10 Alabama numbers to watch in the NFL draft

Round 1 — Thursday, 7 p.m. CT (ABC, ESPN, NFL Network)

Round 2-3 — Friday, 6 p.m. (ABC, ESPN, NFL Network)

Round 3 — Saturday 11 a.m. (ABC, ESPN, NFL Network)

After several weeks of anticipation and a sea of projections, the NFL draft is finally upon us. The three-day event will take part in Cleveland beginning with the first round Thursday night followed by rounds 2-3 on Friday and 4-7 on Saturday.

This year’s draft could see Alabama reach several milestones. Here are 10 numbers to watch as you tune in.

Alabama has had at least one player selected in the first round in each of the last 12 drafts. That’s the longest active streak and two away from Miami’s record of 14 straight drafts with a first-round selection set from 1995 through 2008. Given the talent on the Tide’s roster, it should be in a position to pass the Hurricane’s record in three years.

Since 1960, two receivers from the same school have been selected in the first round on five separate occasions. Last year, Alabama’s Henry Ruggs III and Jerry Jeudy were both selected on Day 1. The 2007 draft saw two different pairs of receivers go in the first round in LSU’s Dwanye Bowe and Craig Davis as well as Ohio State’s Ted Ginn Jr. and Anthony Gonzalez. In 2001, Miami’s Santana Moss and Reggie Wayne accomplished the feat. Before that, Florida’s Ike Hilliard and Reidel Anthony were both taken in the first round of the 1997 draft. Alabama receivers DeVonta Smith and Jaylen Waddle are both projected to be first rounders this year. If they are, it will mark the first time the occurrence will happen in back-to-back years.

Alabama has never had three players selected in the top 10 of a single draft. That could change this year as Mac Jones, Jaylen Waddle, DeVonta Smith and Patrick Surtain II have all been projected as top-10 selections in recent mock drafts.

Nick Saban has produced 96 draftees during his time at Alabama, making him four away from the century mark. In addition, the head coach has also developed 119 total draft picks during his time in the SEC with Alabama and LSU. That’s four away from former Ole Miss head coach Johnny Vaught’s conference record of 123. Former Alabama head coach Paul “Bear” Bryant produced a total of 120 draft picks during his time at Alabama and Kentucky.

Five Alabama players are set to be in attendance for the first round of the NFL draft on Thursday night. That group includes quarterback Mac Jones, receivers Jaylen Waddle and DeVonta Smith, cornerback Patrick Surtain II and defensive tackle Christian Barmore, all of whom have been projected as first-round picks by several mock drafts.

Miami holds the record for most first-round selections in a single draft with six in 2004. Alabama could make a run at that title as the Tide has had eight players projected as possible first-rounders in Mac Jones, Jaylen Waddle, DeVonta Smith, Patrick Surtain, Najee Harris, Christian Barmore, Landon Dickerson and Alex Leatherwood.

Alabama has had seven or more players selected in each of the past nine drafts. The last time the Tide had less than seven players selected came in 2011 when it had only five players drafted. To be fair, that class produced four first-rounders.

Alabama has had an offensive lineman selected in each of the past eight drafts. That streak will safely continue this year with Landon Dickerson, Alex Leatherwood and Deonte Brown all projected to get picked.

Alabama’s two longest positional draft streaks come at defensive back and linebacker as the Tide has produced at least one selection from both of those positions in each of the last nine years. Those streaks should continue this year thanks to Patrick Surtain II and Dylan Moses.

Alabama has produced 10 or more draftees three times under Nick Saban. The Crimson Tide’s program record was set in 2018 when it saw 12 players selected. That was an SEC record at the time but was broken by LSU last year as the Tigers had 14 players selected.