When Mack Wilson decided to leave Alabama with one season of eligibility remaining, he thought he was “the best linebacker” available in the 2019 NFL Draft.

Wilson ended up going to the Cleveland Browns in the fifth round on April 27 -- the 21st linebacker and 155th player picked.

“I just want to show that in this draft I was the best linebacker,” Wilson said shortly after being selected by Cleveland. "There were 31 teams that slipped up on me, and somebody is going to have to feel all the pain that I had built up these past few days.”

At the Browns' rookie minicamp, Wilson offered another take on his draft position.

“It’s a blessing to get your name called, no matter how high or how low,” Wilson said. “There’s always a step you can get to, which is your second contract.”

Wilson said he planned to follow the advice of his Crimson Tide coach, Nick Saban, about the NFL.

“He said it’s a business, a job, and you can always lose it,” Wilson said. “He said, ‘Work hard every day. Nothing’s going to be given to you.’”

In the three seasons that Wilson played for Saban, Alabama compiled a 41-3 record, played in three national-championship games and won one CFP crown. During that same period, the Browns went 8-39-1.

“I’ve been winning all of my life,” Wilson said. "I went to Alabama to win and compete with the best players in the country. I’m going to the National Football League, where everybody is as good as me or even better, so I know I have to go in and compete and work hard. I just want to bring that winning attitude and that leadership to the Cleveland Browns.

"With me being a rookie, that does not stop anything because I'm still going to try my best to be a leader. I'm still going to try my best to work my way into a starting role, on special teams or wherever else on the field. Whatever coach (Freddie) Kitchens needs me to do, I'll do it.”

Like Wilson, Kitchens played at Alabama. And like Wilson, Kitchens is a rookie. This season will be the former Crimson Tide quarterback's first as an NFL head coach.

“He knows where I come from -- Alabama,” Wilson said. “He played at Alabama, so we were able to get along well. I feel like coach Kitchens is a great coach. I can’t wait to see what this year brings. My goal is that I want to get us to the Super Bowl.”

But being an Alabama alumnus doesn't guarantee NFL success, Kitchens cautioned during the Browns' rookie minicamp.

“The one thing about the National Football League is it has a tendency to level the playing field with a bunch of guys," Kitchens said. "It doesn’t matter how you got here. You’re going to have some guys from Alabama, Ohio State or wherever, and you’re going to have some guys from Presbyterian College. The playing field is still 100 yards long and 53-and-one-third yards wide. The field is the same.

"The NFL has a knack of leveling that playing field, so Mack is just like the guy from Presbyterian College. He's working every day to get better. It's not the same as Alabama. It's not the same defense, terminology and all of those things. This game is more for mental gymnastics than anything else.”

Wilson joins a linebacker corps that has two established starters -- middle linebacker Joe Schobert and weakside linebacker Christian Kirksey, who returns for a sixth season with the Browns after injuries limited him to seven games in 2018.

Cleveland also has Adarius Taylor, who started 10 games for the Tampa Bay and joined the Browns in free agency in March; Genard Avery, who started five games last season as a fifth-round choice in the 2018 draft; and Sione Takitaki, a third-round selection in this year's draft from BYU.

“I feel like I’m a great leader, a great role model,” Wilson said about what he brings to the linebackers’ room. "I have the ability to play sideline to sideline. I have the ability to cover running backs and tight ends and just to be that signal-caller on the field. I feel like my play-style kind of affects how everybody else plays. I’m going to try my best to bring that winning attitude to Cleveland.”

Before Alabama, Wilson earned All-State honors in 2014 and 2015 playing for Carver High School in Montgomery.

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.