Building a 53-man NFL roster using only former Alabama players (Defense)

Alabama football is on a different level than most college programs. At this point, building a 53-man NFL roster made up of former Crimson Tide stars has become an annual tradition. Every year, it’s fascinating to see the impressive collection of talent that coach Nick Saban has developed for the next level.

With almost 75 players in the league nowadays, the task of building an all-Alabama roster isn’t even about piecing things together at most positions. In a lot of situations, there are tough decisions that have to be made to get the number down to 53 players, which is what NFL general managers are asked to do.

Well, this year is no different. Below, we’ve put together the offensive roster made up of exclusively former Alabama stars who are now in the NFL. But before we reveal which former players did — and didn’t — make the cut, we have to make you aware of the parameters.

There are two things to keep in mind.

First off, this roster is only made up of current NFL players who went to Alabama. In order to qualify, the player either has to be on an NFL roster right now or at least been on one at some point during the 2021 season. Even guys such as running back T.J. Yeldon are not eligible because he last played with the Buffalo Bills in 2020.

The second thing to know is that I left off former Alabama quarterback Jalen Hurts for this exercise. Yes, it’s true that he’s technically a former Crimson Tide player who spent three seasons in Tuscaloosa, but he finished his career at Oklahoma. Plus, we’re not trying to make this all-Alabama roster too lopsided, right?

Let’s get started.

Building a 53-man NFL roster using only former Alabama playes (Offense)

Defensive Line (9)

Who makes it: Jonathan Allen; Quinnen Williams; Daron Payne; Christian Barmore; Raekwon Davis; Dalvin Tomlinson; Jarran Reed; A’Shawn Robinson; Phidarian Mathis (R)

Who doesn’t make it: Isaiah Buggs; Damion Square; Da’Shawn Hand; Johnny Dwight; LaBryan Ray (R)

Is nine defensive linemen too many? Probably, but I couldn’t justify cutting any of these guys. Plus, the decision will make a lot more sense when we get the edge position in a minute. Simply put, there’s not a lot of talent or depth there, so the defensive line will be asked to make up for some of those deficiencies.

Allen is capable of lining up some on the edge, which should help, but I also contemplated adding Da’Shawn Hand or LaBryan Ray to the mix. At the end of the day, we’re banking on Alabama generating most of its pass rush from all these interior players. With the slew of talent above, I feel fairly confident that risk will pay off. If not, there’s always next year with a certain star pass rusher from Tuscaloosa arriving in the NFL.

Edge Rushers (3)

Who makes it: Terrell Lewis; Anfernee Jennings; Christopher Allen (R)

Who doesn’t make it: None

This position took two important hits that we should note.

First, Christian Miller isn’t eligible because he hasn’t played the last two years. He chose to opt out of the 2020 season, and then was subsequently cut by the Panthers prior to the start of this past season. After being a fourth-round pick in 2019, the South Carolina native played in 7 games with 2.0 sacks.

That would’ve been useful edge depth, but he didn’t qualify.

Ryan Anderson is another one who wasn’t eligible. He originally signed with the Giants last offseason, but was released before the season started after being suspended 6 games for violating the league’s policy on performance enhancing substances. Based on those unfortunate circumstances, Alabama’s edge depth took yet another hit.

Terrell Lewis, Anfernee Jennings and even Christopher Allen are all young pass-rushers with upside and potential, but I don’t feel great about this group overall. Can we go ahead and call up Will Anderson? That would solve a lot of issues here.

Linebackers (5)

Who makes it: C.J. Mosley; Dont’a Hightower; Rashaan Evans; Mack Wilson; Christian Harris (R)

Who doesn’t make it: Reggie Ragland; Shaun Dion Hamilton; Dylan Moses

Alabama’s off-ball linebacker group has taken hit after hit over the last several years. At one time, the Crimson Tide were cranking out first-round talents on an annual basis. With guys like Mack Wilson and Dylan Moses falling short of draft expectations — for numerous reasons — the depth isn’t what it used to be.

