NFL Teams That Boast the Most Young Talent

When it comes to this particular piece on youth and talent in the NFL, it’s simple.

There’s no peanut butter without the jelly. No discussion of Forrest minus Jenny. You don’t get Phineas and exclude his brother Ferb.

The focus is on both the young and talented. That doesn’t mean all of the six NFL clubs (listed alphabetically) who have young, talented squads have been successful. Three were division champions in 2015 while the rest hope to make significant moves up the standings this fall.

Teams like the Cincinnati Bengals and Oakland Raiders just missed making the list. Both teams have nice blends of experience and youth. Every team has its share of promising youngsters, but the onus here is on squads led by players with four years or less of experience on both sides of the football.

Carolina Panthers

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In only his fifth season in the league, Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton captured NFL MVP honors and led his team to Super Bowl 50 in 2015. The 27-year-old field general comes off a career season, throwing for 35 scores while running for 10 touchdowns.

2014 first-round pick (28th overall) Kelvin Benjamin is anxious to bounce back after missing all of last season with a knee injury. He’ll team with 22-year-old Devin Funchess to give Newton a pair of young and sizable targets (both receivers are 6'5").

Yes, 33-year-old outside linebacker Thomas Davis has some wear and tear on him, but perennial Pro Bowler Luke Kuechly enters only his fifth season at 25 years old. This is also a defense that has six starters with three years of experience or less. Carolina finished sixth in the league in 2015 in fewest yards allowed per game and led the NFL with 39 takeaways.

Defensive tackles Kawann Short and Star Lotulelei are flanked by ends Kony Ealy and Charles Johnson, who enters his 10th NFL season but doesn’t turn 30 until July 10.               

While losing All-Pro cornerback Josh Norman was a blow this offseason, general manager Dave Gettleman continued the youth movement on defense by adding three cornerbacks (James Bradberry, Daryl Worley and Zack Sanchez) in this year’s draft. Gettleman also used a first-round pick on defensive tackle Vernon Butler.

The Panthers are indeed young and talented. They also will be hungry to not only get back to the Super Bowl, but to post consecutive winning seasons for the first time in the club’s history.

Houston Texans

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Thanks to free agency and the draft, the defending AFC South champions got an offensive makeover this season.

The Houston Texans finished 19th in the NFL in 2015 in total offense. Thanks in part to issues at quarterback and a running game that was missing the franchise’s all-time leading rusher, 24-year-old Pro Bowl wideout DeAndre Hopkins at times seemed like the club’s only legitimate offensive weapon. The Pro Bowl performer responded with 111 catches for 1,521 yards and 11 touchdowns.

Enter 25-year-old quarterback Brock Osweiler and 25-year-old running back Lamar Miller, via the Denver Broncos and Miami Dolphins, respectively. Combine that with rookie wideouts Will Fuller and Braxton Miller, center Nick Martin and all 2016 draft choices and youth is being served in a big way on this side of the football.

What’s scary about the Texans defense is that its best player may be just scratching the surface. Consider that 27-year-old J.J. Watt has already won three NFL Defensive Player of the Year awards in just five seasons. He’s never missed a game and has already totaled 74.5 sacks in 80 regular-season contests.

With up-and-comers such as linebackers Whitney Mercilus and Benardrick McKinney (and hopefully Jadeveon Clowney), the Texans are more experienced on this side of the football, but head coach Bill O’Brien isn’t complaining; this was the third-ranked defense in the league in 2015.

Jacksonville Jaguars

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The Jacksonville Jaguars got their current quarterback in Blake Bortles with the third overall pick two years ago. In the same draft, they snagged Pro Bowl wide receiver Allen Robinson, productive outside linebacker Telvin Smith and promising offensive lineman in guard Brandon Linder and center Luke Bowanko. General manager Dave Caldwell also grabbed an undrafted free-agent wide receiver in Allen Hurns.

We saw what Bortles and the passing attack were capable of this past season. The 24-year-old field general threw for 4,428 yards and 35 scores (18 interceptions). Robinson and Hurns combined for 144 receptions, 2,431 yards and 24 touchdowns.

There’s a lot of young talent on the defensive side of the football. Free agency brought defensive end Malik Jackson (26 years old), cornerback Prince Amukamara (27) and free safety Tashaun Gipson (25)—the latter a one-time Pro Bowler. The team appeared to strike gold in the first two rounds of April’s draft with the selections of cornerback Jalen Ramsey and linebacker Myles Jack.

It’s a unit that has a long way to go, but there’s plenty of potential. And if defensive end Dante Fowler Jr. (the Jaguars 2015 first-round pick) can bounce back from a knee injury that cost him his rookie season, then this is a defense that will improve leaps and bounds.

“A lot of times when guys come back from their knee injury like that, there’s a period of time that it takes for them to grow confident that it’s good, I trust it,’” said head coach Gus Bradley to Tom Pelissero of USA TODAY Sports. “Not with Dante Fowler. He got out there the first day and he went. Incredible mindset.”

A playoff berth for this club for the first time since 2007 would be incredible indeed.

Los Angeles Rams

Associated Press

Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald (99) participates in mandatory minicamp.

