Lasting Impressions of Alabama Players at the NFL Combine: All Things CW
The All Things CW notes column by Christopher Walsh appears in five parts each week, with the latest on the Alabama Crimson Tide. This is ...
Take 2
The 2023 NFL Combine wrapped up over the weekend, and while teams and scouts will head off to evaluate what they saw and experienced in Indianapolis, the draft process is approaching its zenith.
With only Pro Days and individual workouts to go, the University of Alabama is still on target to have a program-record 13 selections this year, although things continue to change though the extensive process.
Perhaps the most impressive thing about this group may be that the Crimson Tide has a prospect in every position group minus wide receivers (and special teams). That includes a quarterback who may be at the top of the list for a lot of teams, and maybe the best overall player at all of the rest of the positions combined.
"In terms of overall strength of the draft, I think it's a really good corner group," Daniel Jeremiah of the NFL Network said during his annual combine conference call with reporters. "I think it's a good edge rusher group. I think the tight end group is the best I've seen in the last ten years. It's outstanding. So, you know, running backs is really solid."
However, it's a draft that doesn't have a lot of surefire standouts. For example, at cornerback, Jeremiah had 20 players with top three-round grades.
Yet he said: "I don't think there's a Patrick Surtain in this class."
Here's where the Crimson Tide contingency stands following the combine:
Will Anderson Jr.
Anderson was measured at at 6'31/2" and 253 pounds with a 337/8" arm span and 97/8" hands. His unofficial 40 time was 4.69 and his split was an unofficial 1.61.
For comparables, his measurements were very similar to DeMarcus Ware in 2005, and his split was faster than Khalil Mack, who posted a 1.64 in 2014.
But unlike all of the other top prospects, Anderson ran drills and showed why he has such a promising future in the league.
"Will Anderson completely owned the pass rush drills," Matt Miller of ESPN tweeted. "I'm blown away that he's even working out when so many top players don't. Good on him."
Jordan Battle
The safety ran the 40 in 4.55 seconds, with a 1.56 split, and 17 reps on the bench press, which was one of the better scores posted.
He also had a little fun with the media, calling Mac Jones the Crimson Tide's best trash-talker when he was at Alabama.
“It was just like some slick stuff,” Battle said. “Like, he’d complete a pass, and he was like, ‘Oh yeah, I’m coming at you every play.’ OK, I like that. Keep coming. I’m gonna catch a pick one day.”
Battle is in a group of about six who are all vying to be the first pure safety selected, and is a strong candidate to be selected during the second day of the draft.
Brian Branch
Branch, who had nothing to lose as his production value is off the charts, went through the combine as a cornerback. It was really smart, because the more versatility he could show the better, and every NFL team is always looking for help on the back end.
"That's a starter," Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot said about the star position. "Now, 75 to 80 percent of the time, you're going to be in that sub package. And so that (star) position, that's a starting position. And it's tough because you also have to be really smart because you have to do a lot of different things - you got to play the run, you got to pressure, there's so many different things that you need to do.
"But that's a critical position."
He ran the 40 in 4.58 seconds with a 1.56 split, did the vertical jump in 34.5 and the broad jump in 10.5. Branch also bench-pressed 14 reps.
DJ Dale
The nose tackle is probably still looking at being a day-three selection.
Dale ran the 40 in 5.26 seconds, with a 1.81 split, with 25.5" in the vertical jump, 8’2’" in the broad jump, 7.69 seconds in the 3-Cone Drill, and 4.8 in the 20-yard shuttle.
"It's definitely something that I take pride in," Dale said on his run-stopping. "Our first job at Alabama is to stop the run and playing nose tackle in the middle, I got a lot of double teams. I took pride in that, getting those linebackers free and it was something that I was proud of."
Keep an eye on the Steelers as former Crimson Tide coach Karl Dunbar recruited Dale to Alabama.
Emil Ekiyor Jr.,
At 6-2, he's considered a little undersized by NFL standards, but being able to also play center will help his stock. Ekiyor has a strong reputation as a smart player with good technique. That, combined with what he did at the Senior Bowl, mean he didn't need to do much in Indianapolis.
He did 23 reps in the bench press.
Jahmyr Gibbs
He wowed everyone with his 40 time of 4.36 seconds (second fastest among running backs), and a 10-yard split of 1.52, which probably solidified his status as the second running back in the draft behind Bijan Robinson of Texas.
Gibbs also did the vertical jump in 33.5.
Although he led the Crimson Tide with 926 yards on 151 rushing attempts for 6.1 yards per carry as well as seven touchdowns, his receiving ability has him drawing comparisons to Alvin Kamara and Dalvin Cook.
