With this past weekend being the first big weekend of pre-season football in the NFL, let’s take a look at the University of Alabama presence in the league. Not only are we going to discuss former players from the University of Alabama and their respective professional teams, but also each player’s fantasy value and who would be a good underrated pick-up for 2015 Fantasy football.

Let’s start with the players everyone knows, like Julio Jones, Eddie Lacy, Mark Ingram, and C.J. Moseley. The heavy fantasy point scorers in the league are obviously Julio Jones and Eddie Lacy, and based on Lacy’s pre-season game last Thursday, he will have another big season.

Julio is back to a true 100 percent, and based on his interviews from fall camp, he feels faster and even more sure-handed than before. Mark Ingram will be sharing carries with C.J. Spiller this year. With such a strong one-and-two-punch combo, Ingram could be a good pick for back up running back on a lot of fantasy rosters this year.

Moseley will lead a strong Ravens defense again this year with help from fellow Alabama alumni, Courtney Upshaw. I expect the Ravens to have a consistent season and some solid point scoring for a defensive squad. Dont’a Hightower will again be at the helm of defending Super Bowl Champions, the New England Patriots defense. Based on the way they looked on Thursday, they will be another very stingy defense and will look to put up consistent numbers. Ha-Ha Clinton-Dix, with help from Alabama alum Adrian Hubbard, will be a part of another championship-caliber defense in the Green Bay Packers.

There are currently fifty-four former University of Alabama players listed on the NFL roster. The majority of those players are defensive players. The full list of Alabama players in the league, here .

Next, let’s look at the most recently drafted and signed players who have left Alabama and joined the league. The most spoken about was the number four over-all pick in the 2015 NFL draft to the Oakland Raiders. Amari Cooper has gotten a lot of praise during the off-season from teammates, coaches, and former players who were extremely talented. He has even gotten praise from Jerry Rice, who is known as the greatest wide receiver to ever play football.

Cooper comes into a struggling offense in Oakland. Cooper will not be doing it by himself, the Raiders made a lot of off-season transactions and landed Michael Crabtree from the 49ers and Alabama alum Trent Richardson from the Colts. Crabtree could help take some coverage off Cooper, and if Trent can finally find his niche in the NFL, he could help take pressure off with the run game.

Cooper will be a high-draft pick in a lot of fantasy leagues this year and rightfully so. Look for him to put up solid points this year as a rookie. TJ Yeldon is another talented rookie from Alabama poised to make an impact this year. Yeldon was drafted 36^th overall in the 2015 draft to the Jacksonville Jaguars. Word from Jacksonville is that TJ is expected to earn the starting running back position as a rookie. The highlights from practice for Cooper and Yeldon have been impressive so far.

Two other players to note are Landon Collins and Jalston Fowler. Collins was drafted by the New York Giants, where staff members have been impressed by his football smarts and ability to learn quickly. The Tennessee Titans drafted Fowler, and the buzz has been about how athletic he is for such a big guy. Look for the Titans to use Fowler in several different ways to help rookie quarterback Marcus Mariota open up the offense.

The test for all of the rookie players comes in their first preseason games on Friday, August 14. Due to the fact that I am writing this article hours before kick-off and due to the fact that this article will not be published for three or four more days, you already know how these players’ first performance went.