While the focus of every Alabama Crimson Tide fan is on the 2025 College Football Playoff, the NFL Draft machine whirls on without any thought to anything else.

The draft, to be held next April in Pittsburgh near Acrisure Stadium (formerly Heinz Field) is 131 days away. With the college football regular season over, many draft-eligible players will be sitting out bowl games with eyes toward future paychecks.

Alabama, meanwhile, still has a College Football Playoff game to play and hopefully a national championship run to put together. They’ll face the Oklahoma Sooners in the CFP’s first game, Friday at 7 p.m. CT at Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. The game will be televised on ABC and ESPN.

Which Alabama players from Kalen DeBoer’s 2025 team could soon join other former Crimson Tide stars on NFL rosters in 2026? On Saturday, USA TODAY Sports’ NFL Draft analyst Ayrton Ostly looked at the top 10 draft prospects at every position on offense.

Here are his thoughts on Alabama players.

Ty Simpson is No. 2 quarterback in NFL Draft class, USA TODAY Sports says

Ty Simpson’s struggles since November began have been well-chronicled both here and elsewhere, but per USA TODAY Sports’ analysis, the first-year SEC starter is still a top NFL Draft quarterback.

He’s even the second-best quarterback in the 2026 draft class, Ostly writes. Simpson ranks one spot below Indiana Hoosiers star Fernando Mendoza as the top QB in this year’s class, and is one spot ahead of Oregon‘s Dante Moore.

Ostly explains:

“Simpson has shown a lot of good in his lone season as the starter for the Crimson Tide, but his lack of experience will be a major knock, as will his performances against Georgia and Oklahoma. The son of a FCS football coach, Simpson could grow into the best of the group with all of the traits evaluators liked out of Mac Jones but with more mobility.”

Simpson enters the CFP with 3,268 passing yards and 26 touchdowns to five interceptions in 13 games.

Kadyn Proctor is not the top offensive tackle in 2026 NFL Draft class

USA TODAY Sports’ ranking of the top 10 offensive tackles eligible for the 2026 NFL Draft sees Alabama’s Kadyn Proctor in the top five, but not at No. 1. Proctor ranks third on the list, behind Utah’s Spencer Fano and Miami’s Francis. Mauigoa.

Ostly said of Proctor:

“Proctor is a true outlier athletically at 6-foot-7 and 360 pounds, but his inconsistency has hampered his outlook.”

Parker Brailsford, Germie Bernard named top NFL Draft prospects

Brailsford, a junior in his fourth different season with Kalen DeBoer since Washington, has started 11 games this season. USA TODAY Sports ranks him as the ninth-best interior lineman in the 2026 NFL Draft class. Logan Jones of Iowa is one spot ahead of Brailsford.

“Jones’ athleticism and run blocking acumen at center will make him an ideal fit in a zone-based scheme but he’ll need to improve his play strength to last long-term. Brailsford is the smallest of the bunch at 6-foot-2 and 290 pounds and that shows up against bigger opponents despite his twitchy athleticism.” –USA TODAY Sports’ Ayrton Ostly.

Another player dating to DeBoer’s time at Washington, Bernard checked in at No. 7 on the list of best draft-eligible wide receivers. Arizona State’s Jordyn Tyson and Ohio State‘s Carnell Tate were ranked the top two receivers in the 2026 draft class.

Ostly said of Bernard:

“Bernard is a savvy wide receiver who knows how to attack both inside or outside. He’s not elite at anything but very good at pretty much everything.”

Alabama football schedule 2025Aug. 30: at Florida State (L, 31-17)Sept. 6: vs. UL Monroe (W, 73-0)Sept. 13: vs. Wisconsin (W, 38-14)Sept. 27: at Georgia (W, 24-21)Oct. 4: vs. Vanderbilt (W, 30-14)Oct. 11: at Missouri (W, 27-24)Oct. 18: vs. Tennessee (W, 37-20)Oct. 25: at South Carolina (W, 29-22)Nov. 8: vs. LSU (W, 20-9)Nov. 15: vs. Oklahoma (L, 23-21)Nov. 22 vs. Eastern Illinois (W, 56-0)Nov. 29: at Auburn (W, 27-20)Dec. 6: vs. Georgia at SEC Championship Game (L, 28-7)Dec. 19: at Oklahoma (CFP first round)

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