Greg McElroy shares bold prediction about Alabama’s defense in 2026
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ESPN analyst Greg McElroy has a bold prediction for Alabama football in 2026.
This week, McElroy shared his “hot take” for the Crimson Tide — he believes they will have the SEC’s best pass defense this fall. McElroy noted that Alabama was top 10 nationally in passing yards per game allowed last season and returns all 5 starting defensive backs.
“I know when you look at what Notre Dame has and what Georgia has and all these other great secondaries … but Alabama’s secondary is a really complete unit,” McElroy said. “Because it has quality talent at every single position at every single position plus multiple years of chemistry between players that have started together.
“They’re not necessarily the most talented unit, but you could make the case they work together better than just about everybody in the country. And in a 15-game season, being complete might beat overall talent.”
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It’s worth noting that the advanced stats were not quite as high on Alabama’s secondary in 2025 as the raw yards per game allowed metric would indicate. Alabama ranked 43rd in pass defense efficiency rating and 30th in EPA-per-pass allowed.
Alabama will open the 2026 season against East Carolina on Sept. 5.
Spenser is a news editor for Saturday Down South and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.
