Alabama football saw four stars go in the first round in the 2020 NFL Draft. Who are their best prospects on the team for the upcoming season?
We are used to seeing Alabama football stars become highly-touted prospects in the NFL Draft. 2020 was no different. While the Tide’s season did not live up to expectations, the talent was on the field. Many players from the highly touted 2017 recruiting class declared for the draft, including Tua Tagovailoa, Henry Ruggs, and Jerry Jeudy.
As always, the Crimson Tide will have to reload for the upcoming season. Thankfully, there were a surprising number of players who elected to stay for their senior year. The 2020 class was loaded for the Tide, but it could have doubled if some players had made different decisions.
One trend worth mentioning from 2020 was the amount of offensive talent in the first round. First-round picks from Tuscaloosa are usually offensive linemen and star defenders, but this class had more skill players than usual. There were two receivers to go alongside Tua Tagovailoa. Tua was Nick Saban’s first quarterback to be drafted in the first round at Alabama, meaning that Saban has officially had a player drafted in the first at each position group outside of special teams. It will be interesting to see if this pattern of skill players continues next year.
So, who are the top NFL Draft prospects on Alabama’s team next year? Let’s take a look at the top six players who will likely go in the first few rounds of the 2021 NFL Draft. Some of these players might surprise us and come back for their senior years, and we could always shoot up draft boards like Quinnen Williams did, but this is where we stand in the offseason.