Nick Saban Alabama draft picks record: History of Crimson Tide's first-round selections under legendary coach

Bill Bender

Nick Saban Alabama draft picks record: History of Crimson Tide's first-round selections under legendary coach image

Legendary Alabama coach Nick Saban might be retired, but his legacy will be felt in the NFL for several years to come. 

The 2024 NFL Draft will feature Saban's last draft class at Alabama, and that could lead to another year of double-digit draft picks for the Crimson Tide. 

Saban, who will be an analyst on ESPN's “College GameDay” in the fall, will be part of the draft coverage on ABC. Saban, of course, retired after the 2023 college football season. During his unprecedented run at Alabama from 2007-23, he posted a 201-29 record with six national championships.

The NFL Draft has been an infomercial of sorts for the program ever since Saban's first draft class in 2008. Here's a look at the first-round picks, total draft picks, and players who will join that group in 2024. 

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How many first-round picks has Alabama had under Nick Saban?

Entering the 2024 NFL Draft, the Crimson Tide have produced 44 first-round picks under Saban since 2009 – an NCAA record for a coach at a single school. 

Saban had three first-round picks during his stint at Michigan State and two from his time at LSU, giving him a record 49 for his career. 

The Crimson Tide also have produced at least one first-round pick in every season since 2009, a streak that should continue in 2024. That 15-year streak broke the record set by Miami from 1995-2008. 

A full list of Saban's first-round picks can be found below.

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Alabama mock draft 2024: Projected first-round picks

Sporting News' Vinnie Iyer's latest seven-round mock draft has four Alabama players being selected in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft. That would increase Saban's first-round total to 48 draft picks at Alabama and 53 overall. 

A look at those players and their projected landing spots: 

POS PLAYER PICK PROJECTED TEAM
LB Dallas Turner 8 Atlanta Falcons
CB Terrion Arnold 17 Jacksonville Jaguars
T JC Latham 18 Cincinnati Bengals
CB Kool-Aid McKinstry 26 Tampa Bay Buccaneers

How many NFL draft picks has Alabama had under Nick Saban?

Alabama has produced 123 draft picks under Saban since 2009, the most of any FBS program in that stretch. 

That includes four draft classes with double-digit picks. Alabama produced 12 draft picks in 2018, and 10 players in 2017, 2021, and 2023. 

Iyer has seven Alabama players projected to be drafted, including those four first-round picks, edge Chris Braswell (second round), Jermaine Burton (second round), and defensive tackle Justin Eboigbe (fifth round). If all seven of those players are selected, then the Saban era at Alabama would close with 130 draft picks. 

List of Nick Saban's first-round NFL draft picks

A look at Saban's 49 first-round picks heading into the 2024 NFL Draft. Saban had three first-round picks at Michigan State in 1999-2000 and two at LSU in 2004-05. The other 44 first-round picks are from his tenure at Alabama.                         

YEAR PLAYER College PICK TEAM
1999 Dimitrius Underwood Michigan State 29 Dallas Cowboys
2000 Plaxico Burress Michigan State 8 Pittsburgh Steelers
2000 Julian Peterson Michigan State 16 San Francisco 49ers
2004 Michael Clayton LSU 15 Tampa Bay Buccaneers
2005 Marcus Spears LSU 20 Dallas Cowboys
2009 Andre Smith Alabama 9 Cincinnati Bengals
2010 Rolando McClain Alabama 8 Oakland Raiders
2010 Kareem Jackson Alabama 20 Houston Texans
2011 Marcell Dareus Alabama 3 Buffalo Bills
2011 Julio Jones Alabama 6 Atlanta Falcons
2011 James Carpenter Alabama 25 Seattle Seahawks
2011 Mark Ingram Alabama 28 New Orleans Saints
2012 Trent Richardson Alabama 3 Cleveland Browns
2012 Mark Barron Alabama 7 Tampa Bay Buccaneers
2012 Dre Kirkpatrick Alabama 17 Cincinnati Bengals
2012 Dont'a Hightower Alabama 25 New England Patriots
2013 Dee Milliner Alabama 9 New York Jets
2013 Chance Warmack Alabama 10 Tennessee Titans
2013 D.J. Fluker Alabama 11 San Diego Chargers
2014 C.J. Mosley Alabama 17 Baltimore Ravens
2014 Ha Ha Clinton-Dix Alabama 21 Green Bay Packers
2015 Amari Cooper Alabama 4 Oakland Raiders
2016 Ryan Kelly Alabama 18 Indianapolis Colts
2017 Marlon Humphrey Alabama 16 Baltimore Ravens
2017 Jonathan Allen Alabama 17 Washington Redskins
2017 O.J. Howard Alabama 19 Tampa Bay Buccaneers
2017 Reuben Foster Alabama 31 San Francisco 49ers
2018 Minkah Fitzpatrick Alabama 11 Miami Dolphins
2018 Da'Ron Payne Alabama 13 Washington Redskins
2018 Rashaan Evans Alabama 22 Tennessee Titans
2018 Calvin Ridley Alabama 26 Atlanta Falcons
2019 Quinnen Williams Alabama 3 New York Jets
2019 Jonah Williams Alabama 11 Cincinnati Bengals
2019 Josh Jacobs Alabama 24 Oakland Raiders
2020 Tua Tagovailoa Alabama 5 Miami Dolphins
2020 Jedrick Wills Alabama 10 Cleveland Browns
2020 Henry Ruggs III Alabama 12 Las Vegas Raiders
2020 Jerry Jeudy Alabama 15 Denver Broncos
2021 Jaylen Waddle Alabama 6 Miami Dolphins
2021 Patrick Surtain II Alabama 9 Denver Broncos
2021 DeVonta Smith Alabama 10 Philadelphia Eagles
2021 Mac Jones Alabama 15 New England Patriots
2021 Alex Leatherwood Alabama 17 Las Vegas Raiders
2021 Najee Harris Alabama 24 Pittsburgh Steelers
2022 Evan Neal Alabama 7 New York Giants
2022 Jameson Williams Alabama 12 Detroit Lions
2023 Bryce Young Alabama 1 Carolina Panthers
2023 Will Anderson Jr. Alabama 3 Houston Texans
2023 Jahmyr Gibbs Alabama 12 Detroit Lions

Bill Bender

Bill Bender Photo

Bill Bender graduated from Ohio University in 2002 and started at The Sporting News as a fantasy football writer in 2007. He has covered the College Football Playoff, NBA Finals and World Series for SN. Bender enjoys story-telling, awesomely-bad 80s movies and coaching youth sports.