As of late, the University of Alabama has been the premier college football program. The school has a great history when it comes to pro football.
The last time we saw one school dominate an NFL draft over a sustained period of time was nearly 20 years ago. The Miami Hurricanes had a total of 19 players selected in the first round in a total of six years from 1999-2004.
From 2001-08, the school had zero players selected in the first round. Dating back to 2009, the Alabama Crimson Tide has seen 41 of its players turn into first-round draft picks.
There is the modern-day impact of the Tide. Current stars such as C.J. Mosley, Amari Cooper, Jonathan Allen, Marlon Humphrey, DeVonta Smith and Jalen Hurts (who are not in this piece), who knows what this Top 10 could look like down the road. Former NFL standouts Cornelius Bennett and Chris Samuels fell just short.
In terms of history, the school has numerous legendary figures that date back to the early days of both the NFL and AFL. This prestigious list (from No. 10 to No. 1) starts with a “guaranteed” larger-than-life figure.
Here are the greatest University of Alabama alumni in NFL history:
10. Joe Namath
There are those who say he doesn’t really belong in the Pro Football Hall of Fame because they look at his career statistics. That’s a discussion for another day. But there’s little doubt the impact that quarterback Joe Namath made in professional football. And it was far more than just “guaranteeing” a win over the heavily-favored Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III.
He was the first quarterback to throw for at least 4,000 yards and that came in 1967 (4,007), the year before the team won the Super Bowl. Three times he led pro football in passing yards, but it’s also worth noting that he paced football in interceptions four times.
He possessed one of the strongest arms in the game, but the same could not be said about his knees. He also played his entire career during an era where the rules were not kind to pass-catchers.
Who knows how football history would have changed if Namath had signed with the NFL’s St. Louis Cardinals, who like the Jets made him a first-round pick in 1965?
9. Julio Jones
Is the book closed on a career that had this player in the discussion for the best wide receiver in the league for many years? You may recall that the Atlanta Falcons gave up plenty to move up to the sixth overall pick in the 2011 draft to secure the services of this University of Alabama standout Julio Jones.
His 10-year stay in Atlanta was impressive. It added up to 848 caches, 12,896 yards and 60 scores. There were also eight playoff games in which he caught 61 passes for 834 yards and six touchdowns. Jones was named to seven Pro Bowls and earned All-Pro honors twice.
Injuries have certainly taken their toll on Jones in recent years. The Falcons traded him to Tennessee in 2021 but he played in just 10 contests, totaled 31 receptions and scored one touchdown. There were six catches for 62 yards in a playoff loss to the Bengals. The Titans cut him loose after only one season.
There were questions regarding Jones and how much football he had left roughly a year ago when he signed a one-year deal with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He wound up playing in only 10 games for Todd Bowles’ team this past season, catching 24 passes for 299 yards and two scores. Jones also grabbed seven passes for 74 yards and one TD in the club’s playoff loss to the Cowboys. Will he be with an NFL team in 2023?
8. Derrick Henry
Former University of Alabama star Josh Jacobs led the NFL in rushing yards in 2022. Guess who was second?
Derrick Henry has been in the league just seven years and been the primary starter for the Tennessee Titans the past five seasons. This after sharing the backfield in 2017 and ’2018 with DeMarco Murray.
Henry was the school’s second Heisman Trophy winner (2015), six years after Mark Ingram (2009). The Crimson Tide had back-to-back winners earlier this decade in wide receiver DeVonta Smith (2020) and quarterback Bryce Young (2021). Henry was a second-round pick by Tennessee in 2016 but managed only two regular-season starts as a rookie and in his second year. He did start both of the Titans’ playoff games in 2017.
It was during his third season that he began his current dominance. Henry has played a combined 71 regular-season contests since 2018. He’s totaled 1,464 carries for 7,101 yards and 68 touchdowns. In other words, he’s averaged 100 yards per game on the ground and scored nearly one TD per contest. He led the NFL in rushing yardage in both 2019 and 2020 with 1,540 and 2,027 yards, respectively.
