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Instead of limiting our analysis to players who have yet to emerge in the NFL, these rankings consider all players who will be 25 or younger as of September 1, 2010 -- regardless of where they were drafted or how many games they've started. After compiling a list of eligible players for each team, we compared the groups on a variety of factors. We weighed issues like upside versus established production, quantity versus quality, and current staff versus historical ability to develop rookies when it comes to evaluating the talent available to each NFL franchise.
In the end, we put together these rankings with help from the rest of the crew at Football Outsiders. The capsules represent a synopsis of thoughts as to why the team is ranked where they are and who the important young players are for the franchise. However, we should point out that talent under the age of 25 does not equal talent overall. In the NFL, a couple bounces of the ball can turn an average team into a wild-card contender -- but it takes real time to build a team that can challenge for a Super Bowl title. Some of the teams near the top of our list are still a couple of years away from that point, and their rank is more about promise for the future than promise for this upcoming campaign.
got the 49ers listed at #5 based on players 25 years or younger
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It all starts with the best middle linebacker in the game -- Patrick Willis -- and goes from there. Behind Willis is underrated safety Dashon Goldson, a playmaker who helped contribute to the fourth-ranked 49ers' run defense a year ago. Promising corner Tarell Brown also lurks in the secondary, although he's trapped as the nickelback behind the contract of Nate Clements. Meanwhile, starting wideouts Michael Crabtree (22) and Josh Morgan (25) combine with Vernon Davis (26, and thus not included as a qualifying "young" player for these rankings) to give the 49ers one of the best trios of receiving talent in the game today. The biggest hole in the organization was on the offensive line, and the 49ers invested their top two picks this year in linemen: Rutgers tackle Anthony Davis and Idaho guard Mike Iupati. With effective 25-year-old left tackle Joe Staley returning from injury, the Niners should have one of the league's better lines by 2012.
the team is getting some attention, is this a good thing?
32. Washington Redskins
31. San Diego Chargers
30. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
29. Arizona Cardinals
28. New Orleans Saints
27. Chicago Bears
26. Oakland Raiders
25. St. Louis Rams
24. Green Bay Packers
23. New York Jets
22. Buffalo Bills
21. Seatle Seahawks
20. Dallas Cowboys
19. Pittsburgh Steelers
18. New England Patriots
17. New York Giants
16. Minnesota Vikings
15. Jacksonville Jaguars
14. Indianapolis Colts
13. Philadelphia Eagles
12. Tennessee Titans
11. Miami Dolphins
10. Denver Broncos
9. Detroit Lions
8. Cleveland Browns
7. Atlanta Falcons
6. Cincinnati Bengals
5. San Francisco 49ers
4. Baltimore Ravens
3. Kansas City Chiefs
2. Carolina Panthers
1. Houston Texans
[ Edited by schmons on Jul 16, 2010 at 5:05 PM ]
