Alabama Takeaways From Day 1 of the NFL Draft

The Crimson Tide tied an NFL Draft record while Jalen Hurts got a new weapon in Philadelphia.

For the second straight year, Alabama tied an NFL Draft record. While the Crimson Tide didn’t match last season’s six first-round selections, Evan Neal and Jameson Williams both heard their names called Thursday night. That extended Alabama’s streak to 14 straight years with a first-round pick, matching Miami’s record set from 1995 through 2008.

After being projected as the No. 1 overall pick earlier this year, Neal ended up at No. 7 to the New York Giants, while Williams went to the Detriot Lions five picks later. Those two selections were upstaged by a blockbuster trade that should set up Jalen Hurts for success next season.

Here’s a breakdown of how Thursday night went from an Alabama perspective.

Hurts gets another big-time target

Hurts will have one of the NFL’s top receiving corps at his disposal next season. The biggest storyline Thursday night came as the Philadelphia Eagles traded for A.J. Brown, acquiring the star receiver from the Tennessee Titans for the 18th and 101st overall picks.

During his three seasons in the NFL, Brown has recorded 185 receptions for 2,995 yards and 24 touchdowns. The former Ole Miss standout was in the final year of his rookie contract and will sign a four-year, $100 million deal with the Eagles.

Last year, Philadelphia paired Hurts with former Alabama teammate DeVonta Smith, drafting the Heisman Trophy winner with the 10th pick of the draft. Smith didn’t disappoint, recording 64 receptions for 916 yards and five touchdowns during his rookie season.

Hurts is entering his third year with the Eagles after being selected as a second-round pick in 2020. During his first full season as the starting quarterback last year, he completed 61.3% of his passes for 3,144 yards and 16 touchdowns with nine interceptions while adding 784 yards and 10 more scores on the ground. He’ll be expected to improve those passing numbers this season after being provided with what should be one of the league's top receiving tandems.

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Neal suffers a slight slide

Following reports that some teams were worried about potential issues with his hip and knee earlier this week, Neal slid out of the top five picks, falling to the Giants at No. 7 overall. The Alabama lineman was the second tackle to come off the board, following N.C. State’s Ikem Ekwonu, who went one pick earlier to the Carolina Panthers.

Later in the night, Giants general manager Joe Schoen addressed Neal’s injury concerns, stating that 8% of the league had issues with him but that team doctors felt fine with his status moving forward.

Schoen also said the plan is to play Neal at right tackle as 2020 first-round pick Andrew Thomas is currently manning the left tackle position for the Giants. Neal has recent experience at the right tackle position, playing there during Alabama's title-winning season in 2020.

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Practice reps in New York will be interesting

Before picking Neal, the Giants selected Oregon edge rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux with the No. 5 overall pick. That figures to make for a few interesting rookie conversations moving forward.

Thibodeaux made headlines in January when he explained his decision to pick Oregon over Alabama in the 2019 class. The five-star defender went on to incorrectly use the word “stigmatism” when attempting to refer to the negative perception of education at Alabama. That wasn’t all. Thibodeaux also spoke about past reps against Neal during their recruiting days, stating that he got the better of the five-star lineman.

“When I’m seeing the O-line D-line battles, Nolan Smith and Evan Neal, those are the same battles we had at The Opening,” Thibodeaux said in January. “And personally, I was killing them. I’m just talking facts. You can look this up. I don’t make this up.”

Video highlights of those camps show a different story. However, the two will now get the opportunity to settle the score on the field in New York. It seems like they are already planning to put on a show.

Kayvon Thibodeaux, sitting next to Evan Neal right now, said it will be a blessing to compete against him in practice. Who's going to win 1-on-1 reps? "It's going to be 50-50."

— Dan Salomone (@Dan_Salomone) April 29, 2022

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Williams goes behind former Ohio State teammates

Williams saw his former Ohio State wide receiver teammates Garrett Wilson and Chis Olave come off the board before him at the No. 10 and No. 11 picks respectively. However, the Alabama receiver didn’t have to wait too long after that as Detroit traded back into the first round to select him at No. 12 overall.

After taking Michigan edge rusher Aiden Hutchinson No. 2 overall, the Lions gave the 32nd, 34th and 66th picks to the Minnesota Vikings for the No. 12 pick and the No. 46 pick.

“I see myself being a big part of this offense,” Williams told reporters via MLive following the selection. “Obviously, they took a chance on me, they have faith that we can do big things. I’m just here to show my playmaking ability and we can change things around, for sure.”

After transferring to Alabama from Ohio State last summer, Williams finished as a Biletnikoff Award finalist, leading the Crimson Tide with 1,572 yards and 15 touchdowns through the air. The speedster might have been the first wide receiver off the board had he not suffered an ACL injury during the national championship game in January.

According to ESPN’s Pete Thamel, Williams will be cleared to run full speed by July. Williams has previously stated that he is aiming to be ready to return to the field for training camp. The Lions could also elect to play things safe and place him on the physically-unable-to-perform list before bringing him back after Week 6 of the season.

Whenever Williams gets on the field, he should form a talented young receiving duo with Amon-Ra St. Brown, who recorded 90 receptions for 912 yards and five touchdowns during his rookie season last year.