Alabama redshirt junior safety Deionte Thompson was selected with the No. 139 overall pick (Round 5) in the 2019 NFL Draft by the Arizona Cardinals on Saturday. Thompson was the seventh former Crimson Tide player off the board in Nashville, Tenn.

"Deionte got off to a great start this past year," ESPN draft analyst Todd McShay said. "I thought his play was a little bit up and down toward the end of the year. He had some opportunities to take the ball away and didn’t, and he didn’t finish the way I expected him to based on the beginning of the season. ... But I still think he’s going to be a good player in the league. He has range, and I think he’ll continue to get better.

"... I do think over time that Thompson is going to wind up outplaying where he’s eventually going to be drafted."

A former 4-star prospect out of Orange, Texas, Thompson was the No. 2-ranked safety, No. 10 player in the state of Texas and the No. 44-rated overall player in the 2015 recruiting cycle, according to the industry-generated 247Sports Composite rankings.

Thompson worked his way into the rotation on defense and started the final two games of the 2017 season before securing the starting safety spot this fall to lead the Tide secondary. He forced a team-high four fumbles to tie for second all-time on the Alabama single-season list in that category and ranked second on UA in tackles with 79 stops, including a team-high 48 solo stops. Thompson added 3.5 tackles for loss (-7 yards) and also registered six pass breakups, totaled two interceptions for a combined 65 return yards and added one fumble recovery.

Thompson was selected as a consensus first-team All-America honoree after earning the accolades from the Associated Press, The Sporting News and the AFCA. He was also a second-team All-America selection by Walter Camp and the FWAA. Thompson earned All-SEC first team accolades from the conference coaches and second team recognition by the Associated Press after his first full season as a starter, where he shined as a center fielder.

Contact Charlie Potter by 247Sports' personal messaging or on Twitter (@Charlie_Potter).

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