Former Alabama Safety Named Top 30 Player in NFL

The Green Bay Packers had another former Crimson Tide star make an appearance in the NFL Top 100, with former Alabama safety Xavier McKinney being named the 30th best player in the NFL. He joins former Alabama running back Josh Jacobs as a Crimson Tide player who is one of the 100 best players in the NFL for the Packers.

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McKinney signed with the Packers after spending four seasons with the New York Giants, who drafted him in the second round of the 2020 NFL draft. In his three seasons at Alabama, McKinney totaled 176 tackles, 15 pass breakups, 14 tackles for loss, six sacks, five forced fumbles, five interceptions, two pick-sixes, and one fumble recovery. He was also a member of the Crimson Tide's 2017 national championship-winning team, defeating Georgia 26-23 in overtime in the College Football Playoff National Championship.

In his first season in Green Bay last season, McKinney was a turnover machine for the Packers, hauling in eight interceptions and one fumble recovery to go along with his 88 tackles, 11 pass breakups, two tackles for loss, and one sack. He was named a Pro Bowler and AP All-Pro First Team for the first time in his career. He also finished eighth in the NFL Defensive Player of the Year voting.

The former Tide star is currently dealing with a calf injury, but Matt Schneidman of The Athletic reported on Monday that McKinney had a helmet on and was working with a trainer in his first practice reps since suffering the injury in early August. Green Bay's staff has maintained that McKinney will be fully healthy for the Packers' season opener on September 7 against the Detroit Lions.

Wyatt Fulton is the Tide 100.9 DME and Brand Manager, primarily covering Alabama Crimson Tide football and men's basketball. For more Crimson Tide coverage, follow Wyatt on X (Formerly known as Twitter) at @FultonW_.