The seven-year pro also had quite the postseason run in ’19, rushing for a combined 446 yards (2 TDs) in three outings. In the regular season, Henry has already run for 8,335 yards and 78 scores. Could he join the 10,000-yard club in 2023?
7. Ozzie Newsome
The football careers of Mike Ditka and Ozzie Newsome are somewhat similar, besides the fact that both are Pro Football Hall of Fame tight ends. These days, Ditka may be more remembered for his head coaching days and more specifically his stint with the Chicago Bears. There was the franchise’s last Super Bowl champion (XX). That 1985 team often comes up in the discussion of the NFL’s greatest teams.
After leaving the game, the 13-year pro with the Brown made his name as a talent evaluator and general manager. Some say he could one day be a Hall of Famer as a contributor. He followed the franchise to Baltimore when they became the Ravens and that franchise owns a pair of Super Bowl championships.
Newsome’s last draft in Baltimore came in 2018 when he notably moved back into the first round and selected quarterback Lamar Jackson with the final pick that evening.
Newsome the player was a true star. A first-round pick in 1978, he started 191-of-198 games. He finished with 662 catches, good for 7,980 yards and 47 scores, earning Pro Bowl honors three times and All-Pro accolades in 1984. He was part of six playoff teams with the Browns.
6. Ken Stabler
One of the great nicknames in NFL history was given to University of Alabama quarterback/turned Oakland Raiders’ miracle worker Ken Stabler. The “Snake” was part of an organization that had incredible success. The Silver and Black won just one title with Stabler at the controls. The team bested the Minnesota Vikings, 32-14, at Pasadena (XI) with the left-handed signal-caller connecting with game MVP Fred Biletnikoff for key completions.
Of course, winning a Super Bowl in the 1970s was easier said than done, unless you were the Pittsburgh Steelers (4) or Miami Dolphins (2).
Still, you could make the case that during the decade that there were two quarterbacks who were dangerous until the clock read 0: 00. That would be Dallas’ Roger Staubach and Kenny “The Snake” Stabler.
The veteran signal-caller also had a hand in some of the biggest plays in NFL annals. From the “Sea of Hands” connection to Clarence Davis vs. the Dolphins in the 1974 playoffs to the “Ghost to the Post” when he found tight end Dave Casper vs. the Colts in the 1977 postseason. Who could forget the “Holy Roller” to beat the Chargers in 1978 at San Diego?
Stabler was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2016.
5. Derrick Thomas
The 1989 NFL Draft produced four Pro Football Hall of Famers in the first five selections. The Dallas Cowboys opted for UCLA quarterback Troy Aikman with the first overall selection. Number two was Michigan State tackle Tony Mandarich, who wound up the exception and not the rule here. He wasn’t a total bust but was still wound up a major disappointment for the Green Bay Packers.
The Detroit Lions opted for running back Barry Sanders at No. 3 and the Atlanta Falcons grabbed defensive back Deion Sanders fifth overall. Of course, at the fourth slot was University of Alabama linebacker Derrick Thomas, selected by the Kansas City Chiefs.
Thomas did two things extremely well. Getting to the opposing quarterback and knocking the ball out of his hands. He racked up 126.5 sacks and 41 forced fumbles in 169 regular-season contests. Oddly enough, he managed only one interception and that came in his final season. The 6-foot-3, 243-pound performer was named to the Pro Bowl in each of his first nine seasons and earned All-Pro honors in both 1990 and 1991.
Thomas’ life was cut short two weeks after being involved in a car accident. He made an incredible impression during his 11 NFL seasons. He was enshrined in Canton, Ohio, in 2009.
4. Dwight Stephenson
His impressive career was cut short by a knee injury on a Monday night in 1987 at the Orange Bowl vs. the New York Jets. It happened because center Dwight Stephenson was running downfield after teammate Troy Stradford had fumbled and Jets’ defensive back Bobby Humphrey had the ball. Stephenson was blocked by one-time University of Alabama teammate Marty Lyons. He suffered a devastating left knee injury that would force him into retirement.
