Alabama Football: A final prediction for NFL Draft First Round

Alabama Football fans will love this week’s NFL Draft. That will be especially true in Thursday night’s first round. Casting aside the buzz that includes some former Alabama Football players dropping down in the opening round – and some dropping into the second and even third round – here is a prediction that describes a more popular result.

Five of Nick Saban’s former players are first-round locks. Call it a better than 50 percent chance that two more Crimson Tide guys go the first round. Five in the first round will be an Alabama Football program record. It will tie USC in 1968, Miami in 2002, Ohio State in 2006 and 2016 and LSU in 2019. With six first-round selections Thursday night, the Crimson Tide will tie the 2004 Miami Hurricanes team. At seven, the Alabama Crimson Tide will set an all-time NFL Draft record.

Perusal of the army of Draft pundits shows a near-consensus opinion the Tide is a lock at four, and might get five. I am sure the army of pundits is wrong.

Let me be clear. I am no Draft expert. Instead of doing my own predictions, the last few years I make bank on two guys. They are Mike Mayock and Peter King. Because of Mayock’s promotion to General Manager of the Oakland Raiders, this week will be the third year his insight was unavailable. Instead of relying on Mel Kiper or Todd McShay or Daniel Jeremiah to be my co-expert of choice with Peter King – I decided King has all the expertise needed to predict the Draft.

As knowledgeable as King is, he never hypes himself. He is frequently candid enough to admit he (and the other experts) can’t predict much of what will happen. In typical fashion, Peter King said, this week.

"I am cautiously optimistic about hitting my first two picks."

I am optimistic he will do better than that. Why you ask. King’s connections to NFL guys run deep. In some cases, they go back many years. He may not be so tight with all the younger GMs, but King is probably given more ‘not for attribution’ inside scoop than anyone. In addition, he rarely buys into stories concocted by teams that are designed to mislead.

Don’t wager any money on King’s picks (or anyone else) but Alabama football fans can feel great about King’s first-round picks for Crimson Tide players. His complete first-round mock is available here.

Peter King Prediction for Alabama Football Players in Round One

• No. 3 – Mac Jones to San Francisco 49ers
• No. 6 – Jaylen Waddle to Miami Dolphins
• No. 10 – Patrick Surtain II to Dallas Cowboys
• No. 15 – DeVonta Smith to New England Patriots
• No. 24 – Najee Harris to Pittsburgh Steelers
• No. 31 – Landon Dickerson to Baltimore Ravens
• No. 32 Christian Barmore to Tampa Bay Bucs

Without the aid of King’s sage advice, I will add two picks. Alex Leatherwood and Dylan Moses will be drafted in the second round.