Much to the credit of former head coach Nick Saban’s culture of greatness, there are 75 former Crimson Tide players currently in the NFL, more than any other college program has had in any regular season in league history.
Here are the former Crimson Tide players who had the best NFL seasons.
Patrick Surtain, 2018-20
The cornerback was a standout at Alabama, appearing in all 38 games of his collegiate career and being named a first-team All-American in 2020 as well as the SEC defensive player of the year. It resulted in Surtain being drafted ninth overall in the 2021 draft by the Denver Broncos.
Surtain has succeeded in each of his four seasons in Denver, but the 2024 season was his finest showing yet. Due to his covering ability, he didn’t see many teams throw it his way, but he still had four interceptions, including a pick-6, and 11 pass deflections.
Surtain’s stellar season resulted in his winning the 2024 defensive player of the year award, making him the first former Alabama player to do so.
Derrick Henry, 2013-15
The running back had one of the greatest individual college seasons ever in 2015, rushing for 2,219 yards and 28 touchdowns, both school records. Unsurprisingly, he won the Heisman award, given to the best player in the country.
Since coming to the NFL, Henry has consistently been one of the best running backs in the league and seems to be making a pretty good case for the Hall of Fame with 11,423 current rushing yards.
In his first season with the Baltimore Ravens after spending seven seasons with the Tennessee Titans, Henry had arguably his best season yet. He rushed for 1,925 yards and tied the NFL lead with 16 rushing touchdowns, and his 5.9 yards per carry was a career best for him
It was another Pro Bowl season for Henry, and he finished fourth in offensive player of the year voting.
Jahmyr Gibbs, 2022
The speedster running back was only with the Crimson Tide for one season after transferring from Georgia Tech, but made his impact felt in 2022 with 926 rushing yards and 44 receiving yards. He was drafted by the Detroit Lions 12th overall in the 2023 NFL draft.
In his sophomore season in the NFL, Gibbs had a breakout campaign, as he rushed for 1,412 yards on 5.6 yards per carry and tied Henry for the NFL lead in rushing touchdowns with 16. He also totaled 517 yards and four touchdowns through the air, helping lead the Lions to the No. 1 overall offense in the NFL.
Jerry Jeudy, 2017-19
Throughout the wide receiver’s time at Alabama, he was just one piece of a receiving corps that had four future NFL first round draft picks. His best season in Tuscaloosa was his sophomore campaign in 2018, where he had 1,163 receiving yards and was named a first-team All-American.
Jeudy was selected 15th overall by the Denver Broncos in the 2020 draft. His time in Denver was largely viewed as a disappointment, with him not eclipsing 1,000 in any of his four seasons. After another disappointing showing in 2023, he was shipped off to the Cleveland Browns in exchange for a fifth and sixth-round pick.
It was then in Cleveland where Jeudy channeled his stellar college play and had his best NFL season yet. He snagged a career-high 90 passes for 1,229 yards, even in a year where the Browns had poor quarterback play. Jeudy was named to his first Pro Bowl and looks to be on the rise.
Jalen Hurts, 2016-18
The story of the former Alabama quarterback is widely known. In his first two seasons, he led the Crimson Tide to a national championship appearance, but he was benched in the 2018 game against Georgia in place of Tua Tagovailoa.
Hurts stayed on the following season even as a backup, and helped rally the Crimson Tide to a comeback win in the SEC championship against Georgia after Tagovailoa went down with an injury. Hurts then transferred to Oklahoma the following season and ended up finishing second in Heisman voting, and the Philadelphia Eagles selected him 53rd overall in the 2020 draft.
In his fourth season as the Eagles full-time starting quarterback, he threw for 2,903 yards and had 18 touchdown passes to only 5 interceptions. He rushed for 630 yards and led all quarterbacks with 14 rushing touchdowns.
The postseason saw Hurts play well in all four games, combining for eight total touchdowns to only one turnover. In the Super Bowl, he got his redemption against a Kansas City Chiefs team he lost to in the same game two seasons ago, passing for 221 yards, rushing for 72 and having three total touchdowns, which resulted in him being named Super Bowl MVP.
