While other Power Five conferences and top teams do well in the NFL Draft, Alabama Football, LSU and the SEC continue to make the loudest statement.
Whenever Alabama football and the rest of the college football world return, an old claim will again be heard. It will be repeated in almost every conversation about teams competing to fill the next CFB Playoff field, “Xxxxx team hasn’t played anybody.” Usually, the ‘X’ team being targeted will be the Alabama Crimson Tide.
What gets ignored in the repetitive claims is the relative talent of football players in the SEC, compared to every other conference. Taking nothing away from the exceptions of Ohio State, Clemson and maybe two or three other teams in a given season, SEC teams have more talent.
The ‘SEC has better player talent’ claim is proven every year in the NFL Draft. It is true again with the first three rounds of this year’s Draft. This year 106 players were selected in the first three rounds. An astounding 40 of those players came from the SEC. Former Alabama football players and those from LSU led the way, with 10 picks for each team and a stunning 50 percent of the SEC players selected.
The Crimson Tide had four in the first round, four in the second round and two in the third round. For the record, Alabama football gets deserved credit for Jalen Hurts. In the 2019 NFL Draft, 64 former SEC football players were chosen. At the time, that was a record for a single conference. It could be broken with the 2020 Draft. The 2019 NFL Draft was the 13th consecutive year the SEC led the Draft in players selected.
Alabama football may not be finished with 10 players selected. Shyheim Carter, Jared Mayden and Matt Womack could be drafted Saturday in the late rounds. At the least, the three guys will sign undrafted free agent contracts. A UFA deal can be better than being a sixth or seventh round selection. As a UFA, a player can at least negotiate which team gets their signature. Although, with no regular workouts taking place due to the virus, it will be harder for non-drafted players to showcase their skills.
The first three rounds for former Alabama football players were:
First Round
- No. 5 – Tua Tagovailoa to the Dolphins
- No. 10 – Jedrick Wills to the Browns
- No. 12 – Henry Ruggs II to the Raiders
- No. 15 – Jerry Jeudy to the Broncos
Second Round
- No. 36 – Xavier McKinney to the Giants
- No. 51 – Trevon Diggs to the Cowboys
- No. 53 – Jalen Hurts to the Eagles
- No. 56 – Raekwon Davis to the Dolphins
Third Round
- No. 84 – Terrell Lewis to the Rams
- No. 87 – Anfernee Jennings to the Patriots
At noon on Day 3 of the Draft, 46, former SEC players had been selected through pick No. 123.
It can be argued the next best values received by NFL teams for former Alabama football players are … the Giants with Xavier McKinney and the Patriots with Anfernee Jennings.