The Alabama Crimson Tide have qualified for the College Football Playoff in five of the tournaments first six seasons of existence. The lone failure to reach the Final Four occurred last season after Nick Saban’s troops played second fiddle to the LSU Tigers in what will go down in program history as the best season ever. Even so, Roll Tide still has enough draft clout that linemakers are confident lining them up against the entirety of the Big Ten for a first round draft day battle. Think about that for a second; one roster matched up against 14. Rightfully, Alabama finds itself installed a +165 underdog to be the team that comes up with more first round picks; that’s an implied probability of 37.7 percent which is saying something considering the amount of first round talent the B1G will offer up come the first night of NFL Draft betting.
Big Ten Players -210
Alabama Players +165
Had Tua Tagovailoa not hurt his hip at the tail end of last season, he’d likely be giving Joe Burrow a run for his money as the No. 1 pick in the draft. With that, Tua and his 2,840 yards and fantastic 33:3 TD/INT ratio are a lock to be drafted early in the first round. Also likely to be selected with one of the first five picks will be Ohio State’s Chase Young who was nothing if not impactful throughout his stay in Columbus racking up 68 solo tackles, 40.5 tackles for loss and just over 30 total sacks for his career. Washington is the expected destination for his services at No. 2. Pairing him up with the Skins underrated front seven that ranked tenth in sacks a season ago looks to be a match made in heaven. At worst, this proposition wager should be tied at a player a piece through the first few picks of the draft.
The Big Ten could take a slight lead early on dependent upon what the New York Giants ultimately decide to do with the No. 4 pick. If they keep it, do they make the sound choice and go with an offensive linemen like Tristan Wirfs considering the Giants front wall just conceded 43 sacks and needs help? Maybe they trade down and still get a guy like Louisville’s Mekhi Becton. The B1G could build upon its lead over the Crimson Tide should the Detroit Lions hold onto its No. 6 pick as well. Having just sent the services of Darius Slay to the City of Brotherly Love, Matt Patricia is in need of a solid cornerback replacement. Enter Jeff Okudah who shined throughout his junior campaign as the Buckeyes best and most physical cover man. That makes it 3-1 for the chalk entering the time Bama needs to make a run bad to have a shot of cashing in as decent sized dogs per the current NFL Draft betting odds.
Should Jedrick Wills make it to the 10th round, the Cleveland Browns best hit “Max Bet” on the slot machine and go all in; immediately! The offense’s pass protection and ability to consistently open up holes for the running game were shoddy at best. Wills would make for a much needed transfusion of talent along the front wall. The middle rounds look to be the likely time for both of Alabama’s talented wide receivers to go off the board. Jerry Jeudy was one of the best receivers in the college game the last two seasons combining for 2,478 yards and 24 touchdowns, while Henry Ruggs proved to be a fantastic compliment reeling in 86 passes over the last two seasons and turning them into just under 1,500 receiving yards and 18 TD. Pass catcher needy teams like the San Francisco 49ers, Las Vegas Raiders and Denver Broncos will all snatch them up if still on the board once their number’s called.
Other first round talent out of Alabama includes Xavier McKinney and Trevon Diggs who shined before succumbing to a foot injury that cost him the rest of the season. The former is a lock to get taken in the first round, but the brother of Stefon Diggs is the wild card. Regardless, both players being selected would make it six that went off the board in the first round. The Big Ten still has a number of playmakers available which include Penn State’s Yetur Gross-Matos, Wisconsin’s Jonathan Taylor, Iowa’s A.J. Epenesa, Ohio State’s Damon Arnette and Michigan’s Cesar Ruiz. With that the case, there’s simply too much talent for Bama to contend with through the first 32 picks. Though it’ll without a doubt put forth a valiant effort, the B1G is simply just too deep and talented to not come out the victor of this prop battle – lay the chalk!
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