Reuben Foster smiled.

The question: How explosive is Alabama's inside linebacker group? The star linebacker's response: "The whole defense is explosive."

This will sound crazy to most outside the Tide program. This year's Alabama defense has the potential to be even better than last year's that finished the season among the national leaders in pretty much every major defensive category. That's the belief of at least some around the Tide program.

This year's group is that talented and that athletic.

After seeing @AlabamaFTBL practice yesterday, this defense will be the fastest and most athletic Nick Saban has had in his 10 seasons. — Phil Savage (@PhilSavage) August 25, 2016

Think about this.

Of the around 15 players that will either start or play significant roles as backups for Alabama's defense this year, there are at least nine that people in the football world believe have the potential to be NFL first round draft picks either next year or in 2018.

That's a lot.

CBS Sports ranks Foster, defensive end Jonathan Allen, outside linebacker Tim Williams and safety Eddie Jackson as the top NFL draft prospects among seniors at their respective positions.

Those four and redshirt senior outside linebacker Ryan Anderson all may have been early-round draft picks had they gone pro after last season. Two -- Allen and Williams -- would have probably gone in the first round, according to many draft analysts. Nonetheless, all five returned to school.

That will be a problem for opposing offenses this season considering Alabama also has rising stars like defensive linemen Da'Ron Payne and Da'Shawn Hand, cornerbacks Marlon Humphrey and Minkah Fitzpatrick and safety Ronnie Harrison. There are also other returning contributors with early-round NFL potential such as redshirt senior defensive lineman Dalvin Tomlinson.

Last year's defense was great, evidenced by the numbers and by finishing third nationally in total defense and third in sacks in per game. The crazy part? There are people at Alabama that will tell you that there is even more raw ability on defense this year in addition to more speed and even more pass rush potential.

Each of the Tide's top four sack producers from last year's team are back, most notably Allen, Williams and Anderson. Allen had 12 sacks last season. Williams had 10.5 despite playing strictly on third down and in obvious passing situations. Anderson, who was also just a situational player, had six sacks.

"I feel like we're an all-around unit," Anderson said. "There's not just going to be a lot of focus on the D-line like there was last year. We've got a good D-line, good linebackers and a good secondary. I feel like we're a more complete unit."

The overall combination of speed, strength and athleticism is one of the most impressive things about the defense.

Payne, who started three games as a freshman last year, may be one of the most freakish athletes in the country.

At 6-foot-2, 319 pounds, the former five-star recruit from Birmingham ran a 4.93 40-yard dash during the spring and wasn't allowed to go above 500 pounds on the bench press, 600 pounds on squat or 365 pounds on power clean.

There's more.

Hand, the No. 1 overall prospect in the 2014 recruiting class, ran a 4.80 40 during the spring at around 280 pounds. He has also supposedly bench-pressed 225 pounds 42 times.

Foster is another freak. During the spring, at 235 pounds, he ran a 4.64 40, had the second-best broad jump on the team (10'3") and had one of the top vertical jumps on the team (35 inches).

He has since lost 10 pounds and says he is even more explosive.

In addition, three of the Tide's defensive backs ran the 40-yard dash in 4.43 seconds or better during the spring -- Anthony Averett (4.34), Tony Brown (4.34) and Fitzpatrick (4.43).

Humphrey, a former track standout, wasn't tested. Otherwise, it may have been four.

As a whole, Foster said he expects this year's defense to be "faster."

"Most of us are losing weight," Foster said, "just, you know, (to improve) sideline to sideline and the speed of the game."

Watch Alabama's spring game. You'll see how talented this defense is.

It was the Tide's first-team offense against the first-team defense.

The first-team offense finished with three points.

First-team quarterbacks Cooper Bateman and David Cornwell were a combined 14 of 37 for 136 yards with no touchdowns and an interception. Promising sophomore running back Bo Scarbrough was held to 20 yards on nine carries, averaging only 2.2 yards per attempt. In addition, Williams had two sacks and three additional quarterback hurries. Anderson also posted a sack.

"I definitely think there's a lot of talent and potential," Humphrey said. "But potential doesn't mean much if you don't live up to it. So we've been showing (glimpses) here and there. But we've just got to get it all together and get it to where we can all click together and mold into the defense that we need to be."