The 2024 NFL Draft starts on Thursday in Detroit with the 32 first-round picks. In the 88 NFL drafts, teams have chosen 128 prospects who played at Alabama high schools and colleges in the first round, and another 29 who were not first-rounders but were selected in the first 32 picks. AL.com is counting down to the draft by highlighting the players with Alabama football roots who have been chosen in the first 32 picks.

The sixth pick in the NFL Draft has been a sweet spot for prospects who played at Alabama high schools and colleges, starting with two who are now enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

The nine prospects include:

· Linebacker Lee Roy Jordan (Excel, Alabama): 1963 by the Dallas Cowboys. As the middle linebacker for the Doomsday Defense, Jordan played 14 seasons with Dallas and started every game in his final 11 years. He received five Pro Bowl invitations and played in Super Bowls V, VI and X, coming away with an NFL championship for the 1971 season.

· Linebacker Robert Brazile (Vigor): 1975 by the Houston Oilers. Drafted from Jackson State, the right outside linebacker started all 154 games of his NFL career. Across 10 seasons, Brazile was a Pro Bowler seven times and a first-team All-Pro twice. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2018.

· Quarterback Richard Todd (Davidson, Alabama): 1976 by the New York Jets. Drafted as Joe Namath’s successor, Todd started six games as a rookie and was his team’s No. 1 QB, when healthy, for the next eight seasons. He completed his career with 20,610 passing yards and 124 touchdown passes.

· Linebacker Barry Krauss (Alabama): 1979 by the Baltimore Colts. Krauss played 11 seasons as an inside linebacker – 10 with the Colts (five in Baltimore and five in Indianapolis) and one with the Miami Dolphins.

· Defensive end Eric Curry (Alabama): 1993 by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. A starter for the first three of his seven NFL seasons, Curry produced 10 sacks during those years as a regular.

· Offensive tackle Walter Jones (Aliceville): 1997 by the Seattle Seahawks. Drafted from Florida State, Jones started every one of his 190 NFL games at left tackle for the Seahawks until a knee injury prematurely ended his career. Jones was a Pro Bowler nine times and a first-team All-Pro four times. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2014, his first year of eligibility.

· Offensive tackle Andre Smith (Huffman, Alabama): 2009 by the Cincinnati Bengals. Smith played for the Bengals in 10 of his 12 NFL seasons, coming back to Cincinnati twice after leaving in free agency.

· Wide receiver Julio Jones (Foley, Alabama): 2011 by the Atlanta Falcons. The Falcons traded five draft picks to move into position to select Jones in 2011, and he went on to become the franchise’s career leader in receptions and receiving yards. A seven-time Pro Bowler and two-time first-team All-Pro, Jones led the NFL in receiving yards in 2015 and 2018 and topped the NFC in that stat annually from 2014 through 2018. Jones has 914 receptions for 13,703 yards and 66 touchdowns.

· Wide receiver Jaylen Waddle (Alabama): 2021 by the Miami Dolphins. Three years into his career, Waddle has three 1,000-yard seasons. He set an NFL rookie record with 104 receptions in 2021 and led the league in yards-per-catch average at 18.1 in 2022.

The New York Giants hold the sixth selection in this year’s draft.

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