At the NFL Draft in Detroit, 81 players will be selected in the final two rounds on April 27 – the 177th through the 257th picks. The NFL teams will be picking for depth at that point, hoping to find a player who can contribute on special teams or be a dependable backup, maybe develop on the practice squad.

In last year’s draft, 54 players were picked in the final two rounds. Thirty-four of them saw the field last season. But among the position players chosen in the sixth and seventh rounds, none was a regular starter during the 2023 campaign.

But sometimes teams find players in this range of the draft who outlast their pick number. In the history of the draft, 602 players chosen with a pick number of 177 or higher have appeared in at least 100 regular-season games.

Nineteen of those players came from Alabama high schools and colleges:

Herman Lee: 270th selection in 1954

South Girard High School in Phenix City: Drafted from Florida A&M by the Chicago Bears, Lee didn’t make his NFL debut until 1957 with the Pittsburgh Steelers. However, he played the next nine seasons, mostly at left offensive tackle, for the Bears. In his 10 seasons, Lee played in 127 regular-season games with 121 starts.

Bart Starr: 200th selection in 1956

Sidney Lanier High School in Montgomery, Alabama: The quarterback helped Packers coach Vince Lombardi turn Green Bay into Titletown with five NFL championships, including the first two Super Bowls. Starr was the MVP of those two games as well as for the whole league in 1966. He joined the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1977 after a 16-year career that included 196 regular-season games and 157 starts.

Jerrel Wilson: 225th selection in 1963

Murphy High School in Mobile: Los Angeles drafted Wilson from Southern Miss, but he never played for the Rams. Wilson joined the Kansas City Chiefs of the AFL and was their punter for the next 15 seasons. A three-time Pro Bowler who punted in Super Bowls I and IV, Wilson ranks 19th in career punts and 18th in career punting yards in NFL history. He punted in 217 regular-season games.

Buck Buchanan: 265th selection in 1963

Parker High School in Birmingham: Buchanan is sort of a ringer on this list. While the New York Giants didn’t select the Grambling State star until the 19th round of the NFL Draft, the Kansas City Chiefs opened the 1963 AFL Draft by selecting Buchanan. He played defensive tackle for the Chiefs for 13 seasons, earned Pro Bowl honors eight times and first-team All-Pro recognition four times and entered the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1990. Buchanan played in 182 regular-season games.

Tom Banks: 189th selection in 1970

John Carroll Catholic High School in Birmingham, Auburn: The St. Louis Cardinals drafted 11 players in 1970 before they picked Banks. But those 11 played in four fewer NFL games combined than Banks did for the Cardinals. Banks earned Pro Bowl recognition annually from 1975 through 1978 and was the first-team All-Pro center in 1976. Banks played in 116 regular-season games.

Dave Washington: 219th selection in 1970

Druid High School in Tuscaloosa: The Denver Broncos chose the Alcorn State linebacker, but he had his best season for the San Francisco 49ers in 1976. Washington earned a Pro Bowl invitation that season. He also played for the Buffalo Bills, Detroit Lions and New Orleans Saints in 138 regular-season games across 11 NFL seasons.

Jeff Rutledge: 246th selection in 1979

Banks High School in Birmingham, Alabama: Throughout his 14-year NFL career, Rutledge worked as a backup quarterback for some of the league’s best teams. He played in 171 regular-season games, with 10 starts, along with 15 playoff contests. His 1986 and 1991 seasons ended by taking the final snaps in Super Bowl victories by the New York Giants and Washington Redskins, respectively. Rutledge started his career with three seasons for the Los Angeles Rams and ended it with three seasons for Washington, with the Giants filling the seasons in between.

Willie Tullis: 217th selection in 1981

Headland High School, Troy: The Houston Oilers selected the cornerback in the eighth round, and Tullis went on to play in eight seasons, with two seasons apiece with the New Orleans Saints and Indianapolis Colts following his time with Houston. Tullis intercepted 18 passes while playing in 106 games with 57 starts.

Howard Ballard: 283rd selection in 1987

Clay County High School, Alabama A&M: After spending most of his rookie season on the bench, Ballard spent the next 10 seasons as a starting right offensive tackle. The 11th-round draft choice played in four Super Bowls, including in two seasons in which he also was a Pro Bowl selection for the Buffalo Bills.

