Alabama duo Terrell Lewis, Trevon Diggs back in NFL draft first-round discussions
Scouts were practically drooling over Alabama’s Terrell Lewis prior to the start of last season. After all, they had only caught a glimpse of him in 2017 after an injury in the season opener cost Lewis most of the season.
“… Scouts who watched 2018 spring football were raving about him. Sources believe Lewis has a ton of potential.”
Then the worst-case scenario hit: Lewis tore his ACL before fall camp and was lost for the year.
So it was somewhat unknown how Lewis would fare along the Crimson Tide’s vaunted defensive line going into this season.
The returns so far? Lewis is back on scouts’ radar, front and center.
Coming into Saturday’s game against No. 1 LSU, the 6-foot-5, 252 pound redshirt junior leads No. 2 Alabama in sacks (6), tackles for loss (9) and QB hits (12) to go along with 20 tackles and 2 PBUs.
Lewis is currently ranked as Fanspeak’s fifth-best edge defender and 29th overall prospect.
But Lewis wasn’t the only highly touted Alabama defensive player to miss last year’s contest against LSU. Senior cornerback Trevon Diggs is also having a breakout season.
Diggs (6-2, 207) broke his foot against Arkansas in the team’s sixth game in 2018, forcing him to miss the rest of that season. His play this season, though, has put Diggs back in first-round discussions as he’s compiled 22 tackles, 5 PBUs, 3 INTs and 2 FRs. One of his interceptions was returned 84 yards for a TD, and one of his fumble recoveries was returned 100 yards for a TD.
“They both make plays,” Alabama coach Nick Saban said during a recent press conference. “They’re playmaker-type guys, and the more guys you have like that, it’s like 3-point shooters in basketball. When you’ve got them, they make a lot of 3s. When you have playmaker-type guys, they make a lot of plays, whether it’s batted balls, pressuring the quarterback, knocking balls down, tackling guys, reacting quickly to plays that helps them recover in certain situations, and both these guys have certainly demonstrated the ability to do that.”
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