Projecting Alabama’s 2019 offensive depth chart entering Week 1

There are nine days until Alabama takes the field for the first time this season. Much of the offense returns from the last time we saw it in January. But there are a few changes, including several coming on the offensive line and a retooled corps of running backs.

There is a new offensive coordinator in Steve Sarkisian, and whether he says so or not, there is pressure to take many of the same pieces from last year and maintain the same level of success. The Crimson Tide averaged 522 yards per game and 7.76 yards per play. No pressure.

The numbers don’t have to be the same, but the dominant results are expected to be unchanged.

Read the projected defense and special teams depth charts here.

Quarterback

Starter: Tua Tagovailoa
Backup: Mac Jones, Taulia Tagovailoa, Paul Tyson

Overview: With a season similar to his first as a full-time starter, Tua Tagovailoa will become the program’s all-time leader in passing touchdowns and second in career passing yardage. It’s the first time since 2013 that Alabama didn’t have an offseason quarterback competition. The junior quarterback is considered one of the top two quarterbacks in the country along with Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence. Tagovailoa will blend his skill of running the RPO with Sarkisian’s West Coast offensive philosophy to round out the Crimson Tide’s passing attack.

That would enable Tagovailoa to use all four of his elite wide receivers to the detriment of defenses around the SEC. This is a big season for Tagovailoa despite all he proved a season ago. There are still some detractors who wonder if his game will translate to the next level, where complex defenses are fielded by more than just elite teams. Clemson players openly discussed their ability to confuse Tagovailoa by showing one defensive look pre-snap and another at the snap. That’s one thing that Tagovailoa will see lots of this season.

Jones has solidified his role as backup quarterback with his performance through the spring and preseason camp. Nick Saban praised Jones’ play to this point, eliminating any doubt that he’s the guy if the Crimson Tide are put in a position to play the backup.

Running back

Starter: Najee Harris
Backups: Brian Robinson, Jerome Ford, Keilan Robinson

Overview: The unit has been relatively deep for a few years, but that’s not the case this season. Five-star true freshman Trey Sanders was lost for the season with a foot injury during a practice before the first scrimmage. Sanders played well enough after his arrival on campus to have earned playing time this season. His injury weakened the position, where experienced depth was already a question mark.

Harris is clearly the top running back and will be given the majority of the carries should he remain healthy. Robinson showed plenty of promise during his first two seasons, and it was due to the running backs in front of him that he didn’t get more opportunities. Harris and Robinson will handle the majority of carries this season, with the redshirt freshman Ford as the third option. Ford sustained an ankle injury during the second preseason scrimmage, which has affected his availability this week, but he should be fine once the season gets underway. With Sarkisian’s stated goal to lead an offense that likes to run the ball, the three running backs should get plenty of opportunities.

Najee Harris will get his long-awaited chance to be the lead tailback. (Marvin Gentry / USA Today)

Wide receiver

Starters: Jerry Jeudy, Henry Ruggs III, DeVonta Smith
Backups: Jaylen Waddle, Tyrell Shavers, Slade Bolden, John Metchie, Xavier Williams

Overview: They form the best wide receiving corps in the country. They are the main reasons everyone remains so high on the potential of the Crimson Tide offense this season. Jeudy won the Biletnikoff Award, awarded annually to the nation’s top receiver. Henry Ruggs III is one of the fastest players in the country, and he’s not just a speed guy. He makes contested catches and isn’t afraid to go across the middle. Smith is the hero from the national championship game two years ago, but he’s much more than that, too. Waddle has been described by his teammates as the most unguardable player on the roster. His speed is the stuff of legend.

Those four are the reason you might see the Alabama offense in more four-wide receiver sets. Getting all four on the field at the same time is something that excited Sarkisian.

“(It’s) something we’ll definitely incorporate into what we’re doing,” Sarkisian said. “I’d be remiss to keep those four wide receivers not on the field when it presents itself to be an advantageous situation. Too many times, if they’re standing next to us on the sidelines, something’s wrong or we feel good about something else that’s happening.”

