jonathan allen superman sack.jpg

Alabama defensive lineman Jonathan Allen (93) turns into a missile with a direct hit and a sack on Texas A&M quarterback Trevor Knight (8) during the first half of Alabama's 33-14 win Saturday, Oct. 22, 2016, at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Ala. (Vasha Hunt/vhunt@al.com)

With the first pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, you can have Texas A&M defensive end Myles Garrett. Go ahead. Be my guest.

Good luck in Cleveland, Mr. Garrett.

The Browns can have his freakish athleticism, his 4.64-second 40-yard dash, his 33 reps in the bench press, his 41-inch vertical jump and his 128-inch broad jump, all at 6-foot-4 and 272 pounds. They can have his terrific reported score of 31 on the Wonderlic test.

If I were part of the brain trust of an NFL team, I would be thrilled to add Garrett to my roster. If Von Miller and Jadeveon Clowney had a son, he might be Myles Garrett.

But if I had the first pick in tonight's NFL Draft, I wouldn't take Garrett for a number of reasons, none more simple and straightforward than this one. As good as he was during his college career, as good as he may become at the next level, Garrett wasn't the best player at his position in his own division.

Alabama's Jonathan Allen was.

Allen was more than the best defensive end in the SEC West. He was the best defensive player on the best defensive team in college football. He was the best defensive player in the country. Period.

It's true that Allen didn't have the same freakish numbers as Garrett at the NFL Combine. Allen, at 6-foot-3 and 286 pounds, was solid with a 5-flat 40, 21 reps in the bench press, a 30-inch vertical and a 108-inch broad jump.

It's also true that no one has ever played an NFL game in Under Armour underwear alone. On the football field, in full pads, where it counts, Allen was a better player than Garrett last season against comparable competition.

You can give Garrett's numbers an asterisk because of a nagging sprained ankle, but for the season, Allen had more tackles (69-33), tackles for loss (16-15) and sacks (10.5-8.5). Of Garrett's sacks, 4 1/2 came against UTSA. Garrett had more forced fumbles (2-0), but Allen had more fumble recoveries (3-1).

In Alabama's 33-14 win over Texas A&M, Allen made the play of the game when he scooped and scored from 30 yards out on one of those fumble recoveries to give the Crimson Tide some separation in the final seconds of the third quarter.

That day, Garrett was good. Allen was better. Oh, and his reported 27 on the Wonderlic isn't too shabby, either.

In their last head-to-head meeting, Garrett had seven tackles, 3 1/2 of them for a loss, and no sacks. Allen had six tackles, one for a loss, one sack and that fumble return for that turning-point touchdown. He also made a play so athletic and unique, it earned a nickname and a painting.

They call it the Superman sack.

If you're an NFL executive, coach or scout, it's worth noting that Allen, playing inside and outside, has made plays for four years while surrounded by more future NFL players than Garrett. It's not easy to beat Tim Williams and Ryan Anderson to the quarterback or Reuben Foster and Dalvin Tomlinson to the ball, yet Allen did it on a consistent basis.

Of all the Alabama players projected to be drafted this weekend, it's easy to see a number of them having long and productive NFL careers. Tight end O.J. Howard stands out as the right man at the right position to survive and succeed for a decade or more.

These things are never easy to predict, and I'm not Mel Kiper Jr. or Todd McShay, but if you ask me which of those Alabama players will last the longest and produce the most at the next level, I'd say the same thing I would if I had the first pick in the 2017 NFL Draft.

Give me Jonathan Allen, and watch him go to work.