The Nick Saban football factory is running at full production and the next batch of talented players will be delivered to the NFL tonight. When the first round gets underway, the Crimson Tide will have a chance to do what only one other program has done in nearly fifty years.

If four players get selected in the first round, Alabama will join 2001-2004 Miami as the only teams with four first-round picks in three consecutive drafts since 1967. The Hurricanes run at the turn of the century will be hard to eclipse from a talent standpoint. When you consider how strong Alabama has been for the past four season, it still has a ways to go to reach that 2001-2004 group.

Miami's fist-round draft classes broke down this way:

2001 - 4 

2002 - 5

2003 - 5

2004 - 5

Alabama has managed to produce four players each of the last two years and has the potential to do the same thing again tonight. We broke down 14 mock drafts on Tuesday and the Crimson Tide projects to have 3-5 names called out in round one. That will be an interesting storyline for fans watching on ESPN or NFL Network.

Despite what happens tonight, Alabama has positioned itself for an extended run of producing first-round talent. Should it hit that mark of four tonight, we could see a streak go five or six years. That would be a huge mark to hit, but I wouldn't bet against it.

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