The 2024 NFL Draft starts on April 25 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.

Three prospects who played at Alabama high schools and colleges have been chosen at No. 21 in an NFL Draft:

· Back Rufus Deal (Tuscaloosa County, Auburn): 1942 by the Washington Redskins. The sixth pick of the third round in 1942, Deal had 12 yards on five carries in his only NFL season, although he’s listed as a Pro Bowler. At that time, the NFL All-Star Game matched the league champion against a team of all-stars from the other NFL clubs. Washington won the 1942 NFL championship by beating the Chicago Bears 14-6 on Dec. 13, then lost to the all-stars 17-14 two weeks later. Service in World War II ended Deal’s football career. He still holds the Auburn record for the longest punt with an 87-yarder in a 7-6 loss to Georgia Tech on Oct. 28, 1939.

· Cornerback Don McNeal (Escambia County, Alabama): 1980 by the Miami Dolphins. After choosing McNeal in the first round in 1980, the Dolphins chose his Crimson Tide teammate, center Dwight Stephenson, in the second. Stephenson went on to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. McNeal, Stephenson, nose tackle Bob Baumhower and running back Tony Nathan were Alabama alumni who helped Miami reach the AFC championship games for the 1982, 1984 and 1985 seasons and Super Bowls XVII and XIX (although Baumhower missed the 1985 campaign with an injury). McNeal played all nine of his NFL seasons with the Dolphins and had 18 interceptions in 110 regular-season games and two more in 10 playoff contests.

· Safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix (Alabama): 2014 by the Green Bay Packers. Of the 23 players that the Packers have picked from Alabama, Clinton-Dix has been the earliest selection. A Pro Bowler for Green Bay in 2016, Clinton-Dix had 16 interceptions in 98 regular-season games and three more in seven playoff contests. Clinton-Dix was a starter in all but the first six and the last two games of his career.

The Miami Dolphins hold the 22nd 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.