Alabama Football: Predicting which players will declare for NFL Draft

Which Alabama football players will declare for the NFL Draft?

Other candidates to potentially declare

Dylan Moses, LB

Dylan Moses has had a bad season, and there is no denying that. It might help him to come back for one more year of college football. However, he had dreams of declaring for the NFL Draft after three seasons. I doubt he would stay for a fifth.

Landon Dickerson, C

Dickerson is the best center Alabama has had since Ryan Kelly. His NFL Draft stock has skyrocketed this year, and there is no financial reason for him to come back for a sixth college football season. However, the fact that he played a snap in the National Championship after tearing his ACL in the SEC Championship shows how much he loves Alabama football. He might just decide that he wants to stay with the boys for one more season. That wouldn’t make sense financially, but it would surely help the Crimson Tide.

Miller Forristall, TE

Forristall has put in five years of work with the Crimson Tide. He might want to go out on top with a ring. He could boost his NFL Draft stock some, but it would make sense for him to leave now. Jahleel Billingsley is going to be the top receiving tight end next year.

Phil Mathis, DL

I think Mathis should come back for at least one more season, but he has been here for four years. Alabama recruits plenty of defensive line talent, and some younger guys will compete for reps. Mathis is good enough to be drafted on Day 3, and he would work his way into the rotation of an NFL team.

Deonte Brown, G

Brown is one of the best guards in college football. He will make the starting roster of an NFL team. After five years of Alabama football, he is ready to take the leap.

Thomas Fletcher, LS

Fletcher is a senior, but he is still technically eligible to return. However, he is the best long snapper in college football, so there is literally nothing he can do to boost his draft stock. He might even go undrafted, but he will find a role on an NFL team.

Joshua McMillon, LB/FB

McMillon was a sixth-year senior this past season, and he still didn’t start. I don’t know why he would want to go to college for a seventh year unless he is looking to get yet another degree. I’m expecting McMillon to go undrafted, make a practice squad for a few seasons and then move on to his actual professional career.

There are other candidates to declare, but these are my current predictions. Players like Ben Davis and Chris Owens could decide to move on, but they could benefit from the extra eligibility if they think they will get more reps next year. If not, they could also consider transferring. The only other candidate I would truly consider is LaBryan Ray. He hasn’t lived up to the hype of his freshman year, so it would help him to come back and prove that he can play NFL football. However, it wouldn’t surprise me if he decides to take whatever money he can make in the NFL instead.