NFL mock draft roundup: Where Alabama players could land this week

Former Alabama players Jihaad Campbell and Jalen Milroe on the sidelines during A-Day at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Photo | Gary Cosby/USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Draft week is finally here. Several former Alabama stars will find their new homes as the NFL Draft takes place from Thursday until Saturday. Offensive lineman Tyler Booker, linebacker Jihaad Campbell and quarterback Jalen Milroe will be three of the 16 draft hopefuls in attendance for the draft, which will be held in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are part of a handful of Crimson Tide players projected to be selected.

The first round will be held on Thursday, while rounds two and three will take place on Friday. The draft will conclude with rounds four through seven on Saturday. To help track where Tide players might land, Tide Illustrated has compiled 10 recent mock drafts.

Who we used: ESPN (Mel Kiper Jr., Field Yates, three rounds), Fox Sports (Geoff Schwartz, one round), NFL.com (Chad Reuter, seven rounds), Pro Football Focus (staff, seven rounds), Pro Football Network (Ian Cummings, seven rounds), SB Nation (James Dator, seven rounds), Sporting News (Vinnie Iyer, seven rounds), The Athletic (Dane Brugler, seven rounds), The Ringer (Danny Kelly, one round), Yahoo! Sports (Nate Tice and Charles McDonald, one round).

Jihaad Campbell, LB

ESPN — No. 32 overall (first round), Philadelphia Eagles

Fox Sports — No. 19 overall (first round), Tampa Bay Buccaneers

NFL.com — No. 15 overall (first round), Atlanta Falcons

PFF — No. 14 overall (first round), Indianapolis Colts)

PFN — No. 35 overall (first round) Arizona Cardinals

SB Nation — No. 19 overall (first round), Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Sporting News — No. 16 overall (first round), Arizona Cardinals

The Athletic — No. 19 overall (first round), Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Ringer — No. 18 overall (first round), Seattle Seahawks

Yahoo Sports! — No. 19 overall (first round), Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Combined average: 20.6

Outlook: Four of the 10 mock drafts used here have Campbell landing in Tampa. That makes sense, as the Buccaneers need a linebacker, and the former Alabama star figures to be one of the best players on the board by the middle of the first round.

Campbell, 6-foot-3, 235 pounds) has the ability to play on the edge or as an off-ball linebacker at the next level. While he primarily played off the ball at Alabama, he’ll need to polish up his play recognition to excel in that role at the next level. Because of that, he could be better suited to serve as a rush linebacker in a 3-4 setup.

Tyler Booker, IOL

ESPN — No. 47 overall (second round), Arizona Cardinals

Fox Sports — No. 27 overall (first round), Baltimore Ravens

NFL.com — No. 28 overall (first round), Detroit Lions

PFF — No. 34 overall (second round), New York Giants

PFN — No. 17 overall (first round) Cincinnati Bengals

SB Nation — No. 38 overall (first round), New England Patriots

Sporting News — No. 28 overall (first round), Detroit Lions

The Athletic — No. 37 overall (second round), Las Vegas Raiders

Yahoo Sports! — No. 27 overall (first round), Baltimore Ravens

Combined average: 31.4

Outlook: Booker might be the best true guard in this draft class. The problem is, several of this year’s tackles are projected to move inside, eliminating the demand for interior linemen.

Half of the mock drafts used here have the 6-foot-5, 321-pound lineman landing in the first round. Detroit and Baltimore were both repeat projections on this list. While Houston wasn’t a projected landing spot in this roundup, the Texans are drafting at No. 25 and could use help on the offensive line. Maybe head coach DeMeco Ryans looks at his alma mater to fill the need.

Jalen Milroe, QB

ESPN — No. 68 overall (third round), Pittsburgh Steelers*

NFL.com — No. 33 overall (second round), Cleveland Browns

PFF — No. 52 overall (second round), Seattle Seahawks

PFN — No. 25 overall (first round) Pittsburgh Steelers

SB Nation — No. 26 overall (first round), Los Angeles Rams

Sporting News — No. 110 overall (fourth round), New York Jets

The Athletic — No. 34 overall (second round), New York Giants

*Projected trade

Combined average: 49.7

Outlook: Milroe’s draft evaluations are all over the place. Pro Football Network projects Pittsburgh trading back four spots to take Milroe at pick No. 25 overall as the third quarterback off the board. Meanwhile, Sporting News has the dual-threat passer falling all the way down to the fourth round.

