It’s not often that we can say a defending national champion is busting at the seams with talent, but that’s the case this season with Alabama.

The Crimson Tide look poised to go back-to-back under coach Nick Saban for the second time in his Tuscaloosa tenure as several position groups are stacked with NFL potential, namely those on defense.

We decided to look at the team’s top 10 players now that spring practices are over.

10. MARLON HUMPHREY, CB

Marlon Humphrey started all 15 games while lining up opposite of the departed senior Cyrus Jones. Humphrey had 45 tackles to go with 3.5 tackles for loss, 3 INTs, 8 pass breakups and 2 forced fumbles. In doing so, Humphrey was selected to the Freshman All-SEC Team like Minkah Fitzpatrick. Humphrey made so many big plays during the team’s run to the national title, maybe none bigger than the onside kick recovery against Clemson. Humphrey was also a part of the school’s record-breaking 4×400 relay team.

9. MINKAH FITZPATRICK, CB

The Crimson Tide could field the best secondary in the country this season, and it may not even be the team’s best position group on the team. Fitzpatrick started 10 of the 14 games he played in while manning the Star position as a true freshman. The 6-foot-1, 200-pounder was named a Freshman All-American by Sporting News after also notching 45 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, 2 INTs (both returned for TDs) and a team-high 11 pass breakups. He also blocked a punt against Georgia, which he returned himself 16 yards for a touchdown. He and Fitzpatrick should make for one of the best cornerback tandems in the nation.

8. RYAN ANDERSON, LB

Anderson will start at outside linebacker this season after an impressive junior campaign in which he developed into a pass-rushing threat for Alabama. He recorded 37 tackles, 11.5 tackles for loss (third on the team), 6 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries and 9 QB hurries. He had 9.5 tackles for loss in the team’s final 10 games of the season. Big things are expected from him and another senior linebacker who we’ll get to in a moment.

7. O.J. HOWARD, TE

Howard is coming off the game of his life against Clemson in the national championship game, showcasing his potential on the biggest stage of them all with 5 catches for 208 yards and 2 TDs. Prior to that, Howard hadn’t even recorded a 100-yard game in his career or even scored a touchdown in 2015. Howard has a chance to follow in Arkansas TE Hunter Henry’s footsteps and make it back-to-back years in which an SEC tight end is first to be taken off the board in the NFL draft.

6. REUBEN FOSTER, LB

Foster is the next man up in the middle to replace Reggie Ragland. He was second on the team in tackles last season with 73, 8 tackles for loss, 2 sacks and 9 pass breakups. Expect Foster to put up even bigger numbers this season with a bigger responsibility on his shoulders to lead this year’s defense. Also expect a few more big hits like Foster has become famous for delivering.

5. EDDIE JACKSON, S

Jackson tied for the SEC lead in interceptions with six and taking back two for touchdowns after transitioning to safety last season. His 230 return yards on his interceptions shattered the single-season school record of 163 set by Hootie Ingram in 1952. Jackson added 46 tackles, 3 tackles for loss and a forced fumble. As a result, he earned second-team All-America honors from both the Walter Camp and the FWAA and third-team All-America honors by the Associated Press.

4. TIM WILLIAMS, LB

According to Saban, Williams nearly ruined the team’s spring game for being so dominant. I imagine he’ll be ruining a lot of Saturdays for opposing offenses. Williams was second only to Jonathan Allen in both tackles for loss (12.5) and sacks (10.5) last season. During the team’s spring game, Williams won the Dwight Stephenson Award for Most Valuable Lineman after officially recording 2 tackles and 2 sacks (probably a lot more than that).

3. CALVIN RIDLEY, WR

Ridley came right on the scene and exploded for Alabama, setting the school’s single-season freshman receiving record for yards with 1,045, topping the previous mark of 1,000 held by Amari Cooper in 2012. Ridley was named Second-Team All-SEC after finishing with 89 receptions for those 1,045 yards and 7 TDs. The 6-foot-1, 188-pounder showed an amazing blend of being sure-handed while also being a downfield threat. The fact that the Crimson Tide have this guy for another two seasons is almost not fair.

2. CAM ROBINSON, LT

Robinson was named First-Team All-SEC last season and is one of Alabama’s two returning starters on the offensive line. Depending on how he does for an encore, Robinson could declare early for the draft and be a first-rounder, although that’s something Tide fans don’t want to hear. First, Robinson will need to work his way back from offseason shoulder surgery, but he’s expected to be 100 percent when fall rolls around.

1. JONATHAN ALLEN, DE

There will be no shortage of pass-rushers in what should be the best defensive front seven in the country yet again. Allen was named First-Team All-SEC after leading an incredible unit with 12 sacks and 14.5 tackles for loss last season, while adding 2 forced fumbles, 4 pass breakups and 6 QB hurries. Allen shined against the best as 11 of his 12 sacks came against ranked opponents. He had double-digit sacks in four games, including a season-high three at Mississippi State. He also had a pair of sacks against Michigan State in the College Football Playoff semifinal. Offenses will need to game plan for Allen every week.

Honorable mentions: DT Da’Shawn Hand, C Ross Pierschbacher, QB Cooper Bateman