Breaking down impact of Alabama portal, NFL draft departures on 2022 season
The dust is starting to settle on this wave of Alabama offseason roster moves. Christian Harris declared for the NFL draft on the last day for underclassmen to enter the process.
That makes six Crimson Tide juniors/redshirt juniors who put their name in the pot for the pros — nine if you include the seniors who could have returned due to the 2020 COVID-19 year that didn’t count against eligibility.
The six juniors alone would have tied for the most Alabama underclassmen exits in a single year with the 2020 group headlined by Tua Tagovailoa. This group is interesting in a few ways with left tackle Evan Neal in the mix to be Alabama’s first No. 1 overall pick of the modern era while there are some who are borderline for inclusion in the seven-round event.
Then there’s the transfer portal.
Alabama’s seen 12 players who began preseason camp exit the program, eight in the week since the season ended. That’s up slightly from the previous few cycles when 10 departed in each of the past two years.
So, where does this leave Alabama as it turns the page for the 2022 season?
First, it should be noted a quality core of last year’s national runner-up returns. Two of the best players in the country will lead opposite sides of the ball in Heisman winner Bryce Young and All-American linebacker Will Anderson.
What was lost to the portal was mainly depth.
There were 22 starts among the 12 who entered the transfer portal. Of that, 13 came from linebacker Shane Lee’s freshman season when injuries forced him into action Week 1 of the 2019 season. Only two others had multiple starts in Jahleel Billingsley (five) and linebacker Drew Sanders (three).
When looking at potential, only three of the 12 were top-100 prospects when they arrived in Tuscaloosa, according the 247Sports composite. Their average overall ranking was 240 in their respective classes.
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