The NFL is loaded with a ton of young talent, but what would a team look like made up of the best young players in the league? Take a look.
QB- Jared Goff, Los Angeles Rams
RB- Todd Gurley, Los Angeles Rams
RB- Ezekiel Elliott, Dallas Cowboys
WR- Tyreek Hill, Kansas City Chiefs
WR- Juju Smith-Schuster, Pittsburgh Steelers
TE- O.J. Howard, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
OT- Jack Conklin, Tennessee Titans
OG- Quenton Nelson, Indianapolis Colts
C- Pat Elflein, Minnesota Vikings
OG- Andrus Peat, New Orleans Saints
OT- Ryan Ramczyk, New Orleans Saints
For the offense I chose the more proven entity in Goff over Patrick Mahomes. The Gurley and Elliott selections were easy. It was a given Hill would be one of the receivers but there was more competition for the second spot. I picked Smith-Schuster over Stefon Diggs. Most people would have taken Evan Engram at tight end but I really like Howard and think in time he’ll outshine his New York contemporary. The offensive line wasn’t that hard to set up either. The only guy I would’ve considered subbing in is Dan Feeney.
DE- Myles Garrett, Cleveland Browns
DE- Joey Bosa, Los Angeles Chargers
DT- DeForest Buckner, San Francisco 49ers
DT- Leonard Williams, New York Jets
MLB- Deion Jones, Atlanta Falcons
MLB- Darius Leonard, Indianapolis Colts
OLB- T.J. Watt, Pittsburgh Steelers
OLB- Myles Jack, Jacksonville Jaguars
CB- Jalen Ramsey, Jacksonville Jaguars
CB- Marshon Lattimore, New Orleans Saints
S- Landon Collins, New York Giants
S- Jamal Adams, New York Jets
Instead of choosing between a 3-4 or a 4-3 defense I just decided to include two defensive tackles and two middle linebackers. Why? Because that way it meant I had to make fewer decisions in which top talents I had to leave off the list and so I could acknowledge as many players as possible.
Garrett and Bosa were some of the easiest choices up to this point. Both at top-shelf talent with good chances to become All-Pros. At defensive tackle, I decided to skip over Sheldon Rankins who I feel is less talented than Buckner and Williams. The linebacker position was by far the most crowded and hardest to set up. There are so many good young middle linebackers that it took me a while to decide who I’d want. I felt confident in Jones and ended up putting the rookie Leonard in the second spot. The other players I considered putting at the middle linebacker spot were: Blake Martinez, Joe Schobert, Kwon Alexander, and Roquan Smith.
I shifted Jack to the outside spot for this imaginary roster. He and Watt were pretty obvious selections. The defensive backfield was also simple to set up, the only player I feel got cut out was cornerback Tre’Davious White.
K- Harrison Butker, Kansas City Chiefs
P- Michael Dickson, Seattle Seahawks
Butker came in the clutch last season for Kansas City. Since he played in his first game he’s been consistent and reliable. Have you seen what Dickson can do with a football? It’s wizardry. Seriously, I’ve never been so excited to watch a punter. I didn’t assign specific return men but I already put Hill on the roster so that would solve the issue.
Three Honorable Mentions-
QB- Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs
RB- Saquon Barkley, New York Giants
WR- Stefon Diggs, Minnesota Vikings
I went all offense in my honorable mentions, which I usually don’t do, but I did include 12 defensive players on the initial roster. It was tempting to fill these spots up with linebackers but instead, I went with the absolutely amazing offensive power of Mahomes and Barkley. I picked up Diggs too because he and Smith-Schuster ran a close race for the second receiver spot.
