With a record 23 offensive players selected in the first round of the 89th NFL Draft, some defensive players who had been projected as Thursday-night picks are still waiting to hear their names.
The NFL Draft continues at 6 p.m. CDT Friday with the second and third rounds. NFL teams will make 32 second-round picks, then select 36 more players in the third round. ABC, ESPN and NFL Network will televise Friday’s event.
Among the defensive players projected by pundits to be picked in the first round who weren’t was Alabama cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry, a former Pinson Valley High School standout.
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Illinois defensive tackle Johnny Newton and Iowa cornerback Cooper DeJean fall in the same category.
Three of McKinstry’s Crimson Tide teammates were chosen in the first round – offensive tackle J.C. Latham by the Tennessee Titans at No. 7, linebacker Dallas Turner by the Minnesota Vikings at No. 17 and cornerback Terrion Arnold by the Detroit Lions at No. 24. Former Pinson Valley High School quarterback Bo Nix, who played his first three college seasons at Auburn, was taken from Oregon by the Denver Broncos at No. 12.
In addition to McKinstry, projections of second- and third-round picks with Alabama football roots as Friday-night prospects include:
· Missouri cornerback Kris Abrams-Draine (Spanish Fort)
· UCF wide receiver Javon Baker (who played at Alabama in 2020 and 2021)
· Alabama linebacker Chris Braswell
· Alabama wide receiver Jermaine Burton
· Oregon cornerback Khyree Jackson (who played at Alabama in 2021 and 2022)
· Auburn cornerback DJ James (Spanish Fort)
· Georgia cornerback Kamari Lassiter (American Christian)
· Auburn cornerback Nehemiah Pritchett (Jackson)
· Troy linebacker Javon Solomon
The SEC led all conferences with 11 players picked in the first round. The SEC pipeline to the NFL should continue on Friday. Other probable picks from the conference in the second and third rounds include:
· Arkansas: Cornerback Dwight McGlothern
· Georgia: Safety Javon Bullard and wide receiver Ladd McConkey
· Kentucky: Cornerback Andru Phillips
· Missouri: Cornerback Ennis Rackstraw Jr.
· South Carolina: Quarterback Spencer Rattler
· Texas A&M: Linebacker Edgerrin Cooper and wide receiver Ainias Smith
McConkey had first-round grades and projections from draftniks. But the first round ended with fellow SEC wide receivers Ricky Pearsall of Florida and Xavier Legette of South Carolina picked by the San Francisco 49ers and Carolina Panthers, respectively.
Wide receivers Adonai Mitchell of Texas and Troy Franklin of Oregon also didn’t make the Thursday-night run on offensive players, so they seem likely to join McConkey, along with Oregon center Jackson Powers-Johnson, as early targets on Friday night.
In addition to McKinstry, Newton and DeJean, defensive players expected to be picked sooner rather than later on Friday night include North Carolina State linebacker Payton Wilson and Minnesota safety Tyler Nubin.
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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.