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.
This time, we will be focusing on another former Alabama football star, Mark Barron.
Coming in at 9th on the list of Nick Saban’s 29 First Round draft picks at Alabama. @M_B_24 #29andCounting #BamaFactor pic.twitter.com/QlvONIG0vw
— Alabama Football (@AlabamaFTBL) April 2, 2020
As a true freshman in 2008, Barron not only played in every single game, he also recorded 18 tackles and 1 sack.
In 2009, Barron became the starting safety and helped lead Alabama to a National Championship while recording 74 tackles, and also led the SEC in interceptions with 7, and also had 1 touchdown.
His junior year in 2010 was just as impressive. He finished the season with 77 tackles, 3 interceptions, 9 passes defended, and 1 forced fumble.
And finally as a senior in 2011, he won another national championship and also had 68 tackles, 1 sack, 2 interceptions, and 1 forced fumble.
At the 2012 NFL Draft, Barron was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with the 7th overall pick where he played from 2012-2014. At his time at Tampa Bay, he recorded 176 tackles, 2 sacks, 3 interceptions, and 6 forced fumbles.
In 2014, the Buccaneers traded Barron to the St. Louis (Los Angeles) Rams where he stayed until 2018. He recorded 307 tackles, 7 sacks, 5 interceptions, and 4 forced fumbles.
In 2019, Barron signed a 2 year, $12 million contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Last season he had 58 tackles, 3 sacks, and 1 interception.