Milroe’s likely landing spot seems to be somewhere in between. There’s a good chance he’ll be one of the first players selected on Day 2, as the Cleveland Browns, New York Giants and New York Jets could all elect to pass on quarterbacks in the first round.

Que Robinson, OLB

NFL.com — No. 217 overall (seventh round), Dallas Cowboys

PFF — No. 139 overall (fifth round), Minnesota Vikings

PFN — No. 130 overall (fourth round) Detroit Lions

SB Nation — No. 167 overall (fifth round), Tennessee Titans

Sporting News — No. 127 overall (fourth round), Los Angeles Rams

The Athletic — No. 202 overall (sixth round), Los Angeles Rams

Combined average: 163.7

Outlook: Booker, Campbell and Milroe will be the first Alabama players off the board. After that, the next Tide name called is a bit of a crapshoot. Que Robinson is that guy in this roundup, thanks to a pair of fourth-round projections.

The fourth round seems a bit high for Robinson, who is coming off a season-ending injury and is a bit of a tweener at the edge position. Still, the 6-foot-4, 243-pound defender was a productive pass rusher during his time on the field last season.

Robinson started his career at Alabama on special teams and will likely do the same for his future NFL team. The defender’s stock in the draft depends on whether teams feel he’s a capable backup as a 3-4 linebacker.

Malachi Moore, DB

NFL.com — No. 188 overall (sixth round), Tennessee Titans

PFF — No. 181 overall (sixth round), Denver Broncos

PFN — No. 127 overall (fourth round) Los Angeles Rams

SB Nation — No. 147 overall (fifth round), San Francisco 49ers

Sporting News — No. 222 overall (seventh round), Las Vegas Raiders

The Athletic — No. 172 overall (fifth round), Seattle Seahawks

Combined average: 172.8

Outlook: Malachi Moore’s seventh-round projection from Sporting News tanks his average here. In reality, the versatile safety should hear his name called closer to the fifth round.

Moore, 5-foot-11, 196 pounds, is below average in terms of size and strength for an NFL safety. However, he is capable of playing multiple spots in the secondary and has a nose for the football in coverage. A two-time team captain, Moore is also the kind of player teams want in their locker room. While his immediate future will likely be on special teams at the next level, the former Alabama safety could have some staying power in the league.

Tim Smith, DL

PFF — No. 181 overall (sixth round), Los Angeles Chargers

SB Nation — No. 232 overall (seventh round), Indianapolis Colts

Sporting News — No. 185 overall (sixth round), Pittsburgh Steelers

The Athletic — No. 214 overall (sixth round), Los Angeles Chargers

Combined average: 203

Outlook: While Tim Smith is steady in several areas, he hasn’t shown the game-breaking inside presence that teams look for earlier in the draft. That’s led to the 6-foot-4, 302-pound defensive lineman slipping to the later rounds in many mock drafts.

Smith tallied just 6.5 sacks over five years with Alabama. While his numbers were underwhelming, the former top-50 recruit showed flashes of his potential. That included a solid farewell performance against Michigan in last season’s ReliaQuest Bowl, where he recorded seven stops and a sack.

C.J. Dippre, TE

PFF — No. 233 overall (seventh round), Chicago Bears

The Athletic — No. 179 overall (sixth round), Cleveland Browns

Combined average: 206

Outlook: Partially due to Alabama’s struggles in the passing game the past two years, C.J. Dippre’s production with the Tide didn’t quite match his talent. Still, the in-line tight end finished third on the team with 21 receptions for 256 yards last season.

Dippre, 6-foot-5, 256 pounds, is able to help out as a blocker and a pass-catcher. While he isn’t elite in either aspect, that combined balance should allow him to land a backup role on an NFL team.

James Burnip, P

NFL.com — No. 250 overall (seventh round), Green Bay Packers

Outlook: It’s difficult to evaluate where punters will land in the draft. Regardless of where — or if — James Burnip is selected, he’ll likely get the opportunity to try out for an NFL role. The Green Bay projection is an interesting one. After all, the Packers selected JK Scott from Alabama in the fifth round of the 2018 draft.

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