.

The 2020 NFL Draft could be the biggest first-round year for the SEC ever and it will be led by the Alabama Crimson Tide.

So much can change between now and next April, Mock Drafts will change dozens of times. But it is not too early to review to project which players might become first-round picks. Barring injuries and the fickleness of leaving early decisions, it can be argued the SEC has 33 potential first-round picks in 2020.

The performance of some will fade, but just as likely, players not on our lists below will jump up. Let’s start with the 12 SEC players most likely to be first-round selections. Five of them are Alabama football players.

• Alabama Crimson Tide: Tua Tagovailoa; Jerry Jeudy; Dylan Moses; Raekwon Davis and Trevon Diggs
• Georgia Bulldogs: Jake Fromm and Andrew Thomas
• LSU Tigers: Grant Delpit and Kristian Fulton
• Florida Gators: C.J. Henderson
• Missouri Tigers: Albert Okwuegbunam
• Auburn Tigers: Derrick Brown

We could comment on each one but simply stated, if all these guys have solid seasons, with no serious health problems – and they enter the Draft, they are as near to first-round locks as there can be 10 months out.

There are 11 more SEC players who are legitimate contenders to be first-round picks. Alabama football again leads the way with four in the second group.

• Alabama Crimson Tide: Terrell Lewis; Anfernee Jennings; Najee Harris and Henry Ruggs III
• Georgia Bulldogs: Richard LeCounte and Jeremiah Holliman
• LSU Tigers: K’Lavon Chaisson
• Florida Gators: Jabari Zuniga
• Missouri Tigers: DeMarkus Acy
• South Carolina: Javon Kinlaw
• Auburn Tigers: Nick Coe

Certainly, players in the second group are debatable. Arguments can be made to include easily another dozen players.

But there is little room for debate the 2019 season will be filled with great SEC players in their last college seasons.

Alabama football fans may want to argue more Crimson Tide players should have been included in our lists. If so, send us a comment below.