It seems like young talent and the Rams have been synonymous for years.

Unfortunately, it hasn’t translated into a lot of victories. The franchise hasn’t enjoyed a winning season since 2003 and has not made a playoff appearance since 2004.

This despite a roster that boasts the 2014 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year (defensive tackle Aaron Donald), the 2015 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year (running back Todd Gurley) and a 21-year-old quarterback (Jared Goff) that was the first overall pick in April’s draft.

There are one-time high draft choices all over the roster, most notably on the defensive front. Starting defensive tackles Donald and Michael Brockers are joined by potent pass-rushing end Robert Quinn. For good measure, general manager Les Snead added a pair of former first-rounders from other teams, signing Quinton Coples (2012 by the New York Jets) and Dominique Easley (2014 by the New England Patriots).

On offense, Goff and Gurley are joined by offensive weapon Tavon Austin, who tied for the team lead with 10 total touchdowns in 2016. Left tackle Greg Robinson enters his third season, while the right-side tandem of guard Jamon Brown (who also started at left guard) and tackle Rob Havenstein saw action as rookies in 2015—with mixed results.

The talent is there because this is a Rams team that has teased us the last few years. This past season, they finished 7-9 but beat the Cardinals at Arizona and swept the Seattle Seahawks. But this talented squad remains incredibly inconsistent.

Minnesota Vikings

Ann Heisenfelt/Associated Press

Recently, NFL Media Analyst Bucky Brooks of NFL.com ranked the 10 most talented teams in the league.

The Minnesota Vikings wound up fifth on the list, behind the Seattle Seahawks, Pittsburgh Steelers, Carolina Panthers and Denver Broncos.

The defending NFC champion Panthers were addressed earlier in this piece and for good reason. But it’s getting harder to ignore the Minnesota Vikings, considering they come off a season in which they finished 11-5 and won a division title for the first time since 2009.

Consider that in the last five drafts, general manager Rick Spielman has added nine players in the first round. The list includes left tackle Matt Kalil and free safety Harrison Smith, both selected in 2012, defensive tackle Sharrif Floyd (2013), as well as outside linebacker Anthony Barr and quarterback Teddy Bridgewater (2014). According to head coach Mike Zimmer (via Arif Hassan of ColdOmaha.com), the 23-year-old signal caller is making strides when it comes to the deep passing attack:

"

I think we’ve just focused on it a little bit more. There was a play last week that kind of showed me the progression. We had a hard count. One of the guys on defense jumped and we had a play action off of it and he saw the guy jump. He said, “Got you!” and he saw the safety bite a little bit and just hung it right down the middle of the field about 55 yards and a perfect strike.

"

Last season, the Vikings’ top pass-catcher was rookie Stefon Diggs. Could there be a bit of déjà vu in that regard should 2016 first-round pick Laquon Treadwell emerge as Bridgewater’s top target?

Thanks mainly to Zimmer, Minnesota’s young talent has come a long way quickly. Now let’s see how deep a run this team could make come the postseason.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Chris O'Meara/Associated Press

Hey, hey, Tampa Bay. Are the Buccaneers ready to make a playoff appearance for the first time since 2007?

The club was sitting at 6-6 after 12 games this past year before dropping its final four contests. The team’s 2015 showing, most notably on offense, is certainly cause for optimism.

A look back at the 2015 draft shows that the Buccaneers’ top three picks all saw significant action as rookies. Quarterback Jameis Winston, the NFL’s first overall pick, overcame a sluggish start but wound up throwing for 4,042 yards and 22 touchdowns (15 interceptions) and running for six more scores. The offensive line featured left tackle Donovan Smith and right guard Ali Marpet. The latter was Pro Football Focus’ 40th-ranked guard in the league, but closer analysis showed he graded out at No. 16 when it came to blocking for the run.

At the skill spots, 27-year-old running back Doug Martin finished second in the league with 1,402 yards rushing last year. Meanwhile, 22-year-old wideout Mike Evans has caught 142 passes for 2,257 yards and 15 scores in two seasons, averaging an impressive 15.9 yards per reception.

It’s on defense that the Bucs must make more progress in 2016, and the pieces are there. Spearheaded by 28-year-old defensive tackle Gerald McCoy and 26-year-old outside linebacker Lavonte David, the team finished 10th in the league in fewest yards allowed per game. But this unit allowed 43 offensive touchdowns, including 31 scores through the air.

The addition of veteran cornerback Brent Grimes will be a boost for fellow free-agent pickup and 25-year-old Josh Robinson. Rookies Vernon Hargreaves, the Bucs’ first-round pick in April, and defensive end Noah Spence could be major additions, the latter hoping to pick up some tips from pass-rushing addition Robert Ayers.

New head coach Dirk Koetter, Tampa’s offensive coordinator in 2015, has plenty of youth at his disposal. It will make for plenty of teaching moments this summer and fall.

Unless otherwise noted, all player and team statistics courtesy of ESPN.com and Pro-Football-Reference.com. 

All player ratings courtesy of Pro Football Focus and depth charts via Ourlads. 

All 2016 free-agent, salary-cap, contract terms and 2016 transactions are courtesy of Spotrac.