Five Alabama Storylines You Might Have Missed from This Year's NFL Draft

With 10 Crimson Tide players drafted over the weekend, Alabama has had over 130 players picked since 2009.

Apr 25, 2024; Detroit, MI, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide linebacker Dallas Turner poses with NFL / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Ten former Alabama players heard their names called from the NFL draft stage over the weekend. JC Latham kicked off the selections, going seventh overall to the Tennessee Titans, and Dallas Turner and Terrion Arnold joined him in the first round. The Crimson Tide literally capped the 2024 NFL Draft with Jaylen Key being the very last pick.

The 2024 draft marked the end of Nick Saban's unprecedented run in NFL draft history with 47 first-rounders and 133 overall selections at Alabama. (Yes, there will still be Saban-coached players that have the opportunity to get drafted over the next few years, but they will not count toward his total. Just like Andre Smith was Saban's first Alabama first-rounder in 2009 after initially being recruited and coached by Mike Shula.) But it also kicked off a new era for Saban as the former Alabama head coach began his TV career as an analyst on ESPN's College Game Day.

Here are five Alabama storylines you may have missed from the NFL draft this weekend:

1. Nick Saban has an Alabama player drafted at every position now, including LS and K

When Will Reichard was picked by the Minnesota Vikings in the sixth round on Saturday, it was historic for a few reasons. He became the first Alabama kicker drafted since 1966, which meant Saban had a player drafted from every single position during his tenure as the Crimson Tide head coach.

There have been over a dozen running backs, offensive lineman, wide receivers, a few legendary quarterbacks and defenders galore, but Reichard was the first kicker during this span. Thomas Fletcher was drafted as a long snapper in 2021, and JK Scott was drafted in the fifth round at punter in 2018.

2. Alabama has "Mr. Irrelevant" for first time since 2007

With the 257th pick in the seventh round to the New York Jets, safety Jaylen Key was this year's "Mr. Irrelevant," also known as the last pick of the draft. It was just the second time a Crimson Tide player has earned that designation and first since 2007 when another Alabama DB, Ramzee Robinson, was selected by the Detroit Lions with the final pick of that draft.

This was also the first time the Jets had drafted an Alabama player since using their first-round pick in 2019 to take Quinnen Williams at No. 3 overall.

3. Kalen DeBoer matched Saban in draft picks

If opposing fanbases around the country and SEC were hoping for a dropoff in talent and production going from Saban to Kalen DeBoer, this weekend's NFL draft proved they could be in for a rude awakening. Saban and DeBoer tied with 10 total selections, trailing only Michigan (13) and Texas (11) for number of players taken in this year's draft.

DeBoer's former Huskies also matched Alabama's first-round total with three apiece (Michael Penix Jr., Rome Odunze and Troy Fautanu), which tied a program record at Washington. It was the first time multiple Huskies were selected in the first round since 2015.

Saban has had at least 10 players selected in seven of the last eight NFL drafts, but 10 picks tied Washington's program record in the modern draft-era. It was the first time since 1998 that Washington had double-digit players drafted. During his short tenure at Washington, DeBoer has proven that he can develop talent for the NFL, and he has no shortage of NFL-ready talent as he transitions into his new role as Alabama head coach.

4. With Dallas Turner going 17th overall to the Minnesota Vikings, 27 of the 32 NFL franchises used a first-round pick on an Alabama player in the Saban era

Entering Thursday night, there were only six teams that had not drafted a. Saban-coached Alabama player in the first round. With the Vikings using their first-round pick on Dallas Turner, that number dropped to five.

The only five franchises to not select an Alabama player in the first round since 2009 are the Dallas Cowboys, Chicago Bears, Jacksonville Jaguars, Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Rams. The Jaguars came the closest of the five, with two early second-round picks in TJ Yeldon (36th overall in 2015) and Cam Robinson (34th overall in 2017.) The Chiefs have not drafted an Alabama player since 20xx, and the Bears only picked one Alabama player during Saban's entire tenure (Eddie Jackson in the fourth round in 2017.)

5. Putting Saban's first-round selections in perspective

As previously mentioned, with the three first-round selections this year, Saban finished his career at Alabama with 47 first-round draft picks since 2009. That's more than eight different SEC schools combined in that span. (Vanderbilt- 1, Kentucky- 3, Arkansas- 4, Auburn- 6, Ole Miss- 6, Mississippi State-7, South Carolina- 7 and Tennessee-8.) The next-closest total within the league compared to Saban's is Georgia with 24.

Not only will what Saban accomplished on the field with the number of national and SEC championships never be replicated, his track record at setting up his players to become first-round picks will likely never be duplicated either.