2023 NFL Draft: 3 Alabama Prospects To Keep An Eye On

As all college football fans know, the University of Alabama is the cream of the crop. Consistently one of the country’s best teams, Alabama is able to stay competitive due to mass amounts of NFL-level talent. The Las Vegas Raiders have frequently dipped into this well. The 2023 NFL Draft will provide Dave Ziegler and Co. another chance to do so.

Recently, Amari Cooper, Josh Jacobs, Henry Ruggs III, and Alex Leatherwood are former Crimson Tide members whom the Raiders selected in the first round. While these picks have certainly come with varying degrees of success, no one will debate the quality of prospects that Nick Saban and his staff produce.

In 2023, Alabama once again has an elite crop of athletes ready to join the NFL ranks. In fact, their quarterback Bryce Young could be the first player taken. Certainly, a potential option for the Raiders, Young will likely be gone by the time they make their first selection. These three players, however, could look great in Silver and Black.

NFL Draft: Dave Ziegler and the Raiders need to keep tabs on this Alabama batch…

Will Anderson Jr. (EDGE)

Regarded by some as the best player in the draft, it would take some luck for Anderson to land in Las Vegas. A likely first-round selection as a sophomore last season, he returned to Alabama and recorded another ten-sack season, all but ensuring he will be the first edge player selected.

For the Raiders, the appeal is obvious. With Chandler Jones entering his age-33 season, he may be best served as a rotational pass rusher at this point. This leaves the team with, yet again, a hole across from Maxx Crosby.

Make no mistake, Anderson is not yet fully developed as a pass rusher. Still, he and Crosby would give the Raiders an electric, young pass-rushing tandem that will benefit from Jones’s tutelage and juice off the bench.