This will not be an NFL draft column attempting to predict every pick made today at Radio City Music Hall in New York.
If you Google “2008 NFL mock draft,” you get 778,000 results. Some of them don’t even have Jake Long going first to the Dolphins, which already happened. Those drafts are the most easily mocked. And none of them will matter this evening.
So let’s not do that.
Instead, let’s focus on what you won’t see in the first round of those 778,000 mock drafts or, more importantly, the real draft — Alabama football players.
Remember the 2000 draft? Cleveland Browns fans certainly do, because their team picked Courtney Brown first overall. Crimson Tide fans should remember the day as well.
Alabama offensive tackle Chris Samuels went third overall and running back Shaun Alexander went 19th to the Seahawks — two more moments of pride for, at the time, the Southeastern Conference’s all-time leader in first-round picks. The tradition continued.
Then it stopped. The number of first-round picks from Alabama since then? Zero. Not one. And that won’t change today. Defensive back Simeon Castille — who might switch to safety — defensive end Wallace Gilberry and receivers DJ Hall and Matt Caddell will likely hear their names called, but not until Sunday.
A correlation typically exists between the success of college football programs and in the NFL draft. Before 2006, for example, Tennessee’s offense celebrated like crazy if it got past midfield. Until Robert Meachem and Arron Sears went in the first two rounds last year, you would have to go back to the 2003 draft to find a Tennessee offensive player picked higher than the sixth round.
So what happened at Alabama? Who deserves the blame?
Well, the first reality you have to acknowledge is the probation handed down by the NCAA. I know Alabama fans would never blame any of their struggles on the lovable NCAA, but it’s there if you want it.
Simply put, the Tide didn’t have the same number of players as everyone else. They missed on some prospects due to all the sanctions and Phillip Fulmer’s tape recorder.
But they still had some talent. I mean, Mississippi State is the only other SEC school without a first-round pick since 2001. Since the Seahawks picked Alexander, the SEC has produced 46 first-rounders, and none are from Alabama. Tennessee is the all-time SEC leader with 39 first-rounders.
LSU had four first-round draft picks last year alone.
“Year in and year out, the LSU football program has been a big part of the NFL draft,” coach Les Miles said, “and this year will be no exception.”
You’ve got to put some blame, and draft analyst Mike Detillier agrees with me, on all the coaching changes — and in particular Mike Shula. Players can’t develop with new coaches continually implementing new schemes. And the players under Shula didn’t seem to get any better.
Of course, NFL teams deserve some blame as well. Linebacker DeMeco Ryans went in the second round two years ago, then was voted NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year and is clearly a super-awesome player. Second place in the voting behind Ryans was Mark Anderson, a fifth-round pick.
As for this year’s crop of Tide players, no one really knows where they could get selected. But it likely won’t be today. Even Nick Saban acknowledges a slew of first-round picks “certainly enhances our program more,” but he didn’t have too much trouble recruiting this year without all the flashy first-rounders.
“I’d like to see some of the guys (get picked) like Matt Caddell, who was very productive for us and was a good guy on the team,” Saban said. “Even though he had a role here of being a third receiver, he was very productive in doing that. You’d like to see some guys like that get an opportunity to go someplace, because those are the kind of guys that sometimes make the team.”
Of course, Alabama fans shouldn’t mind if the first-round drought hits nine drafts next year.
That means Andre Smith stayed in school.
