Dallas Turner was selected No. 17 overall by the Minnesota Vikings in the NFL draft on Thursday, the second straight year Alabama has had an outside linebacker taken in the first round.

Will Anderson, like Turner an All-America edge rusher with the Crimson Tide, went No. 3 overall to the Houston Texans in the 2022 draft. But former Alabama head coach Nick Saban said Turner actually compares more favorably with a different linebacker who once starred in Tuscaloosa.

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“This guy’s quiet, but he’s a great leader,” Saban said of Turner during ABC’s draft coverage. “He sets a great example. He works hard every day in practice. He has position-flexibility.

“People keep comparing him to Will Anderson; he’s more like Dont’a Hightower. He went inside, he got outside, we stood him up, he’s a good rusher. He can take gaps inside. So I think the versatility is phenomenal.”

Hightower, an All-American on Alabama’s 2011 national championship team, was drafted in the first round (No. 25 overall) by the New England Patriots in 2012. He played 10 years in New England, twice making the Pro Bowl and winning three Super Bowl rings.

Turner, a former 5-star recruit, was a Freshman All-American at Alabama in 2021. He was first-team All-SEC, first-team All-American and SEC Co-Defensive Player of the Year in 2023, when he totaled 53 tackles, 14.5 tackles for loss and 10 sacks.

“I can see why somebody would trade up for this guy; I thought he’d get picked between 8 and 12 in this draft,” Saban said. “You’re talking about a guy that’s got a great size, great athletic ability, a three-way rusher — which is really important to me. He can long-arm you, he can turn speed to power, a very good athlete.

“… He’s a good-enough athlete to drop (in coverage). He can cover tight ends man-to-man. He can play inside backer, but … we played him at defensive end, we played him at outside backer. … He’s relentless, man.

You’ve got to have relentless effort to be a great pass rusher and he is relentless in the way he goes after the quarterback.”

Turner was the second Alabama player selected on Thursday, after offensive tackle JC Latham went No. 7 to the Tennessee Titans.