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Alabama All-Time First-Round NFL Draft Picks
By Ethan Stone
Last Updated:
Alabama, as anyone who doesn’t live under a rock would know, is perhaps the greatest college football program in the sport’s history. The Crimson Tide have 18 claimed titles (5 unclaimed) and have purely dominated the sport since 2007 when Nick Saban officially rose to power in Tuscaloosa and won his first Alabama title 2 years later in 2009.
Alabama was already a force before that point as well. Head coach Paul “Bear” Bryant is a legend of the game, and the NFL and college ranks are littered with Alabama alumni that have left their unique mark on the game of football.
A whopping 411 players out of the University of Alabama have heard their named called in the NFL draft, with many more being selected in the AFL draft prior to 1970. Of those 411 players, 80 were selected in the first round.
Here’s a list of all 80:
Alabama No. 1 Overall Picks
The Crimson Tide have seen 2 players taken No. 1 overall, which is somehow a surprisingly low number coming from the powerhouse that is Alabama. Both No. 1 selections were quarterbacks – Bryce Young in 2023 and Harry Gilmer all the way back in 1948.
Bryce Young, QB — No. 1 overall, 2023 NFL Draft (Carolina Panthers)
Bryce Young is among the best QBs to ever represent the Crimson Tide at the college level. He’s the only Alabama QB to throw for 3,000 yards in 2 seasons and finished second behind only AJ McCarron in career passing yards. Young is also second all-time in career touchdown passes. Across his 3 years at Alabama, Young won the SEC Championship Game twice, a national title in 2020 and the Sugar, Rose and Cotton Bowls.
Young was not your typical No. 1 overall prospect, standing at just 6-0 and weighing in at under 200 pounds. Even despite his lack of size, as a testament to his abilities as an accurate thrower with a top-tier football IQ, he was taken No. 1 overall – selected by the struggling Carolina Panthers.
Those Panthers failed to give Young a chance in Year 1, to be frank. The rookie QB ran for his life behind a dreadful Panthers O-line with perhaps the worst receiving corps in the NFL. He started all 16 games, throwing for 2,811 yards and 11 touchdowns with 10 interceptions and 253 rushing yards. Far from great, but it’s nearly impossible to draw any long-term conclusions from a rough Year 1 in Charlotte.
There’s some hope, though. The Panthers drafted South Carolina star WR Xavier Legette, signed solid former Steelers WR Diontae Johnson and retained veteran receiver Adam Thielen for the 2024 season after improving a dreadful offensive line in free agency. It’s not much, but it may just give Young something to work with heading into Year 2.
Harry Gilmer, QB — No. 1 overall, 1948 NFL Draft (Washington Redskins)
Harry Gilmer scored 57 touchdowns across his 4 years in Tuscaloosa and had an especially brilliant year in 1945, winning All-SEC, All-American and SEC Player of the Year honors. His was known for his jump pass, which led Alabama to a 1946 Rose Bowl victory, where he won the MVP award. In 1993, Gilmer was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame.
Washington took Gilmer No. 1 overall and he went on to play both QB and halfback in the NFL, seeing limited success in both arenas. Gilmer played 8 seasons in the league – 6 with Washington and 2 with Detroit, totaling 3,786 passing yards, 23 touchdowns and 45 interceptions. He made the Pro Bowl twice.
After his playing career, Gilmer took up coaching and served as the Lions’ head coach for the 1965 and 66 seasons. He finished with a 10-16-2 record as the Lions’ head coach.
More Notable Alabama Draft Selections
Joe Namath, QB — No. 12 overall pick, 1965 NFL Draft (St. Louis Cardinals)
Broadway Joe is another one of the all-time greats to hail from Alabama. Namath led the Crimson Tide to a national title in 1964 and won the Sugar and Rose Bowls while being considered the top QB in the country.
Namath went on the choose the AFL over the NFL after being selected No. 1 overall by the New York Jets, but he was also taken No. 12 overall by the St. Louis Cardinals in the NFL Draft. Namath, of course, played the majority of his career in the NFL when the two leagues merged in 1970.
And if Namath’s college career was strong, his pro football career was the stuff of legends. Namath won Super Bowl III with the Jets and was named Super Bowl MVP. Prior to that, Namath won an AFL Championship with the Jets and was named the AFL Rookie of the Year and the 1968 AFL Player of the Year.
Namath played a total of 13 years in the AFL/NFL, all but one for the Jets. Across his tenure, he reached the Pro Bowl 5 times and was named an NFL All-Pro, finishing his career with a grand total of 27,663 passing yards and 173 touchdowns. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1985.
The Dominant Reign of Nick Saban (2008-24 NFL Drafts)
Alabama’s performance in the NFL Draft from 2008 until 2024 is almost too incredible to properly do it justice. It’s the perfect measurement of just how dominant Nick Saban was at Alabama, too.
Of the Tide’s 411 drafted players dating all the way back to 1936, 133 were selected between 2008-2024 – nearly 1/3. Off those 133 players, 47 (more than 1/3!) were selected in the first round. All that was done in 18 years, more than a lot of schools see across their entire history as a college football program.
Ladies and gentlemen, those are completely ludicrous numbers.
But that’s not it. These aren’t just some random players that will fade into obscurity in a few years’ time. We’re talking star players such as, but not limited to, Julio Jones, Mark Ingram, Derrick Henry, CJ Mosley, Quinnen Williams, Amari Cooper, Patrick Surtain II, Will Anderson Jr., Landon Dickerson and Jaylen Waddle. Some of those players will be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame one day.
Alabama transitioned into the Kalen DeBoer era after Saban retired following the 2023 season, but the Crimson Tide still have plenty of NFL talent on the roster. Expect the number of former Crimson Tide players taken in Round 1 to continue to grow as the years go on.
Ethan Stone is a Tennessee graduate and loves all things college football and college basketball. Firm believer in fouling while up 3.
