How many NFL players has Nick Saban produced at Alabama? All you need to know
Alabama is one of college football's most productive programs in recent times. The school has featured in seven college football playoffs, progressing to six title games and winning three of those.
There have been nine seasons of college football playoffs, and Alabama has featured in seven, that's a 77.0% ratio. And if you were to say you think Alabama was going to make this year's playoff, very few people could call you out on it. Alabama is always a contender and is currently No. 3 in the AP poll. If they win Saturday's encounter versus No. 11 Texas, they could go even higher.
For this and many other reasons, Tuscaloosa is one of the most sought-after destinations in college football for high school recruits. Many high school players dream of playing for the Crimson Tide and get a chance to raise the interest of a professional team in the NFL.
Today we are taking a look at exactly how many of Saban's former players have gone on to grace the pro side of the game.
How many players in Nick Saban's Alabama have been drafted in the NFL?
A total of 116 Crimson Tide players have been drafted into the NFL during Saban's tenure at Tuscaloosa. An astonishing 41 of those have been drafted in the first round. Some of the these names include WR Julio Jones, RB Dont'a Hightower, and WR Amari Cooper.
In the 2021 NFL Draft, Bama tied a record for six first-round picks in a single year. In that draft, Saban's players signed contracts worth $135.6 million in total. If you add up the contracts of all of the Crimson Tide players drafted during Saban's reign the sum goes up to $2 billion.
Surprisingly, Saban has only had one first-overall draft pick in all these years at Tuscaloosa. It was only this year that the Carolina Panthers selected quarterback Bryce Young as the first overall pick of the 2023 NFL Draft.
Before Young, the highest one of the players from the Saban era was drafted was a three-way tie between Marcell Dareus, Trent Richardson, and Quinnen Williams, two defensive linemen and one running back, all picked at number 3 in the 2011, 2012, and 2019 NFL Drafts.
Surprisngly, no player from Alabama was drafted in the 2008 NFL Draft. The fact that a school like Alabama got shut out from the draft left many surprised but there were good reasons behind it. Alabama hired Mike Shula in 2003, in what was universally accepted as a bad hire.
The overall player development in Shula's tenure with the team was poor and barely any of his players even got draft considerations. As a result of this and other factors combined, Appalachian State, Bentley, McNeese State, Mount Union, Washburn all had more players drafted than Alabama.
Having such a long track record of helping student-athletes achieve sporting success at the collegiate level and generational wealth demonstrates why the Crimson Tide is such a coveted destination. Any young recruit would make a huge mistake by not listening to the veteran coach.