At 199 pounds, a lot of NFL teams probably won't consider Gibbs to be an every-down running back, but he'd look great as a complimentary offensive weapon for some of the better teams that will be selected near the end of the first round.
DeMarcco Hellams
He ran the 40 in 4.57, with a 1.57 split, with a 31.0 vertical jump and 10'1" broad jump. Unfortunately, that didn't have him near the top of his position group.
Neither did his drill work. Per the Mile High Huddle, " Hellams was heavy-footed, and these drills can expose issues with the feet."
We still like Hellams to be drafted, but to make a team it'll probably need to be as a key reserve and special-teams player.
Cameron Latu
The converted linebacker didn't participate in any combine drills due to hamstring injury, which is a shame because his athleticism is his biggest asset. It's a very strong year for tight ends and Latu is a player with good promise, but he'll need to go to a team where he can develop more.
Stay tuned to see if he does anything during one of Alabama's Pro Day workouts.
Eli Ricks
When asked by an NFL reporter who he would take with the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s draft between two of his teammates, Will Anderson Jr. and Bryce Young, he said neither: “I’m taking Eli Ricks, to be honest.”
That answer probably went over well with NFL teams, especially since confidence is considered crucial at cornerback. However, they certainly didn't like his answer about not doing any drills at the combine due to a hamstring injury.
"But at pro day, I will be doing everything, and I expect to surprise a lot of people,” Ricks said.
He'll need to do exactly that because Ricks has limited starting experience over the last two seasons and it's a strong year for cornerbacks. Teams will have to evaluate him based on his potential, which doesn't bode well for being a day one, or even day two, draft selection.
Tyler Steen
The measurements at the Senior Bowl and combine exposed an interesting thing about Steen: He doesn't have long arms (32-3/4) but does have a long wingspan (80-1/2). It was something that teams took note of, which is why it was so important that Mile High Huddle noted that his "drills were not outstanding, but they were consistently strong.
So Steen has come out of both the Senior Bowl and combine on the plus side.
He didn't do everything in Indianapolis, but scored 29.5" in the vertical jump, 9’ 1" broad jump, 4.59 seconds in the 20-yard shuttle and 31 reps in the bench press, which was fifth best.
Henry To'oTo'o
He's a player to watch moving forward, and so is the position.
At 6-5, 249 pounds, Jack Campbell of Iowa made a strong bid to be the first interior linebacker drafted, while former Crimson Tide player Drew Sanders' stock may be sliding a bit even though he didn't do a lot in Indianapolis.
To'oTo'o is a smart, tackling machine who can drop back into coverage and did well in those drills. He also stood out in the four-bag agility drill.
He did the 40 in 4.62 seconds, with a 10-yard split of 1.57, plus scored 32" in the vertical jump, 9’8’" in the broad jump, and ran the 20-yard shuttle in 4.4 seconds.
The only problem was that To'oTo'o weighed in at 227 pounds, which is light for his position. He'll be rated higher by teams looking for more in pass coverage, but lower among those wanting more traditional interior linebackers.
Bryce Young
As noted beforehand, the key to his combine was the weigh-in and measurements. Young’s official height was 5’10”, 204 pounds with hand at 9 3/4 inches.
Not only were those numbers comparable to Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray’s in 2019 (5’10”, 207 pounds, 9 1/2 inches), but with his football smarts there's no longer any doubt about whether he's worthy of being the No. 1-overall selection.
"He has such good awareness and feel," Jeremiah said. "I think he will be able to protect himself because of that.
"In terms of the ability, it's all there. I mean, every type of throw you want to make. He can drive it. He can layer the ball. He can make plays on schedule, off schedule. The talent is exceptional. You talk to people that have been at Alabama for a long time, and they'll say, you know, we'll see how it translates, but this is the best football player that we've been around. Like, he is outstanding."
Todd McShay of ESPN called him a smaller Patrick Mahomes.
Byron Young
He didn't do any of the running drills at the combine, and his scores were overshadowed by some of the other players: 26" on the vertical jump, 9’0’’ on broad jump, 7.68 seconds in the 3-cone drill, and 24 reps in the bench press.
Young was always thought to be an interior lineman at the next level, but his stock appeared to drop at the combine.
Chad Reuter of NFL.com wrote: "Young weighed in at 294 pounds but did not move as well in position drills as some players who were 10 or 20 pounds heavier than him. He was upright and relatively slow in his movements during short-area agility drills.
See Also:
Take 1: March Madness May Give Alabama a Chance to Vanquish Its Biggest Ghost
