Leaving early for the draft question

Depends on the player. Some think "Ill get drafted in some round...be it 5th or 6th...good enough for me. Deuces."

Others think about returning to increase their draft stock and getting into that first round for more money. They also take into consideration the strength of the position class in their draft year.

whenever they want to

With the rookie wage scale it's all about getting to the league so that you can get that second contract. The appeal to stay and become a higher draft pick to get more money on the first contract is gone.

That's the reason guys who think they can make a roster leave early.

For each case I think it would be different, take Anthony Johnson, he went undrafted and still got a 3 year deal for just over $1.5 million.

With an undergraduate degree from LSU, how many years do you think it would take him to earn $1,530,000?

Depends on the position they play. Some will be looking at potential second contracts rather than just the first one. If you aren't going to make it in the top 3 rounds no matter what, then there is no difference between 4th-7th round and undrafted FA.

Depends how many kids you have to feed

I don't know, can you really begrudge Blue for not coming back for a 6th year with all he's been through - he's in the league earning money.

Can you really blame Freak for leaving and wanting to get a paid job, despite not getting drafted he made the Dolphins and is getting game reps.

Whenever the frick they want to

A lot of of people dont like hearing this, but majority of these kids goals are to get to the NFL. Thats it. Sure they wanna win in college as well, not saying they dont. But ultimately, its about getting to the next level for most of them. And, just because you are drafted in the 3rd or 4th round doesnt mean you arent / cant be better than the person that is drafted in the 1st or 2nd in the NFL. That is always happening in the NFL. What if its a player that has had off the field issues but is a 1st or 2nd round talent? They drop him to the 5th round based off what has happened off the field. Every team interprets off the field issues differently. Look at TM for example. Some teams took him completely off their draft board, others dropped him to the 6th or 7th round, some in the 5th, and some still wanted him in the 3rd, which is where he ended up being drafted. All it takes is 1 team to draft you.

And you gotta look at the rookie wage scale in place. Its not about getting that rookie contract. Its about getting that 2nd contract. The best way to do that is to get in the NFL young and healthy and start getting as much experience as you can to help you improve and get that big 2nd contract. 1st and 2nd round contracts are significantly bigger than 3rd round and later contracts. But there isnt that big of a difference in a 3rd round contract and a 6th round contract.

Trai Turner was taken in the 3rd RD #92 overall. He signed a 4yrs $2.79m contract with $539,000 signing bonus and guaranteed money.

Lamin Barrow was taken in the 5th RD #156 overall. He signed a 4yrs $2.41m contract with $191,160signing bonus and guaranteed money.

Alfred Blue was drafted in the 6th RD #181 overall. He signed a 4yrs $2.37m contract with $117,932signing bonus and guaranteed money.

Not that big of a difference between a 3rd round contract and a 6th round contract when you look at the big picture. Might as well go a year earlier and be taken in the 5th or 6th rather than stay in college another year. Sure they could move up a round or 2, but they also have just as good a chance of hurting their stock as they do improving it. And you risk the injury factor as well by returning to school. Is it worth the risk for just moving up a round or 2? And rarely does someone go from a 6th pick to a 1st round pick a year later. They could move up from a 6th round to a late 3rd or 4th round pick. And a 3rd round player could move up to the 2nd or late 1st. But rarely does someone go from a 6th-7th round pick to a 1st or 2nd round pick.

I agree with Nick Saban. 1st round go to draft. Any other round come back to college.