The Michigan Wolverines' football program has seen 31 players drafted under current head coach Jim Harbaugh (dating back to the 2016 NFL Draft), which is tied with Clemson for the fifth most in college football during that span.

The only four programs who have more during that stretch are Alabama (48), Ohio State (45), LSU (37) and Florida (32), three of whom have at least one national title (Florida being the exception) since the College Football Playoff began in 2014.

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Many have looked at Harbaugh's production of NFL talent and subsequently criticized his on-field results, citing his development of pros as one of the primary reasons his winning percentage in Ann Arbor should be higher than it is.

Judging by the production of NFL prospects alone, it would appear Michigan has had as much talent as Clemson since 2016, and basically the same amount as schools like Florida (32 draft picks since 2016) and Georgia (26).

Diving a little deeper into the topic reveals a major discrepancy, however. Though U-M is at least in the same discussion as the likes of LSU, Florida and Clemson when it comes to NFL Draft picks since '16, the amount of skill position players it has had selected are significantly lower than each of them.

The days of playing great defense and winning games by controlling the ball offensively are long gone. The best teams in the sport nowadays are winning games with explosive offenses that contain some of the best quarterbacks, running backs and wideouts in the game, and as a result don't require an elite defense.

Case in point: the last two national champions — Alabama in 2020 and LSU in 2019 — did not have a defense that even ranked within the top 30 in the sport. The Crimson Tide's finished 32nd nationally this past year and LSU's 31st in 2019.