Will Anderson Jr. has been dominant in his first two seasons at Alabama, and the Crimson Tide star finished fifth in last season’s Heisman Trophy voting. The spectacular start to his collegiate career got us thinking, where does Anderson rank right now among draft prospect from Alabama during the Nick Saban era, which began in 2007.
Below you’ll find my top 10 list, including an honorable mention.
Important to remember here: This is how these players were universally viewed as prospects, factoring in off-field and maturity issues. Their NFL careers had no bearing on these rankings. Let’s go!
Honorable Mention: Patrick Surtain II, CB (2021)
With NFL bloodlines by way of his father with the same namesake, from the jump, Surtain was almost universally viewed as ready for an outside cornerback role at the professional ranks. Now, there were a few lapses downfield in coverage, when he couldn’t find the football and it led to big plays for the opposition. But everything else, from size to sharp technique in all phases to effortless speed and three years of quality production in the SEC, Surtain was widely regarded as one of the safest cornerbacks to enter the league from Alabama during the Saban era.
10. Mark Barron, S (2012)
A late riser during the 2012 pre-draft process, it ultimately got out that Barron was the quarterback of Saban’s defense, quite the stamp of approval for a prospect. That revelation sparked the safety’s meteoric rise to No. 7 overall in the 2012 draft, ahead of two future Defensive Players of the Year (!) Luke Kuechly and Stephon Gilmore. Barron averaged right around 70 tackles and four interceptions per year in his final three seasons in Saban’s defense. While he fell short of staggeringly lofty expectations in the NFL, Barron did have an adequate, nine-year playing career and was one heck of a safety prospect.
9. Quinnen Williams, DT (2019)
Had we seen more of Williams for the Crimson Tide, he probably would’ve been higher on this list, because his lone season as a full-time starter in Saban’s defense was unlike any we’ve seen from the long line of dominant defensive linemen at Alabama. Seriously. In 2018, Williams registered 56 pressures on 344 pass-rushing snaps, which equates to an ungodly 16.2% pressure-generation rate. Williams was a wall against the run, too, totaling a ridiculous 19.5 tackles for loss in his final college season. The “one-year…
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