Every year at the NFL Draft and throughout the football season, college players boast about the strength of their position groups, while programs tout their success getting players drafted in order to help with recruiting. But which teams really deserve the bragging rights when it comes to developing players and preparing them for success in the league?
Welcome to our Position U series, where CBS Sports examines where NFL talent has come from over the last decade (2006-15).
It’s not simply getting players into the league that matters, though. How do those players perform once they're receiving big paychecks and playing in the NFL?
Our methodology places significant value on NFL starts (1 point per) because a pipeline of starters by position is the very definition of 'Position U.' Bonus points are provided for Pro Bowls (2 points per appearance), draft selections (2 points per) and first-round picks (3 points per). Many of the players who counted for this exercise were drafted before 2006. The point is to evaluate where all NFL players came from who played in the league between 2006-15.
In reality, the players themselves make their own way into the NFL on an individual basis. But along the way, they get help through coaching, training and exposure from their college.
We begin with the anchors of the defense, the defensive line.
5. USC: The Trojans squeaked ahead of Tennessee into the top five for Defensive Line U. USC had slightly fewer NFL starts and Pro Bowl appearances but two more draft picks and one more first-round pick than the Vols. In this case, potential slightly trumped productivity once the math got calculated. USC has two Pro Bowl defensive linemen in the past decade: Jurrell Casey (third rounder) and Everson Griffen (fourth rounder).
| USC Defensive Line Points Breakdown | ||||
| NFL Starts | Pro Bowls | Draft Picks | First-Round Picks | Total Points |
| 540 | 2 | 9 | 3 | 571 |
4. Texas: Only Oklahoma State's had as many Pro Bowl defensive linemen since 2006 as the Longhorns (three). Fourth-round pick Henry Melton, second-rounder Shaun Rogers and first-rounder Casey Hampton have all reached the Pro Bowl from Texas. However, the Longhorns have only had two defensive linemen drafted in the past five years after getting seven picked from 2007-10.
| Texas Defensive Line Points Breakdown | ||||
| NFL Starts | Pro Bowls | Draft Picks | First-Round Picks | Total Points |
| 541 | 5 | 10 | 2 | 577 |
3. Florida: Somewhat quietly, the Gators are tied with North Carolina for the most first-round picks on the defensive line (four) over the past decade. Carlos Dunlap is the only recent Florida defensive lineman to be a Pro Bowler. But there’s a wealth of talent through the years, such as Derrick Harvey, Ray McDonald, Alex Brown and Gerard Warren.
| Florida Defensive Line Points Breakdown | ||||
| NFL Starts | Pro Bowls | Draft Picks | First-Round Picks | Total Points |
| 569 | 1 | 9 | 4 | 601 |
2. LSU: Not even LSU’s defensive line NFL machine could top place it No. 1. Pro Bowler Kyle Williams, Tyson Jackson, Michael Brockers and Glenn Dorsey are among the regular contributors in the NFL. LSU has put three defensive linemen in the first round since 2006 (three more than our No. 1) and had 14 defensive linemen drafted in that period (more than any school). But the Tigers didn’t quite have the depth based on NFL starts.
| LSU Defensive Line Points Breakdown | ||||
| NFL Starts | Pro Bowls | Draft Picks | First-Round Picks | Total Points |
| 592 | 4 | 14 | 3 | 637 |
1. Georgia: Kirby Smart arrives in Athens with a strong pipeline of defensive linemen who have thrived in the NFL above expectations. Consider this: Georgia is our Defensive Line U winner despite not having a defensive lineman drafted in the first round since Johnathan Sullivan (who did not pan out) went No. 6 in 2003.
Richard Seymour turned into a Pro Bowler as a first-round pick in 2001. Defensive tackle Geno Atkins became a Pro Bowl defensive tackle despite being a fourth-round pick in 2010. Otherwise, it’s a long list of Georgia defensive linemen who became solid starters since 2006, including Charles Johnson, Chris Clemons and Kedric Golston. The Bulldogs had 15 defensive linemen on NFL rosters in 2015 (by comparison, they had only five offensive linemen in the league last year).
| Georgia Defensive Line Points Breakdown | ||||
| NFL Starts | Pro Bowls | Draft Picks | First-Round Picks | Total Points |
| 692 | 7 | 12 | 0 | 730 |
| Defensive Line U Comparison | |||||
| Team | NFL Starts | Pro Bowls | Draft Picks | First-Round Picks | Total Points |
| 1. Georgia | 692 | 7 | 12 | 0 | 730 |
| 2. LSU | 592 | 4 | 14 | 3 | 637 |
| 3. Florida | 569 | 1 | 9 | 4 | 601 |
| 4. Texas | 541 | 5 | 10 | 2 | 577 |
| 5. USC | 540 | 2 | 9 | 3 | 571 |
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