Ultimate Preview Guide to Alabama's 2015 NFL Draft Class
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama and the NFL draft have gotten to know each other very well ever since Nick Saban got to Tuscaloosa.
Saban didn’t have a single player drafted after his first season, but it was off to the races after that. His elite recruiting has created a pipeline of sorts to the NFL that he and his coaching staff are happy to remind recruits of 365 days a year.
So what can Alabama fans expect this year from the three days of draft action?
Let’s take a closer look with your ultimate Alabama draft preview.
By the Numbers
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First, a look at the history and what Alabama can and should achieve this weekend. Consider the following numbers:
Alabama has had a first-round draft pick every year since 2009, including 16 overall in that span.
Over the last five years, Alabama has had at least two first-round draft picks, which is an NFL record and a streak expected to extend to six this season. It also has had 15 first-round picks, an NFL record over that time span.
Alabama holds active draft records for most players selected in any round over the last five (37), four (30), three (25) and two (17) years.
The program record for draft picks in one year was nine set in 1987. Alabama tied that number in 2012 and 2013 and fell just shy of it last year with eight picks.
According to ESPN, the Cincinnati Bengals and the Green Bay Packers lead the league in former Alabama players with four each, while the St. Louis Rams and Arizona Cardinals each have three. Nine other NFL teams have two Alabama players currently on their roster.
Face to Watch (or Not Watch)
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If you’re going to eagerly be looking for your favorite Alabama coach or player on TV Thursday night, you’ll probably be disappointed.
Safety Landon Collins is the only Crimson Tide player who will attend this year’s draft in Chicago, according to NFL.com’s Bryan Fischer. Amari Cooper, Alabama’s other projected first-round pick, will not.
The Crimson Tide’s coach will not be there, either. Saban said on Tuesday night that he’s going to sit this one out.
“I’ve been to the draft every year, I think, for the last five,” Saban said, according to Alex Byington of the Decatur Daily. “But this year I’m not going to go. … I didn’t think it was necessary.”
With just one of his players projected to get drafted on Thursday night, it doesn’t make much sense for Saban to go all the way up to Chicago. That’s unlike previous years, when Alabama would have three or four players in attendance and getting drafted.
So when Collins walks up on stage to shake Roger Goodell’s hand, it will likely be the only Alabama sighting of the night.
What to Watch for on Thursday
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WR Amari Cooper: Projected first round per NFL.com and CBSSports.com
S Landon Collins: Projected first round per NFL.com and CBSSports.com
It should be another year with multiple Alabama players taken in the first round. Both Cooper and Collins are widely projected to hear their names called on Thursday night.
Cooper, in particular, could go as high as No. 2 to the Tennessee Titans, if the Titans decide they’d like to shore up their wide receiving corps.
He’ll be competing with West Virginia’s Kevin White for the honors of top wide receiver, but NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported that Cooper “has emerged as the consensus No. 1 player at his position” among GMs and scouts.
Collins was expected to be a slam-dunk first-round pick out of school but may have since slipped down teams’ boards. Bleacher Report draft analyst Matt Miller said Collins may be “physically and technically maxed out” on a recent B/R radio appearance.
Mel Kiper and Todd McShay’s recent mock draft has Cooper going No. 3 to Jacksonville with Collins absent from the first round, while Miller is projecting Cooper to the Bears, with no Collins in the first round either.
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What to Watch for on Friday
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RB T.J. Yeldon: Projected second-third round per NFL.com and CBSSports.com.
Alabama should have three players taken by the end of the day on Friday. As its predraft promotional materials are constantly reminding us, it will be a matter of when, not if.
In most other years, Yeldon would be a late-first or early-second-round prospect. But the saturation of the running back market, with guys like Todd Gurley and Melvin Gordon expected to go ahead of him, will push Yeldon back as late as the third round.
NFL Network’s Patrick Claybon threw out an interesting suggestion on Twitter when discussing the Dallas Cowboys offensive line that Yeldon could be a good fit in Dallas. He certainly showed the vision that could make him a good fit late in the second round for the Cowboys.
Wherever Yeldon does end up, though, it will likely be another one-man second day for Alabama like it was last year when Cyrus Kouandjio was its lone Friday selection.
What to Watch for on Saturday
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OL Arie Kouandjio: Projected fifth-sixth round per NFL.com and third-fourth per CBSSports.com
FB Jalston Folwer: Projected fifth-sixth round per NFL.com and fifth per CBSSports.com
LB Xzavier Dickson: Projected seventh round-undrafted free agent per NFL.com and fourth-fifth round by CBSSports.com
OT Austin Shepherd: Projected fifth-sixth round per NFL.com and fifth per CBSSports.com
LB Trey DePriest: Projected seventh round-undrafted free agent per NFL.com and CBSSports.com
WR DeAndrew White: Projected seventh round-undrafted free agent per NFL.com and undrafted per CBSSports.com
QB Blake Sims: Projected undrafted free agent per NFL.com and free agent per CBSSports.com
WR Christion Jones: Projected seventh round-undrafted free agent per NFL.com and undrafted free agent per CBSSports.com
TE Brian Vogler: Undrafted per NFL.com and CBSSports.com
Alabama could have as many as nine players drafted on the last day. It also could have as few as two or three.
That’s part of the suspense of the last four rounds, where draft boards start to differ greatly from team to team. Vinnie Sunseri, for example, last year went in the fifth round to the New Orleans Saints, when many didn’t expect him to be drafted at all.
The sure things here are probably Kouandjio, Fowler and Dickson. Fowler, in particular, may have the longest career out of anyone in this class. He proved to be an effective fullback as a blocker, pass-catcher and rusher at Alabama and should do the same in the NFL.
Miller reported this week that Kouandjio failed “multiple team physicals due to chronic knee problems." His brother, Cyrus, dealt with those same knee issues and was still chosen in the second round. Arie doesn’t have quite the same talent as his brother but still should be drafted in the later rounds.
After those three, though, it will depend on where different teams have each player on their draft board. Alabama has a deep draft pool should teams in the later rounds decide they want someone from Saban’s system.
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