John Hudson: 294th selection in 1990

Auburn: Hudson never started a game in his NFL career, but the guard/center and long snapper played in 147, including eight playoff contests. No Auburn player drafted deeper than Hudson can match his longevity in the NFL. Hudson played 10 seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles, who drafted him; New York Jets and Baltimore Ravens.

Mark McMillian: 272nd selection in 1992

Alabama: Despite being a 10th-round draft choice of the Philadelphia Eagles and standing 5-foot-7, the cornerback had an eight-year NFL career. He intercepted 23 passes in his career and led the NFL in interception-return yards with 274 for the Kansas City Chiefs in 1997, when he ran three of his eight picks back for touchdowns. Only three Alabama alumni have more NFL interceptions than McMillian, who played in 127 regular-season games.

Fred Beasley: 180th selection in 1998

Lee High School in Montgomery, Auburn: Beasley ran for 610 yards and eight touchdowns during his 114 regular-season games in eight seasons with the San Francisco 49ers. It was the running done by others behind Beasley that earned his status as one of the NFL’s best fullbacks as he helped clear the way for five 1,000-yard rushers. He was a Pro Bowl selection in 2003, when Kevan Barlow and Garrison Hearst combined to run for 1,792 yards.

Adalius Thomas: 186th selection in 2000

Central High School in Rockford: Taken in the same round in the same draft as quarterback Tom Brady, Thomas spent the final three of his 10 NFL seasons as a teammate of Brady’s on the New England Patriots. That came after the outside linebacker had earned first-team All-Pro recognition in 2006, when he recorded 11 sacks with the Baltimore Ravens. Thomas played in 135 regular-season games.

Frank Walker: 207th selection in 2003

Booker T. Washington High School in Tuskegee, Tuskegee: After being drafted by the New York Giants, Walker forged a nine-year career mainly as a third cornerback. He played in 107 regular-season games for five teams and made 17 starts. Walker had nine interceptions in his career.

Jay Ratliff: 224th selection in 2005

Auburn: The first player picked by the Dallas Cowboys in the 2005 NFL Draft was Troy outside linebacker DeMarcus Ware with the 11th selection. More than 200 picks later, the Cowboys added defensive end Jay Ratliff with their final 2005 selection. Ware lived up to his draft status by earning nine Pro Bowl selections. But Ratliff was an all-star, too. After moving to nose tackle, Ratliff ran off four Pro Bowl seasons in a row and earned first-team All-Pro recognition in 2009. Ratliff played in 122 regular-season games in 11 seasons.

Cortland Finnegan: 215th selection in 2006

Samford: Selected by the Tennessee Titans in the final round of the 2006 NFL Draft, the cornerback earned first-team All-Pro recognition in the third of his 10 seasons. Finnegan averaged 23.7 yards per return on his 18 career interceptions and returned four of them for touchdowns. He also ran back two fumble recoveries for touchdowns. Finnegan played in 133 regular-season games.

Captain Munnerlyn: 216th selection in 2009

Murphy High School in Mobile: Chosen by Carolina in the final round of the 2009 NFL Draft, the cornerback outlasted the six players picked by the Panthers in front of him. He played 10 seasons while none of the other Carolina draft choices that year made it past six. Munnerlyn played in 154 NFL games, mainly as a nickel corner, and had 12 interceptions, returning five of them for touchdowns.

Joe Webb: 199th selection in 2010

Wenonah High School, UAB: Webb started three regular-season games and a playoff contest in his first two seasons with the Minnesota Vikings. By 2013, he was lining up at wide receiver and playing special teams. He even returned kickoffs as the Carolina Panthers’ No. 3 quarterback in the 2015 an 2016 seasons. Webb played in 104 regular-season games with four starts.

Rakeem Nunez-Roches: 217th selection in 2015

Central High School in Phenix City: The defensive tackle is still adding to his total of 118 regular-season games as a member of the New York Giants, his third NFL team. He was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs and spent the 2018 through 2022 seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. With the Bucs, he started every postseason game on Tampa Bay’s run to winning Super Bowl LV.

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.