Alabama guard Tyler Booker is arguably the most pro-ready offensive lineman in the 2025 NFL Draft. Through hard work and sheer determination, Booker got himself on the field at Alabama in 2022 en route to Freshman All-SEC honors. The Crimson Tide standout now enters the draft as a plug-and-play starter.
Booker recently spoke exclusively with The Draft Network. Booker discussed how playing at Alabama prepared him for the NFL, his overwhelming power at the point of attack, why coach Nick Saban had to dial back his aggression on occasion, his favorite concept to execute in the playbook, and more.
JM: You got to Alabama in 2022 and you played right away en route to Freshman All-SEC Team honors. What do you think it was about your mindset that allowed you to contribute right away?
Tyler Booker: I was used to playing football my entire life. I never sat on the bench. I had never not played. I had some goals for myself when I got to Alabama. I wanted to do everything in my power to see the field.
I remember asking coach Nick Saban right before we went home for summer break what I had to work on. He wanted me to come back stronger. I made sure my body was in shape. Right before we went home, coach Saban told the offensive line group that all five spots were up for grabs.
Coach Saban said nobody was penciled in as a starter. He wanted us to compete because those jobs were for the taking. I ended up rotating, but having that experience, playing as much as I did as a freshman, propelled me for the rest of my career at Alabama.
JM: There was gradual growth as you became a full-time starter in 2023. How did you get ready for that challenge while leaning on the prior year’s experience?
Tyler Booker: That freshman season, I prepared for every game as if I were the starter. Even when I knew I was just rotating, or maybe I wasn’t going to play at all that week, in my head, I was a starter.
That’s how I approached every single game. I elevated that mindset to my second season, like okay, I actually am the starter now. I’m the guy on every single down. That’s how I approached my sophomore year.
JM: You did that at a high level. Speaking of that competition on the offensive line, how did iron sharpen iron at practice? Playing at Alabama, you had great teammates on the offensive line, but you also went against some great defensive linemen in practice.
Tyler Booker: My freshman year was the most fun I had going up against the competition in practice. I had to go up against guys like Byron Young, DJ Dale, Dallas Turner, and obviously Will Anderson Jr. as well.
We had some pretty good linebackers, too, with Jaylen Moody and Henry To’oTo’o. We were stacked, man. That defense was different in my freshman year (laughs).
It was the same thing my sophomore season. We had Tim Smith, who’s in this year’s draft class as well. Tim Keenan III was on that team as well. We had a bunch of mature, older guys who helped prepare me. Evidently, they got me ready for every game, the next season, and now, they’re the ones who got me ready for the NFL, too.
JM: Those practices must have been so much fun. I typically ask an offensive lineman if they're an agile blocker in space or powerful in a phone booth, but there's no question with you. You're unbelievably powerful. Talk to me about overwhelming defensive linemen with play strength.
Tyler Booker: I’m always very focused on my first two steps, getting my first two steps on the ground. In my head, I’m telling myself my first step gets me on track, and my second step is the power step.
My pre-game routine is all about finding and developing that rhythm, that one-two, one-two, one-two. It becomes very rhythmic for me because I know it and I practice it. Direction, power, direction, power, direction, power.
While I am very powerful and overwhelming at the point of attack, if you turn on the tape, there were a bunch of plays this year where I thrived in space. I was pulling around on the opposite side and targeting the nickel in the open field or the safety at the second level.
I’m agile in space as well.
JM: We saw that on film. You're a finisher on tape. You play with physicality through the whistle. How did you develop that mentality?
Tyler Booker: I’ve always had that mentality. That’s what allowed me to play so early. I was finishing plays down the field. I was always going that extra mile. There were days where coach Saban asked me to dial it back at practice like, come on Tyler, those are your teammates (laughs).
He had to remind me. Coach Saban didn’t say it as nice as I’m saying it now (laughs). I rather have to be told to calm down than to be told to pick it up. That’s always been my mindset. I just know that football is just as much a mental game as it is a physical game.
Knowing that, the more I physically dominate the person in front of me, the more they have to pick themselves up off the ground, they start to lack confidence. They don’t want to see me again. They already know what’s coming. That’s how you win the physical and mental battle.
JM: I love that you said that. You can teach an offensive lineman to dial it back. You can’t teach an offensive lineman to be aggressive. Either you have it or you don’t.
Tyler Booker: Exactly. That’s exactly what my mentality is.
JM: We see that on tape. What was your favorite play to run in the playbook? Something you got excited about hearing in the huddle?
Tyler Booker: Duo. Duo was our bread and butter this year. Duo allowed Kadyn Proctor and I, you know Kadyn is another big, strong, powerful linemen, to work a double team up to the MIKE linebacker.
We’d get to the point of attack from the line of scrimmage and you could see it from the sideline, we were always picking up five, six, seven yards on those runs. We were getting five yards of pop every single time. Duo was definitely my favorite concept to run.
JM: I’ve never met an offensive lineman in my life who didn’t love running duo (laughs). You've been busy in recent weeks. Have you completed any pre-draft visits and things of that nature, like workouts?
Tyler Booker: It’s been a very busy few weeks for me. It feels like I’ve spoken and met with almost every team. I’ve really enjoyed the process. I’m doing my best to enjoy it because it only happens once. I’ve appreciated the opportunity to visit with and learn from different coaches.
JM: We've appreciated your time today. This conversation has highlighted why Tyler Booker is one of the best offensive linemen in the 2025 NFL Draft. What kinda impact is Tyler Booker going to make at the next level?
Tyler Booker: I’m going to have an immediate and long-lasting impact both in the community and on the field. I’m very invested in where I go. I play the game with a ton of pride, and I take pride in whatever I associate myself with.
That’s why I stayed at Alabama even after coach Saban retired. A lot of guys decided to enter the portal, but I took pride in finishing where I started. I’m very prideful about where I am and the product I put on the field.
That’s how loyal I’m going to be to an NFL organization as well. They’re going to look back at who I was at Alabama. I’ve always worked incredibly hard, since the first day I got to Alabama. I’m looking to do the same thing at the next level.
