Alabama won the first round of the NFL Draft, leading all schools with four players selected Thursday night.
Defensive back Minkah Fitzpatrick, defensive lineman Da’Ron Payne, linebacker Rashaan Evans and wide receiver Calvin Ridley helped the Crimson Tide tie an SEC record for most first-round picks in a single draft. Alabama also had four players taken in last year's draft as well as in 2011 and 2012. Auburn (2005) and LSU (2007) are the only other two SEC programs to accomplish the feat.
Alabama also set the SEC record by having a player selected in the first round for a 10th straight year. The Crimson Tide was previously tied with Florida, who had a streak from 1983-91. Alabama’s current run is the longest active streak by any school.
Georgia finished second behind Alabama with three first rounders on Thursday. Notre Dame, Ohio State, UCLA, Virginia Tech and Louisville all had two players selected apiece.
Fitzpatrick was the first Alabama player taken as he went off the board to the Miami Dolphins with the No. 11 pick. Payne followed two picks later to the Washington Redskins where he will play on the same defense as former teammates Jonathan Allen and Ryan Anderson, who were drafted last year.
Evans was taken at No. 22 by the Tennessee Titans. Ridley went No. 26 to the Atlanta Falcons where he joins former Alabama receiver Julio Jones.
Fitzpatrick won the Jim Thorpe and Chuck Bednarik awards in 2017. The Old Bridge, N.J., native ends his career as the Alabama career leader in interception returns for touchdowns with 4, including a school-record 2 in one game against Texas A&M in 2015. This season he finished as the Tide’s fourth-leading tackler with 60 stops and added 8.0 tackles for loss (minus-31 yards), 1.5 sacks (minus-15 yards), 8 pass breakups, 3 quarterback hurries, 1 interception, a forced fumble and a blocked kick.
Payne earned Defensive MVP honors at the Allstate Sugar Bowl and the College Football Playoff National Championship Game to help lead the Tide to their 17th national championship this season. He recorded an interception and a touchdown reception against Clemson in the Sugar Bowl to help seal UA’s 24-6 win over the No. 1-ranked Tigers. The Birmingham, Ala., native finished 2017 with 53 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss (minus-7 yards), 1 sack (minus-7 yards), 3 pass breakups, a team-high 8 quarterback hurries, 1 fumble recovery and 1 interception.
Evans collected a team-high tying 74 tackles, and led the Tide with 13 tackles for loss (minus-54 yards) despite missing a pair of games due to injury. Evans contributed 7 quarterback hurries to tie for second on the team. He totaled 6 sacks (minus-41 yards) to rank second on the team in that category. He added 3 pass breakups, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.
Ridley ended his career as one of the top receivers in Alabama history. The Fort Lauderdale, Fla., native ranks No. 2 all-time at UA in receptions (224) and touchdown receptions (19) and third in receiving yards (2,749) and 100-yard receiving games (8). Ridley also caught at least one pass in all 43 games of his career at Alabama, which was the third-longest active streak in the NCAA at the end of the 2017 season.
Day 2 of the NFL Draft will continue Friday at 6 p.m. CT with the second and third rounds. Rounds 4-7 will be held on Saturday beginning at 11 a.m.
