If you want to know why Alabama’s defense is so good this year, look at Mel Kiper’s NFL draft rankings.

Last week, he released an updated top 10 at every position. Those lists include seven Alabama defensive players, and none of those are cornerback Cyrus Jones or safety Eddie Jackson.

According to Kiper, inside linebacker, defensive tackle and guard are the SEC’s deepest position groups in this year’s draft class. Here is every SEC player he ranked in the top 10 of their respective position groups:

QUARTERBACKS

6. Dak Prescott, Mississippi State

Kiper believes Paxton Lynch (Memphis) and Jared Goff (Cal) are the clear top quarterbacks in this draft. Based on his ranking of Prescott, the Bulldogs quarterback should be a mid- to late-round pick.

RUNNING BACKS

2. Derrick Henry, Alabama
6. Alex Collins, Arkansas
8. Jonathan Williams, Arkansas

“It’s not a knock to (No. 1 Ezekiel) Elliott or Henry, but there just isn’t a huge drop-off at any point on this list,” Kiper wrote.

FULLBACKS

5. Quayvon Hicks, Georgia

This may not indicate Hicks will get drafted, but he should have a spot in training camp somewhere in the least. There’s not much here because in the SEC, fullback-sized players like Derrick Henry and Jalen Hurd can run sub-4.5 in the 40-yard dash.

RECEIVERS

1. Laquon Treadwell, Ole Miss
7. Pharoh Cooper, South Carolina

At just 5-foot-11, Cooper rates ahead of some very good players. He could be a second-day draft selection, which would be tremendous for him.

TIGHT ENDS

1. Hunter Henry, Arkansas
2. Jerell Adams, South Carolina
8. Evan Engram, Ole Miss

The SEC is as deep at tight end as it is at any position, in terms of NFL talent. It’s a little curious why SEC offenses don’t utilize the tight end more often.

OFFENSIVE TACKLES

1. Laremy Tunsil, Ole Miss

This wasn’t the best year for SEC offensive tackles, and Tunsil missed several games due to an NCAA suspension. Still, he’s likely to become a top 10 pick in the NFL draft.

GUARDS

1. Denver Kirkland, Arkansas
2. Greg Pyke, Georgia
8. Vadal Alexander, LSU
9. Sebastian Tretola, Arkansas

According to Kiper, Kirkland is a borderline first-round pick.

CENTERS

1. Ryan Kelly, Alabama
5. Ethan Pocic, LSU
10. Evan Boehm, Missouri

Kelly had the best season of any Tide offensive lineman, and Kiper projects him as a second-day pick. That would be a great achievement for a center.

DEFENSIVE ENDS

5. Jonathan Allen, Alabama
8. Carl Lawson, Auburn

Let the parade of Tide defensive linemen begin. Also, most everyone expects Auburn to lose its best defensive player in Lawson, who rarely saw the field in college due to injury.

DEFENSIVE TACKLES

1. Robert Nkemdiche, Ole Miss
2. A’Shawn Robinson, Alabama
3. Jarran Reed, Alabama

Kiper called defensive tackle the deepest position in the 2016 NFL draft. He published these rankings Dec. 10, before Nkemdiche fell out of a window (police found marijuana at the scene). So we’ll see how that may affect his draft stock. And boy, is coordinator Jeremy Pruitt going to have his work cut out for him next season in the middle of the Alabama defense.

INSIDE LINEBACKERS

1. Reggie Ragland, Alabama
3. Kentrell Brothers, Missouri
4. Reuben Foster, Alabama
5. Cassanova McKinzy, Auburn
6. Antonio Morrison, Florida
8. Kendell Beckwith, LSU

If you want an inside linebacker in this NFL draft, you’d best be looking hard at the SEC.

OUTSIDE LINEBACKERS

3. Tim Williams, Alabama
5. Leonard Floyd, Georgia
10. Jordan Jenkins, Georgia

CORNERBACKS

2. Vernon Hargreaves III, Florida
4. Tre’Davious White, LSU

It’s impressive that Jalen Ramsey (Florida State) is at No. 1 considering Hargreaves III would’ve been a first-round pick after his true sophomore season in 2014.

SAFETIES

7. Tony Conner, Ole Miss
8. Marcus Maye, Florida
9. Jalen Mills, LSU
10. Keanu Neal, Florida

This ends the dream of the Rebels putting all four of the class of 2013 five-star players into the first round of this year’s draft. But three with a fourth player going in the third or fourth round seems very possible.

KICKERS AND PUNTERS

2. Drew Kaser, Texas A&M

This was a disappointing year for SEC kickers and punters. But Kaser has been good for a long time, and he’ll get a chance to compete for a roster spot somewhere.