[DC 86]

Poltl was a safety. And the question refers to the whole backfield. Granted Lynch and possibly Gordon were superior but I'll stick with the '70 secondary.
[/q[quote author=Phogge link=topic=16016.msg178033#msg178033 date=1478127192]
Poltl was a safety. And the question refers to the whole backfield. Granted Lynch and possibly Gordon were superior but I'll stick with the '70 secondary.

The NFL draft is an imperfect proxy for measuring college performance but there is a strong objective argument for the 1992 group being much more highly regarded by contemporary evaluators:

Kaufmann/Schultz/McCloud/Barnes: none drafted in a 17-round era, although Barnes signed as a UFA and played 11 seasons in the NFL (5 as a starter).

Gordon/Lynch/Bryant/Albert: Gordon drafted in the 1st round, Lynch drafted in the 3rd round, Bryant drafted in the 4th round. Gordon played 9 seasons in the NFL and was an All-Pro as a returner, Lynch played 15 seasons, was a pro bowler 9 times and has been a Hall of Fame finalist several times.

Of course NFL potential (and NFL performance) are far from perfectly correlated to college performance, and the performance of the unit as a whole is more important than individual ability, so perhaps the 1970 backfield was superior, but that 1994 group was really special, having three players among the top 125 selections in the draft.

[DC 86]

Poltl was a safety. And the question refers to the whole backfield. Granted Lynch and possibly Gordon were superior but I'll stick with the '70 secondary.
[/q[quote author=Phogge link=topic=16016.msg178033#msg178033 date=1478127192]
Poltl was a safety. And the question refers to the whole backfield. Granted Lynch and possibly Gordon were superior but I'll stick with the '70 secondary.

The NFL draft is an imperfect proxy for measuring college performance but there is a strong objective argument for the 1992 group being much more highly regarded by contemporary evaluators:

Kaufmann/Schultz/McCloud/Barnes: none drafted in a 17-round era, although Barnes signed as a UFA and played 11 seasons in the NFL (5 as a starter).

Gordon/Lynch/Bryant/Albert: Gordon drafted in the 1st round, Lynch drafted in the 3rd round, Bryant drafted in the 4th round. Gordon played 9 seasons in the NFL and was an All-Pro as a returner, Lynch played 15 seasons, was a pro bowler 9 times and has been a Hall of Fame finalist several times.

Of course NFL potential (and NFL performance) are far from perfectly correlated to college performance, and the performance of the unit as a whole is more important than individual ability, so perhaps the 1970 backfield was superior, but that 1994 group was really special, having three players among the top 125 selections in the draft.