LAS VEGAS — (Sports Illustrated) - The NFL Draft is just one day away. Barring a major surprise, Evan Neal and Jameson Williams will be the only Alabama players to come off the board during the first round of the draft on Thursday night. From there, things should get a bit more interesting for the Crimson Tide as its draft class this year is chock-full of mid-range talent.
This year’s NFL Draft will be held in Las Vegas and will begin with the first round Thursday night at 7 p.m. CT. The second and third rounds will take place on Friday night beginning at 6 p.m. while the draft will conclude with rounds 4-7 on Saturday beginning at 11 a.m.
Before things get kicked off, BamaCentral compiled a list of 10 recent mock drafts to get a feel of where Alabama players are projected to be selected.
Who we used: CBS Sports seven-round (Ryan Wilson, April 22), ESPN seven-round (Matt Miller, April 26), FOX Sports (Jason McIntyre, April 26), NFL.com seven-round (Chad Reuter, April 22), Pro Football Focus (Ari Meirov, April 26) Pro Football Network (Adam H. Beasley, April 26), Sports Illustrated (Albert Breer, April 26), The Athletic (Staff, April 27), The Ringer (Danny Kelly, April 27), USA Today (Nate Davis, April 27).
Evan Neal, OL
No. 5 (first round), New York Giants, — CBS
No, 4 (first round), New York Jets — ESPN
No. 5 (first round), New York Giants — FOX Sports
No. 6 (first round), Carolina Panthers — NFL
No. 3 (first round), Houston Texans — PFF
No. 6 (first round), Carolina Panthers — PFN
No. 6 (first round), Carolina Panthers — Sports Illustrated
No. 3 (first round), Houston Texans — The Athletic
No, 4 (first round), New York Jets — The Ringer
No. 5 (first round), New York Giants — USA Today
Sports Illustrated’s Abert Breer reported Tuesday that a few teams “have raised knee and hip issues to me concerning Alabama OT Evan Neal, with a good number of clubs considering him a notable medical risk.” Offensive line coach Duke Manyweather, who has trained with Neal the past few months, responded to reports of the injury concerns, stating that the lineman has not missed a workout this offseason. Injury leaks this close to the draft are often a product of teams hoping a prospect falls to them. It’s hard to imagine Neal drops much further than the Giants at No. 5 overall.
Jameson Williams, WR
No. 13 (first round), Houston Texans, — CBS
No. 13 (first round), Kansas City Chiefs (projected trade) — ESPN
No. 8 (first round), Atlanta Falcons — FOX Sports
No. 18 (first round), Philadelphia Eagles — NFL
No. 15 (first round), Philadelphia Eagles — PFF
No. 10 (first round), New York Jets — PFN
No. 15 (first round), Philadelphia Eagles — Sports Illustrated
No. 17 (first round), Los Angeles Chargers — The Athletic
No. 10 (first round), New York Jets — The Ringer
No. 10 (first round), New York Jets — USA Today
Williams’ ACL injury appears to be less of a concern by the day. Earlier this week, a video surfaced of the wide receiver moving well while going through light on-field drills. Even if Williams has to miss time early in the season, he’s viewed by many teams as the No. 1 receiver in this year’s class. That should see him land safely in the first 15 picks with a chance of a team snatching him up in the top 10.