Reviewed by: Pat Byington
23 players with ties to state of Alabama selected in 2024 NFL Draft
There’s always a reason for football fans in the state of Alabama to tune into the NFL Draft. The state’s top college teams are always represented + you may see a name you remember from playing at a local high school.
Here’s a quick rundown of what we saw during the 2024 draft that concluded Saturday night in Detroit:
- 10 players from Alabama high schools including 2 Alabama Mr. Football award winners
- 10 University of Alabama players
- 5 Auburn University players
- 2 Troy University players
- 1 UAB player
In case you missed it, we already took a look at Nick Saban’s debut as a full-time broadcaster. Now, let’s highlight a few of the players drafted starting with a duo from Pinson Valley.
Bo Nix + Kool-Aid McKinstry
Bo Nix and Kool-Aid McKinstry certainly left their marks during their careers at Pinson Valley. The two combined to win three state championships and each player won the coveted Mr. Football for the state—also known as the high school Heisman Trophy.
Nix got to hear his name called first during the draft, being selected #12 overall by the Denver Broncos. He’s expected to compete for the starting job after wrapping up his collegiate career that included stops at Auburn and Oregon.
McKinstry is two years younger than Nix but left college early and was expected to be one of the top defensive back prospects in the state. He had to wait until Friday to get the phone call, but was selected early in the night with the 41st overall pick by the New Orleans Saints.
Former Spanish Fort defensive backs drafted
Pinson Valley wasn’t the only high school from the state to see a pair of former players get drafted this year. Spanish Fort also had a pair of former teammates go in the same draft after sharing duties in the Toros’ secondary during their high school careers.
Missouri’s Kris Abrams-Draine was selected by the Broncos in the fifth round of the draft. 47 picks later, Auburn defensive back DJ James was taken by the Seattle Seahawks.
The two players reunited earlier this year when they both played in the Senior Bowl in Mobile.
Crimson Tide hits double digits again
At least 10 Alabama players were drafted this season, marking the sixth time in the last eight years the program has reached that mark. The 10 players ranked the Crimson Tide third among colleges in the 2024 draft behind Michigan (13) and Texas (11).
Alabama had three players selected in the first round and three more selected on day two of the draft. Jaylen Key got the title of Mr. Irrelevant after being the final pick of the 2024 NFL Draft.
Here’s a full list of Alabama players who were selected and where they were drafted:
- OL JC Latham, Titans, 1st round
- LB Dallas Turner, Vikings, 1st round
- DB Terrion Arnold, Lions, 1st round
- DB Kool-Aid McKinstry, Saints, 2nd round
- LB Chris Braswell, Bucs, 2nd round
- WR Jermaine Burton, Bengals, 3rd round
- DL Justin Eboigbe, Chargers, 4th round
- RB Jase McClellan, Falcons, 6th round
- K Will Reichard, Vikings, 6th round
- DB Jaylen Key, Jets, 7th round
Reichard, who finished his career as the all-time scoring leader in NCAA history, played high school football at Hoover.
5 Tigers selected on day three
Even though Auburn had to wait until Saturday to see one of its own drafted, five Tigers were still selected before the end of the event. Auburn was one of 15 college programs to see five players get drafted and all of them were on the defensive side of the ball.
Defensive back Nehemiah Pritchett—who played high school ball at Jackson—was the first player off the board, selected by the Seahawks with the first pick of the fifth round. Fellow secondary member Jaylin Simpson was selected later in the fifth round by the Indianapolis Colts.
James was selected in the sixth round, joining Pritchett in Seattle. Auburn’s day wrapped up with two defensive tackles selected in the seventh round including Justin Rogers (Cowboys) and former Park Crossing star Marcus Harris (Texans).
Troy + UAB also represented
For the first time since 2010, Troy had multiple players selected in the same draft. Defensive end Javon Solomon was selected by the Buffalo Bills in the fifth round while running back Kimani Vidal went to the Chargers in the sixth.
UAB had a player selected in the draft for the fourth straight year. Wide receiver Tejhaun Palmer was selected by the Arizona Cardinals in the sixth round, becoming the program’s third receiver drafted following in the footsteps of Roddy White and J.J. Nelson.
Other former AHSAA stars drafted
10 total players who played high school ball in Alabama were selected in this year’s draft. Here’s the full list including those who were already named above:
- QB Bo Nix, Pinson Valley, 1st round
- DB Kool-Aid McKinstry, Pinson Valley, 2nd round
- DB Kamari Lassiter, American Christian, 2nd round
- DB Nehemiah Pritchett, Jackson, 5th round
- DB Kris Abrams-Draine, Spanish Fort, 5th
- LB Nathaniel Watson, Maplesville, 6th
- DB DJ James, Spanish Fort, 6th
- K Will Reichard, Hoover, 6th
- DL Cedric Johnson, Davidson, 6th
- DL Marcus Harris, Park Crossing, 7th
Which players are you most excited to see at the next level? Let us know by tagging The Bama Buzz on Instagram, X, Facebook + LinkedIn.
