The Alabama Crimson Tide has stars that make headlines and top draft boards every season at the collegiate level. The program’s credibility extends beyond college and enters the NFL. Two former Alabama players are projected to lead the league in stats for their respective positions.
NFL.com’s Cynthia Frelund wrote about her projections for each prominent NFL statistic. She included former Alabama wide receiver Julio Jones and former Crimson Tide running back Derrick Henry in the list.
Receiving yards – Julio Jones
Jones is expected to lead the NFL in receiving yards, according to Frelund’s projection, with 1,510. Jones is no stranger to the title, as he has led the league in receiving yards twice in his career, in 2015 and 2018.
Frelund explains why she believes the Falcons wide receiver will be the leader:
“The return of the deep ball in Atlanta?! Last season, Matt Ryan only attempted a deep pass (20-plus air yards, per Next Gen Stats) on 8.9 percent of his throws — the quarterback’s lowest rate since 2016. And in the 2019 campaign, despite the fact that Atlanta’s intended starting O-line played fewer than 10 percent of snaps together, Jones still managed to earn the second-most receiving first downs in the league (77). Given better health on the offensive line, the offseason addition of tight end Hayden Hurst and the intense, high-flying competition we all expect from the NFC South, Jones slightly edges out Michael Thomas in projected receiving yards. The Falcons star earns more than 1,500 receiving yards in 55.1 percent of simulations.”
Rushing yards – Derrick Henry
Frelund believes Alabama’s former Heisman-winning running back will lead the NFL in rushing yards for a second consecutive season with 1,380.
The projected amount is fewer than Henry’s 2019 season total, 1540, but is still expected to be enough.
She cites Henry’s ability to be the main contributor to the Tennessee Titans offense as the reason.
“Last season, Henry’s 1,540 rushing yards completely unlocked the Titans’ success on offense. Expect to see more of the same in 2020, with Arthur Smith’s offensive architecture maximizing the strengths of his weapons. Henry earns more than 1,300 yards in a ridiculous 66 percent of simulations and more than 1,500 in 51.6 percent.”