There were accusations that Lyons got in a cheap shot but Stephenson disagrees. “Marty’s a good guy and he was just trying to help his team win (via Bob Hill of the South Florida Sun Sentinel in 1987). “He didn’t really see me, he just reacted. He came to see me. He seemed pretty shook up. I like him a lot and I know his wife and kids.”
Called the best center he ever coached by legendary Alabama head coach Paul “Bear” Bryant, Stephenson was a second-round pick by Miami in 1980. Talk about impact? In seven-plus NFL seasons, he was named to five Pro Bowls and earned All-Pro honors four times.
Respect? Stephenson played in only nine games in ’87 before going down with that knee injury and was still named to the Pro Bowl and was an All-Pro. He was given his just due via a bust in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1998.
3. Don Hutson
Wide receiver Jerry Rice owns the NFL record for most career touchdown receptions. There’s a total of 197 TD grabs during his 20-year Pro Football Hall of Fame career. He is one of 10 players in league annals to haul in at least 100 touchdown passes during their careers. Eight of those players are already enshrined in Canton, Ohio. The other two are wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald and tight end Antonio Gates, who will become Hall of Fame eligible in 2026 and 2024, respectively.
Well, No. 11 on the all-time touchdown reception list is hardly a slouch. In fact, you could say he was ahead of his time. Former University of Alabama product Don Hutson was not drafted by an NFL team and with good reason. There was no NFL draft when he joined the Green Bay Packers in 1935.
The numbers are mind-boggling. There were 116 regular-season games over 11 years. It added up to 488 catches for 7,991 yards and 99 touchdowns. He was named All-Pro eight times and earned four Pro Bowl nods. For good measure, Huston caught passes from other team’s players, picking off 30 passes along the way. No surprise he was a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Charter Class of 1963.
2. John Hannah
When you’re in the conversation for the greatest offensive lineman in NFL history, there’s a lot to be said. From tackles Forrest Gregg and Anthony Munoz to versatile Jim Parker to centers such as Jim Otto and Mike Webster. Pro Football Hall of Famers all.
There have been many great guards in the history of the game. One name that consistently comes up in regards to the best at his position, as well as the top offensive lineman to play in the NFL, is former University of Alabama standout and longtime New England Patriots standout John Hannah.
Only three players were drafted ahead of “Hog” Hannah in 1973. Including seven postseason contests, four of those during his final season in 1985 when the Patriots reached Super Bowl XX, Hannah played and started in 190 contests. In his final 10 campaigns from 1976-85, he was named to the Pro Bowl all but one year and earned All-Pro honors seven times, including his final season.
Hannah is not only a member of the 1970s All-Decade Team but the 1980s All-Decade Team as well. Hannah was one of three Pro Football Hall of Famers selected in the first round of the 1973 draft, along with punter Ray Guy and fellow guard Joe DeLamielleure.
1. Bart Starr
They are the most successful franchise in NFL history when it comes to championships. The league began play in 1920 and there have been a total of 103 seasons to date. On 13 occasions, the Green Bay Packers walked away with a title. Four of those have come during the Super Bowl Era.
Under the guidance of head coach Vince Lombardi, the Packers came away with a total of five NFL championships in a seven-year span. At the helm of those teams was future Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Bart Starr, a 17th-round draft in 1956 from the University of Alabama and the 200th overall selection that year.
He threw for 24,718 yards, 152 scores and 138 interceptions in 16 seasons. Those were very respectable numbers for that era. However, the accurate field general was at his best come money time. In 10 postseason contests, he threw five times as many TD passes (15) as interceptions (3). He ran for his only score in the playoffs, that being his game-winning one-yard touchdown plunge which defeated the Dallas Cowboys, 21-17 in the 1967 NFL Championship Game (aka the “Ice Bowl).
Starr, who passed away in 2019, remains a beloved player in Packers’ history. He was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1977. His post playing days included stints as an assistant head coach, head coach and general manager with the Packers.