Alabama football: 6 Crimson Tide players that will be future NFL studs

One of the most pleasant surprises of the 2020 college season has been the phenomenal play of Alabama quarterback Mac Jones. The redshirt junior filled in for Tagovailoa in the last third of the 2019 season once the Hawaiian left-hander suffered a season-ending injury for the Crimson Tide. We all remember Jones’ two bad picks in the Iron Bowl vs. the Auburn Tigers, yet here we are.

Jones would be the 2020 Heisman Trophy winner if the season ended today. He would be the first Crimson Tide quarterback to do it, something great Alabama players like Tagovailoa, Jalen Hurts, A.J. McCarron, Ken Stabler and Joe Namath never accomplished. From a talent perspective, he is not Tagovailoa or Hurts, but Jones has certainly surpassed what McCarron did in Alabama uniform.

There are two things that will get Jones drafted in the first round this year: His love for throwing the deep ball and the precision and timing in which he does it. It is a separating factor from him maybe being a day three pick if he were to declare a year early vs. being a likely first-round pick in 2021. This is contingent on him and Alabama finishing out the rest of the season as we envision.

He falls in the Jared Goff/Matt Ryan prototype seamlessly. He loves to throw it deep much more than Teddy Bridgewater. Though he may not have the arm strength of Goff, the precision compares favorably to Ryan. If he is one of those three players, Jones is absolutely worth being a top-12 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.