The reserves are pretty good, too, just unproven. Metchie is quickly earning a reputation for having the best hands on the team, and Bolden has also turned heads. Shavers has the potential to be a matchup problems for defenses, given his size.

Tight end

Starters: Miller Forristall, Giles Amos
Backups: Major Tennison, Cameron Latu, Jahleel Billingsley, Michael Parker

Overview: The depth of the position took a major hit when Irv Smith Jr. left the program early for the NFL and when Kedrick James, a player the staff thought had potential, was essentially booted from the program for disciplinary issues. Forristall and Amos, a walk-on player who just recently was given a scholarship, are the starters for now. Latu made the transition from linebacker to tight end, and he’s shown flashes of being a playmaker. He has a chance to contribute to this year’s team. Overall, the position is thin in terms of players who can play at the level needed.

Left tackle

Starter: Alex Leatherwood
Backups: Scott Lashley, Evan Neal

Overview: Leatherwood has earned his opportunity to be the team’s starting left tackle. He has all physical gifts required to play there. He performed admirably there when pressed into duty his freshman season in the national championship game. He showed his versatility by nailing down the starting right guard job a year ago with Jonah Williams at left tackle. The position seems to be in good hands with Leatherwood.

Where things get tricky is who is the true backup. On paper, it’s probably Lashley. But if something were to happen to Leatherwood, would Neal, my projected starter at left guard, be the guy they’d play at left tackle? Neal is the future at the position, in my opinion.

Left guard

Starter: Evan Neal
Backup: Deonte Brown

Overview: Neal has impressed since he’s been on campus. He’s truly a big man among big men. As a stated above, he’s clearly the future at left tackle, but he’s also too talented to keep off the field. Much like Leatherwood before him, Neal is willing to make a move inside for a season for the betterment of the team. Along with Leatherwood, they’ll form a hellacious left side of the offensive line. Moving people out of the way shouldn’t be an issues for these two.

Brown starts the season on a four-game suspension, and it’s my opinion that he won’t take back the starting job he earned halfway through last season. In that scenario, would Brown move to right guard or would he be a reserve for the season? That’s a good place to be from a depth prospective, and that’s reality for the Alabama offensive line this season. There are simply too many good offensive linemen and not enough starting positions.

Center

Starter: Chris Owens/Emil Ekiyor/Landon Dickerson
Backups: Ekiyor/Dickerson

Overview: OK, so I cheated. Sue me. The fact is that Owens had held the starting center job since spring, and he’s done nothing to lose it. But the coaching staff really likes Ekiyor, and Dickerson has worked there, too. Owens has the seniority and experience factor over Ekiyor. Saban has been known to favor that in close decisions. Dickerson is the wild card here. There is a feeling that he has proven he’s one of the five best offensive linemen on the team and it’s only a matter of finding him a spot on the interior. The starting center will come from one of these three, and Owens has the lead, but it wouldn’t surprise me if one of the other two started.

Right guard

Starter: Landon Dickerson/Emil Ekiyor
Backups: Ekiyor, Matt Womack

Overview: As stated above, the coaching staff really likes both Dickerson and Ekiyor. Depending on how it shakes out at center, the other could be the favorite to nab the right guard job. Womack has been dinged up during camp, which has set him back to a degree, but he’s solidly in the mix and has played a lot of football for the Crimson Tide. Again, Alabama is in a position of luxury having so many talented offensive linemen to choose from. Then there is the case of what to do with Brown when he comes back from suspension.

Right tackle

Starter: Jedrick Wills
Backups: Tommy Brown, Matt Womack

Overview: Wills is the most physical lineman on the roster, and if you like watching a player who takes no prisoners on the field, then Wills is your guy. He’s started every game at right tackle a season ago, and his play proved his worth. His run blocking is elite and his pass blocking improved throughout the season. Pass blocking will be tested this season on both sides. Jonah Williams was a stalwart at tackle for three seasons and was an elite pass blocker. Leatherwood and Wills have the gifts to be good in that area, too.

Womack has experience as a starter at right tackle and could play there in a pinch if need be.

(Top photo of Jerry Jeudy and Jaylen Waddle: Streeter Lecka / Getty Images)