The 2025 NFL Draft starts on April 24 in Green Bay, Wisconsin, with the 32 first-round picks. AL.com is counting down to the event by highlighting the best choice – overall, from the SEC and of players from Alabama high schools and colleges -- made with each of the first 32 picks in the 89 NFL drafts.
Best No. 27 pick: Pittsburgh quarterback Dan Marino by the Miami Dolphins in 1983
Marino hit the ground throwing for the Dolphins, and when he retired after the 1999 season, he had most passing yards and touchdown passes in NFL history.
Marino became the first player in NFL history with 5,000 passing yards in a season in 1984, when he broke the league single-season record of 36 touchdown passes by throwing 48. Marino threw for another 1,001 yards and eight touchdowns in the postseason that year for the most recent Miami team to reach the Super Bowl.
A Pro Bowler in each of his first five seasons and four other times during his career, Marino’s accolades include the NFL Most Valuable Player Award for the 1984 season and first-team All-Pro selection three times. He entered the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility with the Class of 2005.
Marino with 240 and defensive back Devin McCourty with 205 are the No. 27 picks with at least 200 starts in NFL regular-season games. They should be joined in 2025 by Kevin Zeitler, who signed as a free agent with the Tennessee Titans with 197.
Last year’s No. 27 pick was Missouri defensive lineman Darius Robinson by the Arizona Cardinals.
Best No. 27 pick from the SEC: Florida running back Neal Anderson by the Chicago Bears in 1986
Chicago used the 27th selection in the 1986 NFL Draft on Anderson even though the Bears had five-time first-team All-Pro Walter Payton as their primary ball-carrier.
In his first season, Anderson had only 35 rushing attempts as Payton ran for 1,333 yards. But Anderson’s second season was Payton’s last, and they shared the duties in the Chicago backfield, with Anderson outgaining Payton on the ground 586 yards to 533.
After Payton retired, Anderson earned Pro Bowl recognition in each of the next four seasons as he ran for 4,206 yards and 39 touchdowns and had 1,647 yards and 10 TDs on 178 receptions.
The only other player among the 15 from the SEC who entered the NFL as the 27th selection and has been a Pro Bowler is LSU cornerback Tre’Davious White, with two selections.
The most recent No. 27 pick from the SEC is Missouri defensive lineman Darius Robinson in 2024 by the Arizona Cardinals.
Best No. 27 pick with Alabama football roots:UABwide receiver Roddy White by the Atlanta Falcons in 2005
The best NFL player produced by UAB was the 27th selection in the 2005 NFL Draft. The Falcons chose White after he had 71 receptions for 1,452 yards and 14 touchdowns for the Blazers in 2004.
In his third year with Atlanta, White started a streak of six seasons in which he had at least 80 receptions and 1,100 yards. White made the Pro Bowl in four of those seasons and was a first-team All-Pro wide receiver in 2010, when he led the NFL with 115 receptions.
White spent all 11 of his NFL seasons with the Falcons and totaled 808 receptions for 10,863 yards and 63 touchdowns.
The Baltimore Ravens hold the No. 27 pick in the NFL Draft on April 24.
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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X at@AMarkG1.