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The Top 25 Alabama Draft Picks of All-Time

Ranking Crimson Tide football every way we can think of, from the position groups to the best teams and games in program history
Christopher Walsh|
Sports Illustrated

For the third time in four years, and fifth time since Nick Saban took over in 2007, Alabama had four first-round selections in the 2020 NFL Draft on Thursday night.

He also became the first coach to have a first-round round selection form every position group, and that’s just at Alabama. Factor in his previous coaching stops and Saban’s success is unprecedented.

Consequently, the social-team team for Alabama football decided after Tua Tagovailoa was picked fifth overall by the Miami Dolphins that it was time to claim the Crimson Tide as being First-Round U.

But it got us thinking about who have been the best Alabama draft picks in history?

The criteria is simple: Selections that made you think, “Oh, that’s a great pick there.”

Being named an All-Pro also helped.

Here's the top 25, with brief explanations with the top 10. Disagree? Feel free to let us now in the comment section below:

1. Bart Starr: He was selected in the 17th round in 1956

2. John Hannah: Alabama’s perennial All-Pro player

3. Dwight Stephenson: How did he last until the second round in 1980?

4. Derrick Thomas: Selected fourth in 1989, after Troy Aikman and Barry Sanders, and before Deion Sanders

5. Ozzie Newsome: He only redefined the tight end position

6. Joe Namath: They built the AFL around him

7. Julio Jones: The Falcons traded five draft picks for him, and he was still a great pick

8. Kenny Stabler: Second round in 1968? Really? He was the 52 player selected.

9. Eddie Jackson: The former fourth-round pick recently landed biggest contract for safety

10. Cornelius Bennett: How many Super Bowls did he play in again?

11. Derrick Henry

12. Shaun Alexander

13. Tua Tagovailoa

14. Lee Roy Jordan

15. Tony Nathan

16. Minkah Fitzpatrick

17. Marlon Humphrey

18. Howard Cross

19. Evan Mathis

20. Bob Baumhower

21. Landon Collins

22. Bill Neighbors

23. Dont’a Hightower

24. Deshea Townsend

25. Josh Jacobs 

This is the fourth in a series of 25 stories, ranking the Crimson Tide nearly every way imaginable.

Linebackers 

Centers

Comebacks

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Published
Christopher Walsh
CHRISTOPHER WALSH

Christopher Walsh is the founder and publisher of Alabama Crimson Tide On SI, which first published as BamaCentral in 2018, and is also the publisher of the Boston College, Missouri and Vanderbilt sites. He's covered the Crimson Tide since 2004 and is the author of 26 books including “100 Things Crimson Tide Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die” and “Nick Saban vs. College Football.” He's an eight-time honoree of Football Writers Association of America awards and three-time winner of the Herby Kirby Memorial Award, the Alabama Sports Writers Association’s highest writing honor for story of the year. In 2022, he was named one of the 50 Legends of the ASWA. Previous beats include the Green Bay Packers, Arizona Cardinals and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, along with Major League Baseball’s Arizona Diamondbacks. Originally from Minnesota and a graduate of the University of New Hampshire, he currently resides in Tuscaloosa.

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