The 2013 draft offered perhaps a few cautionary tales.
Though Saban traditionally advises only first-round projections to leave early, three well outside that range took the plunge. A Saban-era high of five left early, though only HaHa Clinton-Dix was a first-round selection. Cyrus Kouandjio went in the second round at 44th overall. Vinnie Sunseri was a late fifth-round picked at 167 while Jeoffrey Pagan went early in the sixth at 177. Adrian Hubbard wasn't drafted at all.
Pagan has one assisted tackle in two seasons with the Texans. Before getting hurt last season, Sunseri made five tackles in nine games as a rookie in 2014. Hubbard has yet to play a down in the NFL after being a practice squad player with the Packers in 2014.
When you subtract Sunseri and Pagan from the group, the average draft pick of Alabama's other 16 early exits was 20.3. Seven were top-10 picks led by Marcell Dareus (2011) and Trent Richardson (2012) who were both No. 3 overall picks.
Of the 11 early exits who left before 2014, 10 are still in the league. Only Richardson is without a team from that group after being cut by the Raiders before last season.
