One of the biggest stories from the opening night of the 2017 NFL Draft centered around the fall of Alabama’s elite draft prospects. You would be hard-pressed to find a mock draft that did not include Jonathan Allen in the Top 10 or Reuben Foster in the top half of the first round, regardless of his issues during the pre-draft process.

The first former Crimson Tide player off the board was Marlon Humphrey at No. 16 to Baltimore with Allen following right behind at No. 17 to Washington. Tight end OJ Howard went soon after at No. 19 to Tampa Bay. While Cam Robinson remains on the board heading into Round 2, the drop of Foster all the way down to No. 31 was arguably the biggest surprise late in the first round of the draft.

So why exactly did it happen? The truth may never be known, but according to Michael Casagrande of AL.com, Alabama head coach Nick Saban has his theory as to why Foster fell so far in the draft.

“Look, the way we like for things to get handled, that didn’t get handled. We have the best doctors in the world in Dr. (James) Andrews and Dr. (Lyle) Cain who operate on most NFL players and his agent chose to take him someplace else. I think (Andrews and Cain) have tremendous credibility.

“So, you know, all these choices and decisions that you make have consequences and I hate it for our players when they do it, but he didn’t seek my advice in what he should do. So, if that was an issue, that was an issue. It shouldn’t have been an issue but if it was, I don’t really know much about it.”

The way Saban appears to see it, Foster took some bad advice and did not have the best available medical professions examine him during the pre-draft process. No doubt an odd decision considering Foster remained in contact with the Alabama program and even made an appearance at the team’s latest spring game last weekend.

Could this be the real reason Foster fell, as opposed to his failed drug test and his early dismissal from the NFL Combine?