Ranking NFL's Most Exciting Young Cores After 2025 NFL Draft

Key word here: exciting. Don’t come at me with “these guys haven’t proved anything.” That’s OK! We’re here to focus on the NFL’s young cores that bring the most excitement to the table in 2025, with updates based on last week’s draft. 

What does that mean? 

Exciting: Defined by the Webster's Dictionary as “That which excites or rouses; that which moves, stirs, or induces action; a motive.”

Young: In this case, we’re looking for a core with at least three guys on rookie contracts (or who would be on rookie contracts if they didn’t already sign extensions).

Core: In this case, we’re focusing on key starters at critical positions such as QB1, RB1, any of a team’s top three passing targets, clear-cut starting offensive tackles, starting edge defenders, in some cases playmaking interior defensive linemen, off-back linebackers or defensive backs. 

A caveat on “exciting cores”: All due respect to those critical offensive linemen, interior defensive linemen, off-back linebackers and defensive backs, but when we’re talking “exciting,” we’re generally looking at the skill positions on offense along with high-impact pass-rushers. Sorry if you’re looking for analysis on a key right guard. Plenty of that elsewhere on this wonderful app/website. 

Let’s dive in.

Youngens in the core: QB Jaxson Dart, WR Malik Nabers, edge Abdul Carter

The jury is of course still out on 2025 first-rounders Dart and Carter, and the Giants take a hit here because Dart might not start for a while, but the tantalizing Carter and the remarkable sophomore Nabers make up for that. 

Throw in intriguing running backs Tyrone Tracy Jr. and Cam Skattebo and the G-Men make the cut despite the fact their projected starting quarterback (Russell Wilson) is 36 years old and their highest-impact defenders, 27-year-old Brian Burns and Dexter Lawrence II, are a little outside of the “young” criteria.

Youngens in the core: WR Garrett Wilson, RB Breece Hall, OT Olu Fashanu, OT Armand Membou, CB Sauce Gardner

They technically lack a “young” quarterback because 26-year-old Justin Fields is beyond his rookie contract, and he wouldn’t be a major factor anyway because there’s so much to prove there. 

That said, Wilson and Hall make up for that as sub-25-year-old stars, Gardner is elite despite a down year in 2024, and the Jets have smartly selected potential long-term pillar tackles in the first round of back-to-back drafts. 

There’s a lot of room for this young group to turn into something special, especially if rookie second-round pick Mason Taylor takes off at tight end. 

Youngens in the core: QB Drake Maye, LT Will Campbell, RB TreVeyon Henderson, CB Christian Gonzalez

In this case, we have a first-round quarterback who has actually flashed in NFL action, as well as a 22-year-old second-team All-Pro in Gonzalez. And now, the Patriots have used another top-five pick on Campbell as a long-term protector for Maye while giving him a high-ceiling running back in Henderson. 

There isn’t much beyond that quartet in terms of core youth with significant promise, but this is quality over quantity, and the lack of “young high-potential depth” is also related to the fact the Pats have made a strong effort to surround these youngsters with veteran leaders like newcomers Stefon Diggs, Milton Williams, Carlton Davis III and Robert Spillane.

Youngens in the core: QB Caleb Williams, WR Rome Odunze, TE Colston Loveland, WR Luther Burden III

It’s mainly about Williams and Odunze, both of whom were first-round picks last year and could become a superstar battery for the Bears. But now they’ve used two more primo draft picks on offensive skill guys in Loveland and Burden, along with rookie second-round offensive lineman Ozzy Trapilo.

That gives Chicago a nice mix of high-quality potential and high-quantity options in terms of the young core, but it’s all on one side of the ball. The defense is longer in the tooth, which isn’t a bad thing because they need that experience and leadership. It just doesn’t help them in an exercise like this. 

Maybe rookie second-round pick Shemar Turner will excel at defensive tackle, but he’s more of a project and they have a lot of veteran bodies up front on D.

Youngens in the core: QB C.J. Stroud, WR Nico Collins, WR Tank Dell, edge Will Anderson Jr., CB Derek Stingley Jr.

Despite a sophomore slump in 2024, it’s hard not to be fired up about Stroud’s future considering his historic rookie campaign in ‘23. Meanwhile, fellow top-three pick Anderson is coming off an 11-sack sophomore year, and Stingley is yet another top-three selection who is already a first-team All-Pro at age 23. 

Those guys alone do the job, but the young receivers help too. Collins is coming off consecutive 1,000-yard seasons and has scored 15 times the last two years. And while a major knee injury could hold Dell back in 2025, he's proved to be a key factor for Stroud the last two years.

Youngens in the core: QB Trevor Lawrence, WR Brian Thomas Jr., WR/CB Travis Hunter, edge Travon Walker

We’re reaching a bit with Lawrence, who would be entering his option year if not for a big extension. But he counts for a lot more than Fields with the Jets because, well, he’s Trevor Lawrence. 

Still, this is actually more about Thomas (who went over 1,200 yards and scored 10 touchdowns as a rookie in 2024) and Hunter (who was ranked as the best player in this year’s draft class by the B/R NFL Scouting Department). 

Plus, the Jags have two strong young backs in Tank Bigsby and Travis Etienne Jr., a 23-year-old potential future stalwart offensive tackle in Anton Harrison, and Walker coming off back-to-back double-digit-sack campaigns at age 24. 

This team hasn’t lived up to expectations of late, but it is still brimming with exciting young talent.

Youngens in the core: QB Michael Penix Jr., RB Bijan Robinson, WR Drake London, TE Kyle Pitts, LBs Jalon Walker and James Pearce Jr.

A top-10 pick in 2024, Penix is taking the reins of an offense stacked with young talent at the skill positions. Robinson put up more than 1,800 scrimmage yards and scored 15 times as a Pro Bowler in 2024, London went over 1,200 yards with nine touchdowns, and the 24-year-old Pitts hasn’t delivered but can’t be ignored considering his skill set. 

But what really puts the Falcons over the top in terms of their exciting young core is their first-round investments in potential 2025 high-impact front-seven defenders Walker and Pearce in the first round of the 2025 draft. 

Quantity, quality, high ceilings on both sides of the ball, and plenty of young talent that is already proven on the professional stage. Can’t ask for much more.

Youngens in the core: QB Bo Nix, WR Marvin Mims Jr., RB RJ Harvey, CBs Patrick Surtain II and Jahdae Barron

If your “young core” includes the Defensive Player of the Year, it’s gonna be hard to top. So yeah, Surtain pulls a lot of weight on his own. Now he’s joined by the first-round rookie Barron, which is just ridiculous. 

And then offensively you have Nix coming off an extremely promising rookie campaign in which he posted a 126.0 passer rating in his last three regular-season games, as well as the intriguing-yet-still-unproven Mims (who at least scored six times as a sophomore in ‘24), a rookie second-rounder in Harvey and another young wild card in rookie third-rounder Pat Bryant. 

It’s a damn exciting time to be a Broncos fan.