Fortunately, there are still a couple of effective pieces at this spot.

That includes C.J. Mosley, who finally got on the field for the New York Jets this past season and had 168 tackles in 16 starts. Dont’a Hightower isn’t the same caliber of player that he once was for the New England Patriots, but Christian Harris is more than capable of taking some of the coverage responsibilites off his plate, even as a rookie.

Plus, Hightower and Rashaan Evans can maybe help alleviate some of those problems out on the edges, too.

I wanted to include Reggie Ragland on this all-Alabama roster, but Wilson’s youth and special teams ability won out.

Cornerbacks (5)

Who makes it: Marlon Humphrey; Trevon Diggs; Patrick Surtain II; Levi Wallace; Anthony Averett

Who doesn’t make it: Jalyn Armour-Davis (R), Saivion Smith; Josh Jobe (R)

Alabama is loaded at cornerback. Marlon Humphrey, Trevon Diggs and Patrick Surtain are all young, ascending talents who have combined for multiple Pro Bowl seasons. Plus, they’re all still 25 years or younger.

Levi Wallace has also proven to be a capable starter on the perimeter, which is why he was offered a nice two-year, $8 million contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers this offseason. The former walk-on/undrafted free agent turned starter would be just fine as a CB2, but in this all-Alabama defense, he won’t even be asked to crack the top three.

Meanwhile, Anthony Averett finally got his chance to step into a starting role this past season for the Baltimore Ravens. He rewarded them with 54-tackle, 3-interception season. Then as a result, he was rewarded with a one-year, $4.5 million deal from the Las Vegas Raiders.

Between Wallace and Averett, that’s what I’d call quality depth.

Safeties (5)

Who makes it: Minkah Fitzpatrick; Eddie Jackson; Kareem Jackson; Xavier McKinney; Ronnie Harrison

Who doesn’t make it: Landon Collins; HaHa Clinton-Dix; Deionte Thompson; Tony Brown, Shyheim Carter; Jared Mayden

Once again, there’s some quality talent on that cut list, but there are only so many roster spots available. Overall, Alabama fans would be thrilled with the five guys who made it. Not only is there talent in the safety room, there’s also quite a bit of versatility.

More than likely, Minkah Fitzpatrick would be asked to slide from his safety position back into the nickel or Star role he thrived in while playing under Saban at Alabama. And Xavier McKinney is more than capable of providing elite depth at either the Star or safety spots.

Of course, that would leave the two Jacksons, Eddie and Kareem, as the two starters at safety.

At 34 years old, Kareem’s career is beginning to wind down, but he still managed close to 90 tackles and an interception for the Denver Broncos last season. If his play begins to decline, a 25-year-old Ronnie Harrison will be ready to step into his starting role. The big-bodied safety has already started 40 games in four seasons, after all.

Specialists (2)

Who makes it: Thomas Fletcher; JK Scott

Who doesn’t make it: Carson Tinker

Obviously, Will Anderson is going to bolster Alabama’s pass-rushing presence in the NFL. But Will Reichard might be equally as important to the 2023 version of this roster. Why you might ask? Well, as of right now, this all-Crimson Tide team doesn’t even have a kicker.

To be fair, JK Scott is capable of pulling double-duties, which is what he’ll be asked to do in this scenario. It’ll just become that much easier once Reichard gets to the next level. For now, we’ll settled for the extra roster spot this gave us.

I had a surprisingly difficult time deciding which long snapper I was going to retain, but I ultimately chose Thomas Fletcher for two reasons. The first is that he’s the only one who is currently on an NFL roster. The second reason is youth. Carson Tinker will be 33 in November. Meanwhile, Fletcher is almost 10 years younger.

Snappers can play well into their late 30s and even early 40s, but Fletcher was also a sixth-round pick. He should eventually become the starter for the Carolina Panthers.

Building the Alabama offense

To see the offensive side of this all-Alabama 53-man roster from BamaOn3, click here.