Takeaways from Alabama football’s Pro Day

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Several Alabama Crimson Tide draft prospects worked out on Thursday in front of an audience of NFL coaches and executives. Attendees included but were not limited to Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin, Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll, Miami Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel and Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper.

The now-former Alabama players had the chance to make an important impression on this audience as the 2023 NFL Draft draws near.

Bryce Young finally had his day on Thursday. He didn’t work out at the NFL Combine but took part in Pro Day activities inside the Hank Crisp Indoor Facility.

Young threw both short routes and open-field passes and was largely pretty sharp. The Panthers’ trade for the top pick in this year’s draft opens up a number of interesting scenarios. One of those is whether the 2021 Heisman Trophy winner, one of the most dynamic college football playmakers in recent memory and an indispensable talent on the Crimson Tide’s 2022 team, will be selected with the pick.

The Chicago Bears, who traded the selection away, are already developing a young quarterback. The Panthers, however, have had multiple failed experiments at the position in recent years and it is likely that a rookie quarterback is the direction newly-hired Frank Reich’s squad takes. The only thing seemingly halting any conclusions on that signal caller being Young is his height. Young’s collegiate coach did not appear to possess any reservations on the subject.

“I think you should ask the people that had to play against him and see if they think [height] affected his performance,” Saban said.

Young added he would be grateful to any team that took him, whether with the top pick or elsewhere in the draft.

“I try to be myself. I want to present myself in the best light,” Young said. “I don’t control where I’m picked, who picks me. I’ll be grateful for whatever team does take a chance on me. I try to focus on what I can control.”

Notably, Young had dinner with members of the Panthers organization on Wednesday night in Tuscaloosa. The quarterback said he hopes the organization took away more insight into who he is as a person.

“I try to be transparent about who I am, on the field [and] off the field," he said. "I just wanted to show who I was, speak on myself, learn more about them as well. Hopefully, they learned more about me than you can see on film.”

The marquee defensive player in Alabama’s 2023 draft class, Will Anderson, didn’t work out on Thursday, opting to let his NFL Combine performance speak for itself. He said it was important to be at the facility in support of his teammates, and that he is excited for his NFL dream to come true.

Anderson met with the Seahawks, who hold a top-five pick and whose head coach was present in Tuscaloosa. He also met with the New Orleans Saints, Chicago Bears, and “a couple” of other squads.

Saban described Anderson as a throwback player who is a great competitor. Specifically, the Alabama head coach said his star linebacker is a “dog-ass competitor.”

“He’s like 20 years ago,” Saban said.

Anderson responded to these remarks by pointing to the mentality within the football program.

“That probably means that I could play with some of the older teams that he had,” Anderson said. “I’m taking that as a compliment. A lot of guys come back and say, ‘You could have played with us back in the day.’ That just shows the type of mentality that they have here at Alabama and the type of guys they’ve built. … I take that as a super compliment.”

The linebacker noted that he’s only officially visited one NFL team, the Houston Texans. The Texans hold the second overall selection in the draft and recently hired former Alabama linebacker DeMeco Ryans as their new head coach.

If Anderson is high on the new coach’s list, it would make complete sense as to why. His quickness, strength and downright intensity make a defensive player of his caliber a highly sought and rare commodity and certainly lend credence to Saban’s remarks.

In addition to his playing days, Ryans came to the Texans following a successful stint as defensive coordinator of the San Francisco 49ers.

Anderson isn’t the only potential first-round Alabama prospect on the defensive side of the ball. Defensive back Brian Branch did run through drills on Thursday. He made the most of his final showing in crimson and white with 11 solo tackles in the Sugar Bowl. He is seen as one of the best defensive backs in this season’s draft, and a big part of that is due to his versatile nature. With Tomin in attendance at Pro Day, Steelers fans on social media were quick to suggest him as an option for the heralded franchise’s selection at pick 17. Much like an elite defensive player already on the Steelers, Branch is not limited to just one position. That player is very familiar to Crimson Tide faithful- his name is Minkah Fitzpatrick.

Saban said Branch was an outstanding player for Alabama and emphasized the prevailing opinion that he can play more than just safety.

“He played really, really well for us. [He’s] very instinctive, played with great intangibles, lots of toughness. A lot of people want to look at him as a safety. He didn’t play that much safety here. He always played star for us,” Saban said.

The star is the fifth defensive back in the nickel. Any player on the defensive side who can play multiple positions can help teams adjust to the rapidly changing offensive schemes in the modern league, as well as create depth at those positions in which they play.

Branch fits that bill, which is why he's a highly-touted prospect in the class. The strengths Saban described only add to his ledger as teams seek defensive help. If he were to go to Pittsburgh, this presents a difficult scenario for the rest of the AFC North. What’s scarier than one former Alabama player who plays all over the field on defense?

Two of them.