The deadline for underclassmen to declare for the NFL draft was Monday. All things considered, the annual purge wasn't overly costly for Alabama.

Yes, it lost a Heisman Trophy winner in Derrick Henry and the anchor of the dominant defensive line in A'Shawn Robinson. But only twice since the Crimson Tide won the 2009 national title has the program lost that few prematurely to the NFL.

A few key players on the fence opted to return -- a couple of notable recruiting scores before National Signing Day. The most notable of that group include defensive end Jonathan Allen, linebacker Tim Williams, safety Eddie Jackson and tight end O.J. Howard. It's a sign players are listening closely to the education and advice offered in the decision-making process.

The previous two drafts perhaps offered a few lessons.

This time last year, three players left Alabama for the bigger leagues. All three were taken in the top 36 picks led by Amari Cooper's No. 4 selection.

Two names not called were Reggie Ragland's and Jarran Reed's. Both chose to stay at Alabama when they weren't given first-round projections by the draft advisory board. Now both are projected to go in the top half of April's first round.

Nick Saban beat that drum in the past week.

"Reggie Ragland last year, had a second-round grade," Saban said. "I'm sure he'll be a top-15 pick this year. If you want to do the math on that, that's like maybe $12-, $14-million decision. Mark Barron did it a few years ago. He was a second-round guy, maybe the seventh pick in the draft. That was a $16, $18-million decision, plus he graduated."

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.

The gravity of the decision, Ragland said, has to go beyond the cash.

"Some family members that are money hungry are going to tell you to go because they're going to try to get a piece of it," Ragland said. "I just listened to what my parents had to say. They know I'm a grown man and I have to make decisions on my own from this point forward."

Alabama early exits in Saban era