College football insider assesses Alabama's biggest weakness, sets expectations for 2022

When you start breaking down a roster like Alabama, it can be hard to nail down a single weakness. When you bring back two Heisman candidates from last season, a good amount from a team that lost in the national championship game, and a pool of impact transfers, you would be hard pressed to find one. In The Athletic’s Stewart Mandel’s mind, though, their weak spot is clear.

On Monday’s episode of the Paul Finebaum Show, Mandel said, if anything, the offensive line is their most glaring issue.

“If they have a weakness, it’s (offensive line). It certainly was at times last season. The Iron Bowl in particular and then into the spring game. You can never tell for sure if the defense was that great or was the offense that bad?,” said Mandel. “The fact that Bryce Young kept getting sacked in that spring game on one hand is a product of the fact that they have guys like Will Anderson. I think their pass rush will be incredible this year. On the other hand, should we be alarmed that the offensive line that wasn’t necessarily great last year played like that? We’ll see.”

In 15 games last season, the Crimson Tide gave up 42 sacks. That was before losing OL Evan Neal to the Giants with the seventh overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft.

While it remains an issue, Alabama will still be one of the teams to beat all season long. If all goes to plan they’ll be the preseason favorite, win double-digit games, and compete for championships. Still, Mandel believes a single deficiency like this could hold them back from their ultimate goal.

“I think any worries about Alabama is the difference between are they going to lose one regular season game or are they going to go undefeated? I don’t think any sort of disaster is coming,” said Mandel. “I’ve often seen seen a team that is the overwhelming number one and I think Alabama will fall short of the national championship, which is the expectation that comes with that preseason number one ranking, because of one kind of fatal flaw.”

Young and Georgia Tech transfer running back Jahmyr Gibbs are explosive options in the backfield. It’ll be on the offensive line, though, to protect them and keep them upright long enough to make their plays. Nick Saban will get a better idea of how problematic this issue could be when Alabama opens their season against Utah State on September 3rd.