Since Nick Saban’s arrival to Tuscaloosa in 2007, Alabama has not only become a team that has created a dynasty winning national championships, but it also has become a program that sends players to the NFL every year.
With the 2020 NFL Draft happening in less than a month, it’s the perfect time to start a new series in which we will go over all of the Tide’s 29 first-round draft picks. The first player we went over was Andre Smith, who finished his career at Alabama with 15 awards and honors and was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals as the No. 6 pick in the 2009 NFL Draft. The second player we went over was former Alabama star linebacker Rolando McClain who would not only win many incredible awards while at Alabama, but was drafted by Oakland Raiders as the No. 8 pick in the 2010 NFL Draft. The 3rd Alabama player drafted in the first round for the Tide was Kareem Jackson who would go on to be drafted by the Houston Texans as the No. 20 overall pick in the first round of the 2010 NFL Draft. The 4th player to become drafted under Nick Saban was Marcell Dareus. Number 5 was Julio Jones who has spent his entire career in Atlanta after being the 6th overall pick in the 2011 Draft by the Falcons. The 6th first round draft pick under Nick Saban was James Carpenter who was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks with the 25th overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft. At number 7 we have former Alabama running back Mark Ingram who was drafted by the New Orleans Saints with the 28th overall pick of the 2011 NFL Draft. The 8th player drafted by the Tide was Trent Richardson who was the No. 3 overall pick of the 2012 NFL Draft by the Cleveland Browns. Mark Barron was the 9th player drafted for Alabama in the NFL Draft. He was was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with the 7th overall pick of the 2012 NFL Draft. The 10th player drafted for the Tide was Dre Kirkpatrick who was drafted as the No. 17 overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft by the Cincinnati Bengals. At No. 11, we have Dont’a Hightower who was drafted as the No. 25 overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft by the New England Patriots. Dee Milliner was the 12th Alabama player drafted in the NFL. He was the No. 9 overall pick in the 2013 NFL Draft by the New York Jets. The 13th Alabama football player drafted in the first round was Chance Warmack who was selected in the first round as the 10th overall pick by the Tennessee Titans in the 2013 NFL Draft. DJ Fluker was the 14th player drafted as the No. 11 overall pick of the 2013 NFL Draft. The 15th first round pick for Alabama under Nick Saban was CJ Mosley who was drafted as the 17th overall pick by the Baltimore Ravens of the 2014 NFL Draft. Ha Ha Clinton- Dix was the 16th Alabama player drafted as the 21st overall pick in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft.
This time, we will be focusing on another former Alabama football star, Amari Cooper.
4️⃣x Pro Bowl
2️⃣x SEC Champion
Heisman FinalistAmari Cooper is the 17th player on the list of Nick Saban’s 29 First Round draft picks at Alabama. @AmariCooper9 #FirstRoundU #29andCounting pic.twitter.com/vpxqzdtuoO
— Alabama Football (@AlabamaFTBL) April 10, 2020
As a freshman, Cooper played in all 14 games (starting 9) and led the team with 59 receptions for 1,000 yards and 11 touchdowns. He broke two records that season: His 11 touchdowns broke Alabama’s 62-year-old record by Al Lary, and he also broke Julio Jones’ freshman records for receptions and receiving yards. He also helped Alabama win the 2012 national championship.
As a sophomore, Cooper played in 12 games (started 7) and recorded 45 receptions for 736 yards and 4 touchdowns.
In 2014, as a junior, Cooper not only helped Alabama win another national championship, he also had 124 receptions for 1,727 yards and 16 touchdowns. But the best part was that he broke all school records at Alabama, and his 124 receptions were an SEC record as well.
Amari Cooper was drafted by the Oakland Raiders as the No. 4 overall pick of the 2015 NFL Draft where he played from 2015-2018.
In 2018, the Raiders traded Cooper to the Dallas Cowboys.
In 2020, he signed a a five-year contract extension with the Cowboys worth $100 million, which featured $60 million guaranteed.
In his NFL Career, he has recorded an astonishing 5,278 receiving yards, 34 touchdowns.
Also, as a Raider, he was the dirst rookie to reach the 1,000-yard receiving mark and also had the most receiving yards in a season by a rookie with 1,070 yards.
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