Is Alabama linebacker Will Anderson draft-eligible?
By John Buhler
Alabama linebacker Will Anderson is arguably the most talented player at any position in college football.
Will Anderson and the rest of the Alabama Crimson Tide will be playing the Georgia Bulldogs for all the marbles in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game.
Even though this is a rematch of the SEC Championship Game played a little over a month ago, these are the two best teams in college football. More importantly, the sheer amount of talent on both rosters should have NFL fans excited about who could be joining their favorite team in the upcoming 2022 NFL Draft. Is Anderson even draft-eligible this season? How high could he go?
No, Anderson is not draft-eligible, as he is not three years removed from his final season of high school football. However, he would have been the first player taken in the 2022 NFL Draft if he was allowed to enter it.
Alabama football: Is Will Anderson draft-eligible for 2022 NFL Draft?
So how would a guy who is not even draft-eligible be the first player taken if there were no entry requirements for the 2022 NFL Draft? Well, this is not a draft swimming in quarterback talent. While guys like Pitt’s Kenny Pickett, Ole Miss’ Matt Corral and North Carolina’s Sam Howell will all go in the first round, the best players coming off the board first this year are other pass-rushers.
The expectation is for Michigan’s Aidan Hutchinson and Oregon’s Kayvon Thibodeaux to go one-two in some order to the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Detroit Lions. Though Hutchinson and Thibodeaux are outstanding pro prospects, Anderson has been otherworldly playing in college football’s best conference. He could be the first player taken in the 2023 NFL Draft if he declares.
Anderson may have lucked out by not going to the Jaguars or Lions, but then again, that may be an inevitability this time next year.
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