Ranking the 10 Best Alabama football NFL draft picks of the Nick Saban era

Nick Saban has produced 44 first-round NFL draft picks over his tenure at Alabama and will add a few more this April, but who were the best draft picks that Saban sent into the league?

Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones (11)
Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones (11) | Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports
7 of 10

The Miami Dolphins are not the team that benefitted from selecting Minkah Fitzpatrick, but for the player he turned into, he was a fantastic selection at No. 11 overall and an even better pickup for the Steelers a year later when they traded a 2019 first-round selection. 

Fitzpatrick never settled into Miami, a team that began a total teardown and wanted Fitzpatrick to play all over the defense. Then, in 2019, Pittsburgh gave up a first, played him almost exclusively at free safety and Minkah was dominant. 

Over his career, Fitzpatrick has racked up 19 interceptions, with a career-high six in 2022, 512 career tackles, and has been named first-team All-Pro three times. 2024 will be his age-28 season, so Fitzpatrick still has multiple seasons of excellent football ahead of him. He could ultimately put together a Hall of Fame career. 

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