Alabama Football: 2024 NFL Draft Recap

With the 2024 NFL Draft in the books, we officially have the final numbers of Nick Saban’s career at Alabama:

• 133 total draft picks, an average of 8 picks per year.
• 47 first round draft picks, an average of almost 3 per year. This also means 35% of the total draftees were all 1st rounders.
• 16 straight years with at least one first round pick.
• At least one player selected at every single position, including kicker, punter, and long snapper.
• One player at 1st overall (Bryce Young) and 1 player as the final pick of the draft (Jaylen Key).

Essentially, Saban hit every possible mark or milestone around the NFL draft that could be obtained in a coaching career. It was an incredible run of success that has never been seen before and most likely will never be duplicated.

If you want a nice graphic, check out this one:

Sure, LSU, UGA, and OSU had individual classes full of upperclassmen that topped the chart, but Alabama made up half of the 15 best draft classes of the last decade... And that doesn’t even include Saban’s first iteration of college football dominance from 2008-2013.

(*Side note, check out Washington’s 2024 class making an appearance.... The coach from that group is now inheriting the infrastructure at Alabama).

With that, here’s a quick look at each of the draft picks in Saban’s final class.

OT JC Latham - Round 1, pick 7 - Tennessee Titans

Starting with Andre Smith back in 2007, Alabama has had at least one future 1st round draft pick starting at an offensive tackle spot in every single season with the exception of 2013. Latham bookmarked that incredible run for Saban, and is now headed to the Titans to try to bolster an offense that was fairly putrid in 2023.

OLB Dallas Turner - Round 1, pick 17 - Minnesota Vikings

A frenzy of FOMO on QBs led to a whole bunch of QBs and receivers getting a drafted in the first 13 picks of the draft before any teams even considered going defense. With Turner still on the board at 17 despite being viewed as a top-ten talent and a top-three defensive player, the Minnesota Vikings couldn’t stand it and traded up to grab him. He’ll be replacing the production of Danielle Hunter and will be put in a position to really showcase himself to the NFL early.

DB Terrion Arnold - Round 1, pick 24 - Detroit Lions

The Lions have essentially become Alabama North, with Arnold, Brian Branch, Jahmyr Gibbs, and Jameson Williams all getting drafted there in the first couple of rounds the last three years. The Lions are the most “fun” and trendy team in the NFL right now, so adding a big personality like Arnold is a perfect fit.

CB Kool-Aid McKinstry - Round 2, pick 41 - New Orleans Saints

Kool-Aid should have never fallen out of the first round, but the massive run on offensive players pushed him down the board. The Saints reaped the benefit, though, and he won’t have to move too far to head on down to New Orleans. The Saints have a couple of good corners in Marshon Lattimore and Paulson Adebo, so McKinstry will likely be afforded the luxury of taking a season to acclimate to the NFL.

Edge Chris Braswell - Round 2, pick 57 - Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Bucs were one of the best defenses in the NFL last year, but starting OLBs YaYa Diaby and Joe Tyron-Shoyinka combined for only 12.5 sacks. The defense as a whole manufactured sacks pretty well, with 48 dispersed across the team, but overall could use a guy off the bench to add some juice to the edge rush.

WR Jermaine Burton - Round 3, pick 80 - Cincinnati Bengals

Burton is the kind of guy that could very well be one of the best #2 WRs in the league for a decade with his well-rounded game and athleticism... Or he could be a big bust. Who really knows? In any case, he’ll be integrated into one of the best passing attacks in the NFL, replacing Tyler Boyd to join Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins to catch balls from Joe Burrow. A wide receiver probably couldn’t ask for a better situation.

DL Justin Eboigbe - Round 4, pick 105 - L.A. Chargers

The Chargers just got a new coach in Jim Harbaugh who loves some interior defensive line play, and his returning predicted starters are Poona Ford, Otito Ogbonnia, and Morgan Fox. Which.... Those are names that exist. Fox is a decent interior pass rusher and Ford is a free agent signing with some starts at previous stops, but there is plenty of room for a rookie to make his way onto the field here.

RB Jase McClellan - Round 6, pick 186 - Atlanta Falcons

With Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier both returning, Jase is solely a depth option and will have to show out in camp just to make the roster in Atlanta. The life of a running back is a difficult one.

K Will Reichard - Round 6, pick 203 - Minnesota Vikings

The Vikings double dipped into the Crimson Tide by grabbing the most accomplished college kicker of all time. Greg Joseph had an impressive couple of seasons for Minnesota, but regressed some in 2023 and they allowed him to walk in free agency. Reichard will be coming in expected to be the long-term solution.

Fortunately, the Vikings have been in an indoor stadium since 2016, so conditions will be favorable for a kicker.

S Jaylen Key - Round 7, pick 257 - New York Jets

Mr. Irrelevant! Key will be fighting to make a roster spot as a depth piece and special teams player.

OL Darrian Dalcourt - UDFA - Baltimore Ravens

The Ravens already have Tyler Lindenbaum as the starter at center. They drafted Nick Samac in the 7th round and signed Dalcourt after the draft to compete for the backup spot.

LB Trezman Marshall - UDFA - Still unsigned

Trez was largely a forgotten man, but he did a good job of helping to stabilize Alabama’s linebacker play last year as both Deontae Lawson and Jihaad Campbell dealt with injuries at various times. Hopefully he can catch on somewhere.