NFL Network's Daniel Jeremiah evaluates several Alabama players
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NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah updated his top 50 draft prospects Monday with five former Alabama players making the cut. Defensive lineman Quinnen Williams lead the way at No. 2, followed by running back Josh Jacobs (No.6), offensive lineman Jonah Williams (No. 15), tight end Irv. Smith Jr. (No. 25), and inside linebacker Mack Wilson (No.49).
Jeremiah spent more than two hours explaining his evaluations to reporters during a teleconference later in the day. Here’s what he had to say regarding current and former Alabama players.
On why Josh Jacobs ranks so high on his board?
"I’m a huge fan of his. One of the knock on him is he doesn’t get a lot of touches at Alabama or as many as you would like because it’s so crowded there. I think if you gave the league a do-over on Alvin Kamara, whose touches are almost identical to Josh Jacobs, we’d see Alvin Kamara go in the top-10, top-15 if we were to redraft that year. So, if that’s the only concern you have about him — I don’t have any concern about that. He’s got vision. He runs with power. He can make you miss. He can catch the ball out of the backfield. He can block. There's really nothing he can’t do. So, the knock on him that he doesn’t have touches, I can spin that and say that’s a good thing. There’s still plenty of tread on his tires.”
On what Mack Wilson has to do to be a first-round pick?
“Mack Wilson dropped a little bit on my list. I thought his play kind of trailed off down the year at the end of the year. He’s somebody that has all the athletic ability in the world. We’ll see at the Combine, can he have a great workout and kind of try to recapture a little bit of momentum I think he might have lost there at the end of the year.”
On if Alabama had any players who should have returned for their senior year
"I don’t think Deionte Thompson finished up the season the way you’d want to finish it up. That Clemson game put a lot of doubt in some people’s minds of can he really run? That was a concern there. I thought he kind of had some big games early on in the season where you got really excited about him. Obviously, Ole Miss was one of those. But I thought he would have been one to maybe go back, get a little bit stronger and then you go from being in that -- I have him kind of in the mid-to-late second round range. If he goes back to school and gets a little bit stronger and a little bit more consistent as a tackler as well as just making some more plays down the stretch, I think you’re talking about somebody that’s a first-round lock next year.”
On which Alabama players have the best chance to improve their stock at the combine
“A guy that’s going to be interesting is Christian Miller. We’ll see what happens with him. How’s he going to move around, how’s he going to test. I know one thing: he is tall, he’s long. You see him as a rusher. He’s got great hands. He can finish. He’s a little bit stiff in coverage. That’s one of those things if you’re a team looking at him as an outside linebacker, you want to see how does he do going through those drills. Can he change direction? Can he show you a little more fluid? That can be something he can prove that could really help himself in that department. So, he’s one I would definitely keep an eye on. I think you might start hearing his name buzz a little bit more after the combine because he’s a pretty intriguing player.”
On his evaluation of Tua Tagovailoa
“He’s pretty darn good. I got a chance to meet him and watch him work out at the Elite 11 in Los Angeles over the summer… I have not done a full workup on him. I just know having seen him throw live, there’s a guy that can make every single throw. A really good anticipatory thrower, which I believe is something that is tough to teach. He throws with outstanding anticipation, which is good to see. What does he need to work on? I’d have to see more work to be able to tell you that, but hopefully, he can get over this little injury bug, some of these issues he’s had to deal with in his lower half, and have a nice, clean season next year.”
On Jonah Williams
“I think there’s a chance he can hold up at tackle and can be a functioning, starting tackle. I think he has a chance to be special inside. I think, to me, that’s where he fits best. Some of his length issues, he’s not a real long guy, showed up in the Clemson game this year, showed up in the Clemson game last year, where guys kind of get into his chest and he struggles a little bit on the edge. So I like him kicking inside. He is a dominating run blocker. You’re talking about somebody who can get his hands on people, work up to the second level, combo block, he’s instinctive, he runs his feet on contact.
"He played a lot of football there at Alabama. I know some teams actually like him at center. I wrote him up and said I think he has a chance to be a perennial Pro Bowl guard with the way that he plays. I love the nasty that he has. I have to come up with a new scouting term if anybody wants to help me, because we used to call them ‘typewriter feet,’ but apparently typewriters aren’t a thing anymore. So I have to find another way to describe that, somebody that has that quick pitter patter with his feet, he’s a real quick-footed guy.”
