Over his tenure in Tuscaloosa, Nick Saban turned Alabama into an NFL factory and in the 2024 NFL Draft, many in his final class of prospects have already heard their names called through the first two days. Three Alabama players went in the first round, JC Latham, Dallas Turner, and Terrion Arnold, and on Day 2, three more players from Saban’s final team were selected.
To start the second round, there was a run on wide receivers that was quickly followed by a run on cornerbacks to cover them. That second group included Kool-Aid McKinstry who was selected by the New Orleans Saints with the 41st overall pick.
Coming into his third year at Alabama, McKinstry was viewed as one of the top prospects in all of football and a certainty to go in Round 1, but after an injury-riddled and underwhelming final year, he slid in Round 2. McKinstry looks like he could be a perfect fit with the Saints, who could be moving on from Marshon Lattimore.
Saban was on the ABC broadcast and expectedly expressed his admiration for his former player. Fittingly, Saban sent two cornerbacks into the NFL in his final season.
Later in the round at No. 57 overall, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers took Chris Braswell, the fifth defender from Alabama to be drafted through the first two rounds. Todd Boyles and the Bucs love to blitz and Braswell, who produced eight sacks in 2023 as a senior, will be another weapon for the reigning NFC South champs.
Perhaps emblematic of Alabama’s issues on the offensive side of the ball last season, the second offensive player to be drafted off the Crimson Tide’s roster came at No. 80 overall to the Cincinnati Bengals. Jermaine Burton became Jalen Milroe’s favorite receiver at Alabama, and now he’ll need to earn the trust of Joe Burrow in Cincinnati.
Tee Higgins is on the franchise tag in Cincy and has requested a trade, so Burton could quickly find himself as the WR2 for the Bengals, opposite Ja’Marr Chase. Burton isn’t just an insurance policy for this season, but a future starter for the Bengals.