Are Alabama players maxed out before they get to the NFL?

No. There are plenty of Saban players that are doing well in the NFL.

Upshaw did pretty well in his first year, as did Donte, Trent, and Barron. So no, I don't think they are maxed out. I think some of our guys end up on pretty bad teams with pretty bad coaches. Certainly a step down in the coaching they were accustomed to in Tuscaloosa.

Not necessarily maxed out, but the general concept has some merit. The Bama players have been very well coached and conditioned on and off the field. The guys that make it through three or four years with Saban have realized more of their talent than most college players in general and been given the very best opportunity to succeed at the college level.

While Saban players may continue to develop and improve in the NFL, it will be due to experience, maturing physically etc.. While some other college players may make a bigger jump in the NFL once they receive great training and coaching.

The players who busted just weren't talented or athletic enough. Most of them weren't heralded recruits. Terrence Cody was a nobody coming out of the JUCO systems but Saban was able to turn him into a very productive player at Bama. Same thing with Mark Ingram, Glen Coffee and James Carpenter. I don't think any of them would have been high draft picks if they had played at Mississippi State instead of Alabama. The Bama players who have done well were recognized as elite talents from day one like Julio Jones and Trent Richardson. Donta Hightower could also be included in that group since he started from day one as a true freshman. The players who have talent and the necessary physical traits make it. The ones who don't have those qualities usually end up washing out. It's not that complicated.

While I don't necessarily agree with him, I do see where he is going with this. You can find some players who are maxed out by the time they leave, but not nearly all of them are. As someone else mentioned, not everyone goes into a situation where they can be successful from day one in the NFL.

As good as Julio was at Alabama, he has taken his game to another level and almost makes it look easy. And it's not just because he is in a better offense to use his strengths imho. I expect similiar growths from Trent, Barron, Upshaw and Hightower to say the least.

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I'd say that our players being "maxed out" when they leave is more of a compliment to the program and our coaches than an indictment.

I also think that in 5 years we'll have several former players that will be perennial pro bowlers. CNS-recruited players have only been in the league 2 seasons so it's premature to judge their NFL success.

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Spot on Sarc! Exactly what I was thinking.

Also the only thing really good NFL players have over CNS players that enter the draft is a few more years of maturity and weight lifting. "IMO"