He has delivered Alabama football and its fan base to five national championships, five conference championships, seven top-ranked signing classes and 22 first-round draft picks, but head coach Nick Saban has a chance to add another milestone to his resume on Thursday night.
Since 2008, he’s had nine Crimson Tide standouts selected within the first 10 picks of the NFL Draft and at least four players anticipate hearing their names called in this year’s event — which will be held at AT&T Stadium in Dallas at 8:00 pm CT on ESPN, Fox Sports and NFL Network.
Of the four guys involved – Minkah Fitzpatrick, Calvin Ridley, Rashaan Evans and Da’Ron Payne – Fitzpatrick is more than likely the one to go in the top-10.
According to most NFL Draft media analyst, he projects to be taken by either Tampa Bay (No. 7 pick), San Francisco (No. 9 pick) or Denver (No. 5 pick). As for Ridley, Evans and Payne, they are slotted to be off the board between middle-to-late first round, barring any trades.
Former Tide offensive lineman Andre Smith started the program’s good fortune of top-10 picks in 2009, when he was selected sixth overall to the Cincinnati Bengals. Rolando McClain (2010), Marcell Dareus (2011), Julio Jones (2011), Trent Richardson (2012), Mark Barron (2012), Dee Milliner (2013), Chance Warmack (2013) and Amari Cooper (2015) would all follow suit.
Stephen M. Smith is the managing editor and senior writer for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can “like” him on Facebook or “follow” him on Twitter, via @CoachingMSmith.
