Alabama Crimson Tide 10 Greatest NFL Draft Picks

Which Alabama players turned out to be the best NFL draft picks? Who are the ten greatest selections in the school’s history?

Who are the ten best NFL draft picks of all-time to come from the University of Alabama?

It’s not just about who the best pro prospects were, or even who had the best NFL careers. It’s about which former Alabama Crimson Tide stars were the best draft picks for the teams that drafted them.

It doesn’t really help an NFL team to take a player and then see him rock – or spend a key part of his career – doing big things for someone else.

There might have been a few all-time greats coming from Alabama, but not as many as you might think. The defensive linemen weren’t that deep, and other than a few Hall of Famers, there weren’t too many offensive linemen, either.

Crimson Tide stars haven’t exactly fizzled, but most of the college greats didn’t set the world on fire at the next level. These ten, though, were truly special.

The ten greatest Alabama Crimson Tide NFL draft picks were …

1. OT John Hannah, New England

1973, 1st round, 4th pick overall
Pick Before: OT Jerry Sisemore, Texas by Philadelphia
Pick After: DT Dave Butz, Purdue by St. Louis

Arguably the greatest offensive lineman in pro football history, Hannah started as a rookie and never got off the field, starting almost every game, turning into the dream guard who never came off the field as a dominant force right up until the end of his career. He was good right away, but once it all came together, he was an absolute killer despite checking in at just 6-2 and 265 pounds – smallish by today’s standards.

He earned his first All-Pro honor in his fourth season, and then it became a regular thing finishing his career with nine Pro Bowl appearances and seven All-Pro nods.

2. DE Derrick Thomas, Kansas City

1989, 1st round, 4th pick overall
Pick Before: CB Deion Sanders, Florida State by Atlanta
Pick After: LB Broderick Thomas, Nebraska by Tampa Bay

Everyone now might be looking for a Von Miller type. Before the Super Bowl L MVP turned into the new prototype, there was Lawrence Taylor, and there was the late Derrick Thomas who set the standard for what an outside linebacker could and should be. The Crimson Tide pass rusher came up with a ridiculous 52 career sacks in college, and kept it all going as a pro.

The Hall of Famer spent his entire career in Kansas City, playing 11 years making 133 sacks and 649 tackles, going to nine straight Pro Bowls and being named an All-Pro twice.

3. WR Don Hutson, Green Bay*

1935, Undrafted

While he wasn’t actually drafted, he has to be on the list. Yeah, he came up with some of his biggest years from 1941 to 1945 – when most able-bodied young men were off doing other things – but he was still the NFL’s first great receiver, catching an unheard of 488 passes for 7,991 yards and the 99 touchdowns – the standard for scores before Jerry Rice broke the record.

For the time period, the numbers are so astounding and so much better than anyone else of his era, it’s not a stretch to call him the Babe Ruth of wide receivers before the modern day NFL. Dominant, he was an obvious Hall of Famer while being named an eight-time All-Pro.

4. TE Ozzie Newsome, Cleveland

1978, 1st round, 23rd pick overall
Pick Before: DB Ron Johnson, Eastern Michigan by Pittsburgh
Pick After: LB Dan Bunz, Long Beach State by San Francisco

Kellen Winslow might be in the discussion of the greatest pre-1990 tight ends of all-time, but Newsome played at a high level for a longer time, playing 13 years catching 662 passes for 7,980 yards and 47 touchdowns. He changed the idea of what a tight end could be, going to three Pro Bowls and earning the 1984 All-Pro nod as part of his Hall of Fame career.

5. QB Joe Namath, New York Jets

1965, 1st round, 1st pick overall
Pick Before: None
Pick After: WR Larry Elkins, Baylor by Houston

The stats don’t do him justice. He threw 215 interceptions and 170 touchdown passes for the Jets, and he wasn’t even all that great in the Super Bowl III win over the Colts – even though he was named MVP – but the legendary guarantee, the swagger, the mega-watt star power, and the talent to help change pro football history as the signature star of the AFL overcame any raw numbers.

Always hurt with knee problems, he was still a rocket-armed bomber who played 12 years in New York, going to five Pro Bowls and being named to the 1968 All-Pro Team and MVP.

6. QB Bart Starr, Green Bay

1956, 17th round, 200th pick overall
Pick Before: DE Bill Danenhauer, Emporia State by Baltimore
Pick After: T Tom Mooney, Miami University by New York Giants

Okay, so he spent most of his career handing the ball off, but he was still the perfect field general for Vince Lombardi, going from being a 17th round throwaway pick to being a part of some of the most fabled teams of all-time. From the Ice Bowl to the first two Super Bowls, Starr led the way to seven championships in all as the 15-year starter after getting just one start as a rookie.

Starr was an easy Hall of Famer who was named the 1966 MVP and All-Pro and went to four Pro Bowls.

7. C Dwight Stephenson, Miami

1980, 2nd round, 48th pick overall
Pick Before: WR Ralph Clayton, Michigan by New York Jets
Pick After: WR Kevin House, Southern Illinois by Tampa Bay

The Gold Standard of centers, Stephenson needed a few years to take over the job, and then he came up with a special five-year run anchoring a line that kept Dan Marino upright. The Hall of Fame blocker finished his career with five straight Pro Bowl appearances and four straight All-Pro nods. While he wasn’t massive by today’s standards and just 6-2 and 255 pounds, he was a technical marvel.

8. LB Cornelius Bennett, Indianapolis*

1987, 1st round, 2nd pick overall
Pick Before: QB Vinny Testaverde, Miami by Tampa Bay
Pick After: RB Alonzo Highsmith, Miami by Houston

An exception had to be made for Bennett, considering he was drafted by Indianapolis. Unable to get signed by the Colts, he was traded to Buffalo – Indy ended up using the move to get Eric Dickerson – but he’ll get credit here since he was a Bill right away.

With 71.5 career sacks and 1,048 tackles, he’s a fringe Hall of Famer – he belongs in the Hall of the Very, Very Good.

By his second year, he was special earning All-Pro honors making 103 tackles with 9.5 sacks, while going to five Pro Bowls in his first seven years. His production fluctuated, and he eventually went to Atlanta and finished up at Indianapolis, but he was still one of the key parts to a defensive puzzle that went to four straight Super Bowls.

9. QB Ken Stabler, Oakland

1968, 2nd round, 52nd pick overall
Pick Before: OG Mike LaHood, Wyoming by Los Angeles Rams
Pick After: WR John Wright, Illinois by Atlanta

One of the coolest quarterbacks of all-time, the late Oakland leader earned a spot into the Hall of Fame even though he threw 222 career picks and 194 touchdown passes. Even so, he went on a run earning a reputation as one of the NFL’s greatest winners, going 69-26-1 for Oakland with several historically great plays and a Super Bowl win. A four-time Pro Bowler and the 1974 MVP and All-Pro, he was the exact right quarterback for the right team.

10. LB Lee Roy Jordan, Dallas

1963, 1st round, 6th pick overall
Pick Before: T Bob Vogel, Ohio State by Baltimore
Pick After: TE Pat Richter, Wisconsin by Washington

Somehow not in the Hall of Fame, Jordan played 14 years as a mainstay of the Dallas defense, going to five Pro Bowls and being named to the 1969 All-Pro team. He turned out to be one of the best picks by far in the 1963 draft, turning in a very steady, very good all-around career. He might not have always been sensational, but longevity matters here.