Alabama has produced a lot of quality NFL talent over the last decade. After seeing another nine players drafted in the 2017 NFL Draft — four of which were first-round picks — the pipeline of former Tide players has only gotten stronger.
There was an ongoing debate on whether or not last year’s Alabama team could have beaten the Cleveland Browns. While that was fun to argue, there would be little chance for a college team — no matter how good — to beat an NFL team — no matter how bad. That debate did peak my interest, however.
If you could take all of Alabama’s former players who are currently in the NFL and put them on the same roster, what would it look like? How would it hold up against the rest of the NFL? Could it be a playoff-caliber team? Could it win the Super Bowl?
Well, I decided to dive in and take a look. This is the first of a a two-part series looking to see how an all-Alabama roster would look in the NFL. Today’s focus: the offense.
Quarterbacks
Analysis: In this situation, quarterback would be one of the weakest positions on the team. McCarron has the ability to be an adequate starting quarterback in the NFL, but I do not believe he would ever be considered a true “franchise” player at the position. The team could win games with McCarron, but to expect him to ever lead this team to a Super Bowl would be a bit of a stretch at this point.
On top of that, Coker isn’t even in the NFL. Since being cut by the Arizona Cardinals before last season, he hasn’t played a down of football. It was reported last week that Coker would no longer pursue a career in the NFL. To have that caliber of player as your backup is less than ideal.
Grade: C+
Running Backs
Analysis: This would be one of the strongest units on the team. Ingram, Henry and Lacy — when healthy — are all capable of handling large workloads. All three guys possess vision, power and the necessary skill set as pass protectors to be able to build an NFL offense around them. The only issue would be the workload distribution.
Ingram and Lacy both have a history of being effective players sharing the workload with other running backs, but Henry does his best work when he dominates the touches. With that said, he did provide a spark at times playing second-fiddle to DeMarco Murray for the Titans last season, so it’s possible that the three could coexist.
Yeldon would strictly be a depth/rotational piece. Drake’s presence on the roster would give the offensive coordinator a versatile piece to line up in a variety of roles. He can line up in the backfield or you can split him out wide as a receiver — an area that this roster currently lacks depth at. Drake’s biggest impact would come as a kick returner, however.
Fowler fills out the group nicely as a lead blocker. Overall, this is an excellent group of hungry runners. One thing working in favor of this stable is their youth. Ingram (27), Henry (22), Lacy (26), Yeldon (23) and Drake (23) are all young and have plenty of tread left on the tires.
Grade: A-
Wide Receivers
Analysis: It would be hard to come up with a better 1-2-3 at wide receiver — even in the NFL. This group’s skill sets complement each other extremely well. Jones would continue to be the team’s No. 1 option in the passing game. At 6-foot-3, 220 pounds, there are few receivers who can provide an offense with the assets that Jones can.
Cooper would be the team’s No. 2 option and could line up as an outside receiver or in the slot. He’s struggled with concentration drops since entering the NFL, but he’s only 22 years old. He’s also gone for over 1,000 yards in both seasons since he entered the league. With opposing defenses having to give Jones so much attention, Cooper would be able to find success often.
ArDarius Stewart is an unknown as an NFL receiver, but his abilities could be valuable at the team’s No. 3 receiver. He can line up at the flanker — also known as the “Z” receiver — or in the slot. Stewart would also be a valuable piece on special teams.
The only thing preventing this group from getting an “A” grade is the depth. Despite being a fourth-round pick, Norwood hasn’t proven capable of being a depth/rotational piece at wide receiver. Perhaps being reunited with AJ McCarron would help him get over the hump and become an effective No. 4 receiver.
Let’s just hope that no injuries happen to the starters.
Grade: B+
Tight Ends
Analysis: Whoever was running this offense would need to run a lot of 11 (one RB, one TE and three WR) and 21 (two RB, one TE and two WR) personnel due to there only being two tight ends on the roster.
Howard is a stud who can be effective as a blocker and receiver. There is no doubt that he would give AJ McCarron another key weapon in the passing game, but he should also be able to open some holes in the run game as well. He would be the primary receiving tight end, however.
Michael Williams would be considered the blocking tight end, who would provide effective play in goal line/short yardage situations. Since being drafted in the seventh-round by the Detroit Lions in 2013, he has bounced back and forth between tight end and offensive tackle. Most recently, Williams was a tight end for the New England Patriots. Since then, he has been cut and is currently looking for a new team.
There are three things that determined the grade that I gave this unit: 1) the lack of quality depth 2) Williams currently not being on an NFL roster and 3) Howard being an unproven rookie. The group has potential with Howard being the lead guy, but it takes time for tight ends to develop in the NFL.
For that reason, this grade won’t be as high as it could have been.
Grade: B
Offensive Line
Analysis: Four of the five starters in this scenario would have been former first-round draft picks — with the only other one being a second-round pick in Cam Robinson. That’s about as much pedigree as you can have on an offensive line — unless you are the Dallas Cowboys.
The problem is that a lot of these guys haven’t lived up to their first-round draft status — or, at least not yet. Warmack has shown flashes at right guard, but the injury bug and inconsistency has really hurt him. The same goes for DJ Fluker, who has played both right tackle and right guard for the Chargers.
Ryan Kelly and James Carpenter are instantly this team’s best offensive linemen. Kelly earned a trip to the Pro Bowl as a rookie after going the entire season without giving up a sack. After his career got off to a rocky start, Carpenter has been a steady contributor at left guard for both the Seattle Seahawks and New York Jets.
Cyrus Kouandjio has struggled when asked to be the starter on the right side of the Bills offensive line, but he’s shown the ability to be an adequate backup at left tackle in the NFL — the position he played for his entire career at Alabama. Cam Robinson is a rookie, but I truly believe he can be a successful starting left tackle on the next level — just don’t expect him to be elite.
Steen and Smith are both excellent depth pieces. After spending his entire NFL career at right tackle, Andre Smith is moving to right guard this season for the Bengals. At 6-foot-4, 324 pounds, he should be able to hold up nicely at that spot with his athleticism declining somewhat. He would more than likely bump out to right tackle if something were to happen to Fluker, however.
Steen has been a surprise for the Miami Dolphins. During Mike Pouncey’s — the Dolphins starting center — absence due to injury last season, Steen performed admirably. Now, there is no way that he would uproot Ryan Kelly as the starter, but the team could do a lot worse as far as depth at the position.
Grade: B+
Conclusion
This offense would more than likely live-and-die by AJ McCarron. The running backs would be the strongest unit on the offense, but the weapons in the passing game would also be impressive — especially the starters.
1. Julio Jones
2. Amari Cooper
3. ArDarius Stewart
4. OJ Howard (TE)
McCarron couldn’t ask for a better group. Like I previously mentioned, health would be key in passing game. Due to a lack of depth at both wide receiver and tight end — among other reasons — I wouldn’t expect this offense to have a pass-oriented mentality. This is especially true when you consider the five starters up front.
The offensive line is set up to be more effective as run blockers, so it’s safe to say that the offensive coordinator would ride the strong stable of running backs — much in the same way that the Titans have built their offense off of a strong, power run game.
If OJ Howard and Cam Robinson could prove to be at least average starters as rookies, then this offense could surprise some people — potentially becoming a playoff caliber offense.
Clint Lamb is an associate editor for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can “follow” him on Twitter @ClintRLamb or email him at [email protected].
