ESPN's NFL Draft guru, Mel Kiper Jr., released his latest 2025 NFL Mock Draft on Wednesday. In it, two Alabama football players were included among the first round picks.
You can view the full mock here, though you will need an ESPN+ subscription to do so.
We're still over three months away from the draft and there's plenty of time for moving and shaking among prospects. Right now, Alabama has three candidates to be selected in the 2025 draft: QB Jalen Milroe, OG Tyler Booker, and LB Jihaad Campbell.
Milroe is the most polarizing player in the draft and both Booker and Campbell play non-premium positions, which brings forth some doubt that the Crimson Tide will have a single player selected in the first round. Alabama has had at least one first round pick in each of the last 16 NFL drafts.
While that streak could be in jeopardy, Kiper Jr. gave Tide fans some renewed confidence with his latest mock.
Tyler Booker, Jihaad Campbell in Kiper's mock
First off the board from Alabama is OG Tyler Booker, who Kiper has being selected 16th overall to the Arizona Cardinals. Kiper has frequently had Booker as his No. 3 interior offensive line prospect, but he has clearly changed his mind on the Alabama captain as he is the first IOL off the board in his latest mock.
Arizona QB Kyler Murray would certainly be a fan of this pick, and Booker would immediately elevate the Cardinals' ground game.
Right after Booker's selection, Kiper projects the Cincinnati Bengals to select LB Jihaad Campbell at No. 17 overall.
Despite ridiculous seasons from Joe Burrow and Ja'Marr Chase, the Bengals missed the playoffs due to shortcomings on defense. Adding Campbell to the mix would be an instant upgrade in the middle and his versatility would allow him to do a lot of different things for the Bengals.
Notably absent from Kiper's mock is QB Jalen Milroe. The Tide signal-caller has a wide variance in mocks so far. He has been mocked as high as No. 2 overall and as low as the third round. The consensus seems to be that he is competing for the No. 3 QB spot behind Miami's Cam Ward and Colorado's Shedeur Sanders.
He will likely be higher on some boards than others. It only takes one team to fall in love with you, though, and I imagine Milroe's interviews will likely endear him to NFL teams.