Green Bay Packers Have Best of Both Worlds in Young Talent, Experienced Veterans

Since general manager Ted Thompson implemented his draft-and-develop philosophy in Green Bay in 2005, the Packers have been a consistently young team.

Not only have they been young, but Thompson's Packers are frequently one of the youngest teams in the league. Currently, they are one of only four teams in the NFL with four players over the age of 30 on the roster. That's tied for the fewest, per Jimmy Kempski of the Philly Voice:

But take a look at the other three youngest teams in the league: the Jacksonville Jaguars, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and St. Louis Rams. Those three teams combined for 11 wins in 2014. The Packers had 12.

Those three teams have finished at or near the bottom of the league in recent seasons, and they've received high draft picks as a result. They have attempted to rebuild their rosters with those young and talented rookies but have yet to become competitive.

The Packers, meanwhile, also feature their young players in prominent starting and depth roles on the team, and they sign one of the league's highest percentages of undrafted free agents as well.

However, Thompson's philosophy also allows the Packers to retain the right veterans in free agency for the right price, and those veterans are essential to the development of the crop of young players.

Thus, Green Bay has achieved the rare accomplishment of being both an incredibly young and elite team. That's due in large part to its veterans.

Most veterans understand the important role they play in helping to develop the players of the future, and it shows in their actions, such as attending OTAs even though they are not mandatory.

Head coach Mike McCarthy spoke about the importance of having that veteran presence.

"Position groups are together a lot. It's not as individualized at this point in our offseason program," he told reporters after practice on May 28. "Teaching philosophy, you always teach to the oldest guy. Challenging older guys to bring younger guys up. Finding as many different ways as you can to motivate and continue to grow."

Of course, sometimes veterans can resist the influx of young talent if they fear that those players may eventually take their jobs at a lower price. Brett Favre was infamously reluctant to play a large role in Aaron Rodgers' development—clearly because the better Rodgers became, the faster the end of Favre's career in Green Bay would come.

"Nowhere does it say that you have to take that guy under your wing and teach him the ropes," Favre told Yahoo Sports' Graham Bensinger recently, while reflecting on the situation.

Does a veteran have an obligation to mentor a young player, especially if that player may one day replace him? No, not necessarily.

However, would the vets helping the green players along improve the team as a whole and thus everyone's chances at a Super Bowl ring? Definitely.

Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports

Veteran cornerback Sam Shields certainly understands the importance of mentoring. He's leading a young and inexperienced group of corners in which there's no clear starter opposite him, though Casey Hayward is the front-runner.

During OTAs, Shields assumed a leadership role with those young players.

"[Shields] stopped the drill and said, ‘Joe let me say something real quick,'" cornerbacks coach Joe Whitt Jr. said about the veteran, per Tyler Dunne of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

"He said it with such confidence and told the guys what he was talking about, he’s consistently been doing that throughout the offseason. It’s been really good."

Per Dunne, Whitt said that Hayward has also been helping coach up the young guys—a group including second-year players Tay Glover-Wright and Demetri Goodson, 2015 first-round pick Damarious Randall, second-round pick Quinten Rollins and undrafted free agent LaDarius Gunter.

Still, perhaps the mentoring is easier when the veteran and rookie aren't competing for the same job. Davante Adams was grateful for and impressed by the interest his quarterback, Rodgers, showed in him during last season's OTAs.

"He's coaching me up every time I make just the slightest mistake," said Adams, per Lori Nickel of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "He's making sure I'm doing exactly what needs to be done. He has my best interests at heart—and obviously he knows what he is doing, so I'm going to listen to everything he says."

It comes down to being able to retain the right veterans at key positions in free agency to help coach the younger players up, something Thompson's personnel management philosophy has allowed him to do in Green Bay for years.

For example, Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb will count for a combined $9.95 million toward the salary cap in 2015, but the young crop of talent behind them in Davante Adams, Jared Abbrederis, Jeff Janis and Ty Montgomery will count for only about $2.5 million total.

What's more, though Nelson and Cobb will continue to draw double-teams in their own right, the Packers have built an offense in which two or even three additional receivers can play a big role, giving Rodgers the weapons he needs to succeed.

It's incredibly rare to find an NFL team with the amount of young players the Packers have that is also an elite contender season after season.

Of utmost importance is the presence of seasoned veterans alongside the up-and-comers and a front office that knows how to balance the two skillfully.

Contract information courtesy of Spotrac.