The Dolphin
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- Mar 19, 2019
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The betting odds for next Thursday’s NFL draft have Alabama’s over-under on first-round picks at 5.5. Which means the Crimson Tide may tie an all-time record.
In the 2004 NFL draft, six Miami Hurricanes were chosen in the first round. No college before or since has managed to get six players in the first round of one draft. But it could happen with Alabama this year.
Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, offensive tackle Jedrick Wills, wide receivers Jerry Jeudy and Henry Ruggs, cornerback Trevon Diggs, safety Xavier McKinney and pass rusher Terrell Lewis are the Alabama players who have appeared in the first round of various mock drafts.
The talent Nick Saban has assembled at Alabama has been incredible. Saban took the Alabama job in 2007, and in 2008 the Crimson Tide didn’t have a single player drafted — he inherited a bare cupboard. But Alabama has had at least one first-round pick in every NFL draft since 2009, and most than one first-round pick most years.
The six Miami first-round picks in 2004 — Sean Taylor, Kellen Winslow, Jonathan Vilma, D.J. Willams, Vernon Carey and Vince Wilfork — were part of a run when Miami routinely had the most talent in college football. Alabama has assumed that mantle.