In January of 2018, Alabama defeated Georgia in one of the most memorable national championship games ever. You don't need me to remind you of the details, but here they are anyway: trailing 13-0 at the half, Nick Saban boldly replaced future Super Bowl MVP Jalen Hurts with future No. 5 pick Tua Tagovailoa, a move that paid off when Tagovailoa found future Heisman Trophy winner and future No. 10 pick DeVonta Smith on a 2nd-and-26 rainbow to win the game for Alabama in overtime.
Four years later, Georgia won its hard-earned revenge when future Super Bowl champion Kelee Ringo returned an interception of future Heisman Trophy winner and No. 1 pick Bryce Young in the game's final minute, completing a fourth quarter rally that saw earlier touchdowns by future second-round pick Adonai Mitchell and future No. 13 pick Brock Bowers.
Four years removed from that, the Crimson Tide and Bulldogs are still competing for a different sort of title: the honor of the most talented team of college football's modern era.
In 2021, FootballScoop debuted the Selection Points formula as a way to evaluate college success in the NFL draft. The first pick in the draft is worth 250 points, the second is worth 249, the third worth 248, and so on. Each April, we use Selection Points to evaluate who won the NFL draft, but the formula has uses beyond that.
Using Selection Points, I've evaluated the NFL Draft performance of each national champion dating back to 2001 Miami. The research started there because, for close to two decades, those Hurricanes were the gold standard for talent accumulation at the college level: 38 draft picks, 16 first-rounders, and 5,848 points. The 2001 Hurricanes were eventually passed by 2017 Alabama: a record 40 draft picks, 15 first-rounders, and a mind-blowing 26 players taken in the top 100.
After the 2025 Draft, though, we can say 2017 Alabama's title is living in borrowed time.
Georgia's 2021 team had eight players drafted over the weekend, bringing their total to 43, a new record. Twenty-six of those 43 were taken among the top 110 picks. With Carson Beck and others on the 2021 team still in college, a single selection higher than Pick No. 50 would switch the honor of the most talented championship team of the 21st century from Bama to UGA.
Elsewhere, the eventual NFL draft impact of NIL and the transfer portal played out on Ohio State's draft. In years past, veterans like Emeka Egbuka (pick No. 19), Donovan Jackson (No. 24) and TreVeyon Henderson (No. 38) likely turn pro because they don't have an avenue to (legally) make NFL-like money in college, while transfers like Josh Simmons (No. 32) and Quinshon Judkins (No. 36) never become Buckeyes in the first place. The Buckeyes turned in the fourth-best draft on record with 14 picks and 2,255 Selection Points, and how high they climb will largely be determined by how high transfers like Caleb Downs and Julian Sayin get drafted, as well as a possible future No. 1 pick in Jeremiah Smith who arrived in Columbus the traditional way, but not for free.
Most Talented National Champions Using Selection Points Formula, 2001-Present
1. 2017 Alabama -- 6,614 Selection Points (40 total draft picks)
2. 2021 Georgia -- 6,413 (43)
3. 2001 Miami -- 5,848 (38)
4. 2015 Alabama -- 5,668 (34)
5. 2014 Ohio State -- 5,483 (31)
6. 2004 USC -- 5,407 (32)
7. 2003 USC -- 5,098 (31)
8. 2002 Ohio State -- 4,948 (33)
9. 2020 Alabama -- 4,821 (28)
10. 2012 Alabama -- 4,782 (30)
11. 2011 Alabama -- 4,517 (30)
12. 2009 Alabama -- 4,513 (26)
13. 2019 LSU -- 4,490 (32)
14. 2022 Georgia -- 4,414 (29)
15. 2005 Texas -- 4,020 (25)
16. 2013 Florida State -- 3,597 (22)
17. 2003 LSU -- 3,463 (23)
18. 2018 Clemson -- 3,262 (20)
19. 2016 Clemson -- 3,136 (21)
20. 2008 Florida -- 3,019 (19)
21. 2007 LSU -- 3,017 (24)
22. 2023 Michigan -- 2,764 (20)
23. 2006 Florida -- 2,745 (20)
24. 2024 Ohio State -- 2,255 (14)
25. 2010 Auburn -- 1,045 (7)