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. 23 pick: Wake Forest defensive tackle Bill George by the Chicago Bears in 1951
When the Bears chose George, they picked a guard and a defensive lineman. But Chicago ended up with the first star at middle linebacker in the NFL after George stepped back from middle guard to stand up in the middle of the Bears’ defense as a pioneer at the position.
George made first-team All-Pro seven seasons in a row, and then one more time in 1963 when Chicago won the NFL championship.
George entered the Pro Football Hall of Fame with the Class of 1974. Punter Ray Guy, cornerback Ty Law and tight end Ozzie Newsome also are No. 23 picks who have been enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Last year’s No. 23 pick was LSU wide receiver Brian Thomas by the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Best No. 23 pick from the SEC:Alabama tight end Ozzie Newsome by the Cleveland Browns in 1978
Newsome was an All-American for the Crimson Tide who spent 13 seasons as Cleveland’s tight end. When Newsome retired, he had more receptions for more yards than any tight end in NFL history and only three wide receivers had more receptions than he did.
Newsome has been a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame since 1999 and the Browns’ all-time receiving leader even longer.
When the Browns moved to Baltimore in 1996 to become the Ravens, Newsome came with them as the team’s vice president of player personnel and de facto general manager. He didn’t officially take the general-manager title until 2002, when he became the first African American to hold that position with an NFL team. Newsome continued in that role through the 2018 NFL Draft. Baltimore won the Super Bowl twice during that span.
The 18th No. 23 pick from the SEC was LSU wide receiver Brian Thomas in 2024 by the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Best No. 23 pick with Alabama football roots: Alabama tight end Ozzie Newsome by the Cleveland Browns in 1978
Three Alabama players were selected in the first 30 picks of the 1978 NFL Draft. So were three future members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Newsome is in both groups.
The Houston Oilers opened the 1978 draft by choosing Texas running back Earl Campbell. At No. 6, the Green Bay Packers picked Stanford wide receiver James Lofton. At No. 23, the Browns chose Newsome.
Five picks before the Browns took Newsome, the New England Patriots had picked offensive tackle Bob Cryder from the 1977 Alabama team that finished as the runner-up in the final polls to Notre Dame. At No. 30, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers added Crimson Tide fullback Johnny Davis.
Newsome spent his entire 13-season NFL career with Cleveland. In 198 regular-season games, the former Colbert County High School star had 662 receptions for 7,980 yards and 47 touchdowns.
When he retired after the 1990 season, Newsome ranked fourth in NFL history in career receptions. He also had broken Dante Lavelli’s franchise records for career receptions and receiving yards. Newsome still holds those team records more than three decades past his final game.
Those numbers don’t include Newsome’s 27 receptions for 373 yards and one touchdown in 10 postseason games.
The Green Bay Packers hold the No. 23 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.