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 continue with some difference makers on offense, the tight ends.
More Position U: Defensive Line
5. Iowa: Dallas Clark is the star of this group, but Scott Chandler, Tony Moeaki and Brandon Myers also carved out NFL careers from Iowa. The Hawkeyes barely edged Wisconsin and California for the No. 5 spot on this list. Stanford gets a lot of love for its tight end play in college, but the Cardinal only cracked No. 8 at Tight End U.
| Iowa Tight Ends Points Breakdown | ||||
| NFL Starts | Pro Bowls | Draft Picks | First-Round Picks | Total Points |
| 240 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 250 |
4. Georgia: There may be no Pro Bowlers in this group, but they contribute. All these Georgia tight ends seem to do is hang around in the NFL for a long time. Ben Watson, Leonard Pope and Randy McMichael come to mind.
| Georgia Tight Ends Points Breakdown | ||||
| NFL Starts | Pro Bowls | Draft Picks | First-Round Picks | Total Points |
| 248 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 256 |
3. Tennessee: OK, the math spit out the Vols at No. 3 largely due to Jason Witten’s brilliant career, which overlapped the past decade used for this Tight End U analysis. Still, there have been other recent Tennessee tight ends to contribute in the NFL: Mychal Rivera, Luke Stocker and David Martin.
| Tennessee Tight Ends Points Breakdown | ||||
| NFL Starts | Pro Bowls | Draft Picks | First-Round Picks | Total Points |
| 257 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 279 |
2. Notre Dame: Notre Dame has seen a tight end get drafted in four of the past five years. Other than Miami, Notre Dame is the only program with multiple Pro Bowl tight ends since 2006 (Tyler Eifert, Kyle Rudolph). It’s a deep group of Fighting Irish tight ends in the NFL who last a while, such as John Carlson and Anthony Fasano.
| Notre Dame Tight Ends Points Breakdown | ||||
| NFL Starts | Pro Bowls | Draft Picks | First-Round Picks | Total Points |
| 286 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 305 |
1. Miami: The Hurricanes’ standout NFL tight ends in the past decade are an impressive list: Jimmy Graham, Greg Olsen, Jeremy Shockey and Kellen Winslow Jr. That’s more than enough to make Miami No. 1. In the past decade at tight end, the Hurricanes have the most NFL starts, the second-most Pro Bowl appearances behind Tennessee, and tied for the third-most NFL draft picks behind USC and Notre Dame. Shockey and Winslow are out of football, though Winslow is talking about a comeback. Olsen and Graham (when he’s healthy) are still major contributors.
| Miami Tight Ends Points Breakdown | ||||
| NFL Starts | Pro Bowls | Draft Picks | First-Round Picks | Total Points |
| 368 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 395 |
| Tight End U Comparison | |||||
| Team | NFL Starts | Pro Bowls | Draft Picks | First-Round Picks | Total Points |
| 1. Miami | 368 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 395 |
| 2. Notre Dame | 286 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 305 |
| 3. Tennessee | 257 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 279 |
| 4. Georgia | 248 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 256 |
| 5. Iowa | 240 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 250 |
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