NFL Priorities, Odd First Round Lead to Disappointing Draft Night for Alabama

It wasn’t the night that the University of Alabama football program expected.

To Crimson Tide fans it almost felt like a kick in the gut.

With three former players among the 25 to accept invitations and attend the NFL draft in Chicago, it was supposed to be a night of celebration as they were all expected to be among the 31 selections in the first round.

Most thought the worst-case scenario would be maybe one of them might not end up having his moment on stage, hugging the commissioner and holding up a jersey with his name on the back above the number “1.”

But not all three.

When the Seattle Seahawks made the final pick of the first round they were among the six players still waiting in the green room, the others being UCLA linebacker Myles Jack (who is recovering from knee surgery), Mississippi State defensive lineman Chris Jones and Clemson defensive end Kevin Dodd.

Notable unselected players who weren’t on-hand included Notre Dame linebacker Jaylon Smith (knee), Eastern Kentucky defensive end Noah Spence and Alabama running back Derrick Henry, the reigning Heisman Trophy winner.

That’s a pretty talented group of unpicked players.

Granted, it was an unusual, albeit fascinating first round, hijacked by the person who posted eye-popping items on Laremy Tunsil’s personal social media accounts, including him smoking from a bong while wearing a gas mask and asking a school official for money—which he confessed to receiving.

After being hailed as the best player available in the draft Tunsil wasn’t selected until No. 13 by Miami while possibly getting Ole Miss into some serious trouble with the NCAA. If that train wreck wasn’t enough, former Rebels defensive lineman Robert Nkemdiche similarly dropped all the way to No. 29 and Arizona.

It wasn’t totally disappointing for Alabama either as Ryan Kelly was the 18th pick by the Indianapolis Colts, who view him as a long-term rock in the heart of prized quarterback Andrew Luck's offensive line.

“He was really our targeted player for months now,” Colts general manager Ryan Grigson said at a press conference in Indianapolis.

Yet Alabama fans have seen slides like this before.

Last year safety Landon Collins fell out of the first round and was immediately snatched up with the first pick in the second round by the New York Giants, three selections before running back T.J. Yeldon was taken by Jacksonville.

In 2012, Alabama’s bid to have five first-round picks didn’t pan out when linebacker Courtney Upshaw slid into the second round. He wound up being the third player selected the next day by the Baltimore Ravens, who had traded out of the first round.

Just before Nick Saban arrived at Alabama, linebacker DeMeco Ryans was the first pick of the second round in 2006. To give an idea of how much things have changed since then the Crimson Tide’s streak of not having a first-round selection, which dated back to 2000, continued until 2009 (offensive tackle Andre Smith, sixth overall to Cincinnati).

Anyone looking for an overriding message against Alabama is searching for a mirage, especially when considering that before Thursday night Saban had seen 17 of his players selected in the first round since 2009, more than double any other Bowl Subdivision program during that time span.

Instead, the important factors to keep in mind are the impressive depth of defensive linemen in this draft, which really worked against Reed and Robinson, and the changing landscape of the NFL.

Moments after the first round ended analyst Mike Mayock of the NFL Network said on-air about the Alabama snubs: “What it tells us is that it’s a pass-first league, and defenses value linebackers that can run and defensive tackles who can get up the field.”

Plus, there was also the surprising jolt earlier in the day, when Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network reported that Ragland had been diagnosed with an enlarged aorta, although it’s not expected to impact his career. 

While the seriousness of the report shouldn’t be questioned—nor Rapoport, a top-notch reporter who used to cover Alabama for the Birmingham News—the timing smelled about as bad as rotten fish. It made one wonder if an agent was trying to get a little extra money for his client or a team leaked it in hopes that Ragland might fall to it in the draft.

"I'm good,” was Ragland’s simple response to Michael Casagrande of AL.com.

Only he did drop and kept his former teammates company as the other tables in the green room cleared one by one. It couldn’t have been pleasant to experience, and the one player cameras caught Saban congratulating was someone he recruited and didn't land, Tunsil. 

If the projected rookie salary figures by Spotrac.com are accurate their falling out of the first round will make a big difference financially.

Kelly’s four-year contract could land him roughly $10 million (last year cornerback Marcus Peters signed for $9.58 million including a $5.23 million bonus), and the last pick of the first round is expected to net a deal worth more than $8 million.

The top selection of the second round will probably get a contract for $6.6 million.

At least the decline from there is much less gradual and no one expects any of the three to be around long when the second round starts Friday evening. Henry should also hear his name called, as might his backfield colleague Kenyan Drake and cornerback Cyrus Jones, while a bunch of other players will be paying attention Saturday for Rounds 4-7.

When the draft is all said and done, Alabama will be among the teams with the most players selected and the Southeastern Conference will top all leagues after having the most first-round picks with eight.

Having five players picked in the top 50, or however it works out, will still be impressive and none of those who felt snubbed will ever have to worry about motivation again, as Ragland noted with the right kind of tweet at the end of the night.

Besides, it could have been worse. Just ask Ole Miss.

Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.

Christopher Walsh is a lead SEC college football writer. Follow Christopher on Twitter @WritingWalsh.