Alabama Football: Top 30 NFL Draft prospects of the Nick Saban Era

Who are Alabama’s top NFL Draft prospects since Saban was hired?

We have seen plenty of former Alabama football superstars become incredibly successful in the NFL. This has been a staple of Nick Saban’s time with the Crimson Tide. He recruits great classes, wins plenty of games, wins a title, and then sends these young men off to the NFL to make millions. A part of the NFL process is the NFL Draft, and the Tide always have some of the top prospects. Over the years, Saban has had 33 former players drafted in the first round, with plenty of superstars being drafted in later rounds as well. With that information, let’s look at Saban’s top 30 NFL Draft prospects. Let’s note that this does not necessarily reflect their success in college football or their success in the NFL. It is based solely off of their draft stock immediately before the NFL Draft. Eddie Jackson is one of Saban’s best stories in the NFL, but his stock was incredibly low due to an injury. With that information, let’s start at No. 30.

Alabama football’s top 30 NFL Draft prospects: 30-28

30. Landon Collins, Safety

Landon Collins is the only player on this list to not be drafted in the first round, but I don’t think his draft slot reflected his value. There was a premium placed on offensive linemen and skill players in 2015, so he simply fell down the board. The New York Giants took Collins with the first pick on Day 2, and he has been a monster in the NFL ever since.

29. O.J. Howard, Tight End

Tight ends are rarely drafted in the first round, which shows just how valuable NFL teams thought Howard would be once he joined the league. This is in part thanks to Howard’s incredible performance in the 2015 National Championship game. Howard hasn’t lived up to the hype, but he will hopefully be catching touchdowns passes from Tom Brady in 2020. Either way, Howard should still send Lane Kiffin a Christmas card.

28. Reuben Foster, Linebacker

Foster’s stock was a lot higher in the pre-draft process, but it plummeted right before it all mattered. There were both injury and character concerns, which make it hard for just about anyone to be drafted in the first round. The 49ers drafted Foster, but he has been off the field for a plethora of reasons. Foster still has time to turn his NFL career around, but he is running out of chances.