Former Alabama star believes Will Anderson Jr. can end drought

Nick Saban has produced a first-round pick at every non-specialist position except edge rusher over the past 14 seasons at Alabama. The last time a Crimson Tide edge rusher was drafted in the first round was in 1993, when John Copeland and Eric Curry were chosen No. 5 and No. 6 overall. As part of Alabama’s last great edge rushing duo, Copeland believes sophomore Will Anderson Jr. can end the drought.

“I think the thing really that sets [Anderson] apart and the thing that set most great football players apart is his mentality when he’s on the field,” Copeland told AL.com during an interview. “You know he’s a pass rusher. He lives on being a pass rusher. He knows his role in the defense, and that’s what he lives for.”

Copeland knows the position well. After being named a consensus All-American at Alabama, he spent eight seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals. Copeland played in 107 games, making 324 tackles with 24 sacks and nine forced fumbles over his career.

What makes a first-round edge rusher?

Like many others, Copeland was also impressed by Anderson Jr.’s impact in 2020. He finished his freshman season with 52 tackles and seven sacks on the way to a national championship.

“Coming in as a freshman, being able to compete the way he did in the SEC, was able to pick up the defense — at the end of the season, you would’ve thought this guy was a veteran who had been around a while,” Copeland told AL.com. “Picked up everything well. He played with a lot of enthusiasm and just a maturity of the guy, you would’ve never thought he was a freshman out there. He’s a man amongst boys.”

Anderson Jr. is a 6-foot-4, 243-pound former five-star recruit from Hampton, Georgia. He looks the part of an elite edge rusher, but Copeland says the small details make him special.

“If you look at it, he has those long arms,” Copeland told AL.com. “He has one of the fastest first steps that I’ve seen in the SEC from anybody in a long time.”

Copeland continued: “You have a lot of guys that have great talent, but they don’t understand exactly what their roles are, and they try to do a little bit too much. He understands what his role is, and he goes out and gets it done.”

Anderson Jr. is draft eligible in 2023 and looks the part of a drought ending player. Alabama can hold onto him for at least two more seasons, then wait to hear his name called in the NFL Draft.