I dont have the full article since its an insider piece but I do have #32 and #1. Proceed to hate faggots.
32. New York Jets
The Jets may have been an 11-win team in 2010, but those 11 wins were courtesy of a starting lineup almost entirely composed of players who will be 26 or older in 2011. The obvious exception, of course, is Mark Sanchez, who happens to play the most important position on the field. It should be said, however, that Sanchez finished 2010 as the 18th-most valuable quarterback according to our DYAR metric, behind several other signal-callers of similar age. Therefore, the extent to which quarterback is the most important position for the Jets, specifically, is debatable.
Aside from Sanchez, left guard Matt Slauson was the only other young player to start double-digit games last season. Having chosen five-technique defensive end Muhammad Wilkerson with its only pick in the first two rounds, New York also didn't use April's draft to add much in the way of young talent at impact positions.
The Jets may have been an 11-win team in 2010, but those 11 wins were courtesy of a starting lineup almost entirely composed of players who will be 26 or older in 2011. The obvious exception, of course, is Mark Sanchez, who happens to play the most important position on the field. It should be said, however, that Sanchez finished 2010 as the 18th-most valuable quarterback according to our DYAR metric, behind several other signal-callers of similar age. Therefore, the extent to which quarterback is the most important position for the Jets, specifically, is debatable.
Aside from Sanchez, left guard Matt Slauson was the only other young player to start double-digit games last season. Having chosen five-technique defensive end Muhammad Wilkerson with its only pick in the first two rounds, New York also didn't use April's draft to add much in the way of young talent at impact positions.
31. Dallas Cowboys
The loss of Tony Romo most impacted the Cowboys' fortunes last season, but their dearth of 25-and-under talent will have a much bigger impact in the long run. With a relatively healthy season outside of Romo's injury, Dallas still had a total of only 30 games started by young talent, 40 percent of which were courtesy of tight end Martellus Bennett. Felix Jones, Dez Bryant and first-round pick Tyron Smith are poised to become full-time starters in 2011, so that total should increase. However, if Smith, who played right tackle at Southern California, doesn't develop into the left tackle that the Cowboys envision, and Bryant's targets are limited by the presence of Miles Austin and Jason Witten, Dallas will be as unlikely as any NFL team to find Pro Bowl-caliber contributions from its young players.
The loss of Tony Romo most impacted the Cowboys' fortunes last season, but their dearth of 25-and-under talent will have a much bigger impact in the long run. With a relatively healthy season outside of Romo's injury, Dallas still had a total of only 30 games started by young talent, 40 percent of which were courtesy of tight end Martellus Bennett. Felix Jones, Dez Bryant and first-round pick Tyron Smith are poised to become full-time starters in 2011, so that total should increase. However, if Smith, who played right tackle at Southern California, doesn't develop into the left tackle that the Cowboys envision, and Bryant's targets are limited by the presence of Miles Austin and Jason Witten, Dallas will be as unlikely as any NFL team to find Pro Bowl-caliber contributions from its young players.
30. Atlanta Falcons
To read the rest of the rankings of all NFL organizations based on under-25 talent, you must be an ESPN Insider.
To read the rest of the rankings of all NFL organizations based on under-25 talent, you must be an ESPN Insider.
1. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
In our estimation, the Bucs have the NFL's best group of talented young players at offensive skill positions. 2009 first-rounder Josh Freeman, 2010 fourth-rounder Mike Williams and waiver-wire coup LeGarrette Blount were the driving forces behind the team's improvement from 26th to ninth in offensive efficiency. In only his second year, Freeman developed into one of the league's 10 most efficient quarterbacks. Having a player that young and that good at the most important position on the field is the main reason the Bucs top our list. The talent doesn't stop there, though.
On defense, Tampa Bay got incredible value in the second round when it selected Clemson defensive end Da'Quan Bowers to improve its 31st-ranked pass rush. Even with the injury concerns, we projected him as a mid-to-late first-round pass-rushing prospect. In the secondary, the Bucs are leaning toward promoting 24-year-old E.J. Biggers into the starting lineup pending the suspension or release of Aqib Talib. Of course, if Talib is able to avoid the reaper somehow, then we can add to the Bucs' assembly of young talent a 25-year-old cornerback who had six interceptions in 11 games.
Finally, although Tampa Bay finished dead last in run defense efficiency last season, the addition of first-rounder Adrian Clayborn, and another year in Raheem Morris' system for Gerald McCoy, Roy Miller and Geno Hayes is likely to turn things around in short order. It can't be overstated how good of a job general manager Mark Dominik has done restocking Tampa Bay's cupboard over the past two years.
In our estimation, the Bucs have the NFL's best group of talented young players at offensive skill positions. 2009 first-rounder Josh Freeman, 2010 fourth-rounder Mike Williams and waiver-wire coup LeGarrette Blount were the driving forces behind the team's improvement from 26th to ninth in offensive efficiency. In only his second year, Freeman developed into one of the league's 10 most efficient quarterbacks. Having a player that young and that good at the most important position on the field is the main reason the Bucs top our list. The talent doesn't stop there, though.
On defense, Tampa Bay got incredible value in the second round when it selected Clemson defensive end Da'Quan Bowers to improve its 31st-ranked pass rush. Even with the injury concerns, we projected him as a mid-to-late first-round pass-rushing prospect. In the secondary, the Bucs are leaning toward promoting 24-year-old E.J. Biggers into the starting lineup pending the suspension or release of Aqib Talib. Of course, if Talib is able to avoid the reaper somehow, then we can add to the Bucs' assembly of young talent a 25-year-old cornerback who had six interceptions in 11 games.
Finally, although Tampa Bay finished dead last in run defense efficiency last season, the addition of first-rounder Adrian Clayborn, and another year in Raheem Morris' system for Gerald McCoy, Roy Miller and Geno Hayes is likely to turn things around in short order. It can't be overstated how good of a job general manager Mark Dominik has done restocking Tampa Bay's cupboard over the past two years.
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