Alabama Football will tie its team record for one NFL Draft

A week to go until the 2022 NFL Draft, a prediction is offered for the Alabama football total number of players drafted. The most Alabama Crimson Tide players selected in a single NFL Draft happened in 2018, when 12 former Alabama football players were selected.

‘Drum roll please’ – the Crimson Tide will have at least 12 players drafted next Thursday, Friday and Saturday, and the final number has a chance to be 13 players.

How do I know this? Over the last few days, I have read (skimmed to be exact) dozens of 2022 mock drafts. Admittedly, the selection of mocks chosen has been somewhat random, with a heavy reliance on other FanSided NFL team sites.

Some of the FanSided sites reviewed were: EbonyBird.com (Baltimore Ravens); Lombardiave.com (Green Bay Packers) and GMenHQ.com (New York Giants).

In those mocks, every possible Crimson Tide player has been projected at least once. ‘Every’ means, in this case, 13 former Alabama players.

An immediate question is how accurate are these mocks? Accuracy in predicting NFL Drafts is a relative term. Most mock gurus have a good idea of 25 or so players, who will be chosen in the Draft’s first round. In that group, picking the actual Draft slot for individual players has, at best, modest accuracy.

What about the Draft’s other six rounds? Accuracy takes a big dip in second-round picks. An understood, but almost never admitted secret is by day three of each draft, most mocks are proven to be inaccurate in terms of which player will be taken when, and by what team.

Knowing this, over the last several years, my level of trust in Draft mocks has not gone beyond two Draft experts and their picks for the first two rounds. I am not saying all the other Draft pundits are just guessing. I will say in terms of mock drafts there is a lot more guessing than knowing.

Alabama Football 2022 NFL Draft Predictions (Guesses)

1. Evan Neal -First-round lock, probably to the Giants and any NFL GM that picks another offensive lineman before Neal should find another profession.
2. Jameson Williams – Mid First-round to Jets, Packers or Patriots
3. Christian Harris – Second-round selection
4. John Metchie – Late Second-round or early Third-round selection. If he falls into the third, the Falcons and Giants are good possibilities
5. Phidarian Mathis – Late Second-round or early Third-round selection.
6. Jaylin Armour-Davis – A Third-round steal who will start as an NFL rookie.
7. Brian Robinson Jr. – A late Third-round or Fourth-round selection who will play in the NFL for a long time.
8. Josh Jobe – Fourth-round
9. LaBryan Ray – A Fourth-round bargain if he can stay healthy.
10. Chris Allen – The best deal in the Draft with a Sixth-round selection.

The last two or three Crimson Tide players to be drafted in round seven will be Daniel Wright, Slade Bolden and/or Chris Owens. This prediction is at least two of them will be drafted, matching the largest Crimson Tide draft haul ever.

How accurate are NFL mock-drafters? By comparison, NCAA Tournament Bracketology is a science.