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Wood Chipper

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5. Green Bay Packers



Given that the Packers finished 2011 with the third-best pass offense DVOA since 1991, it's not surprising that the vast majority of their 25-and-under talent resides on that unit. Tight end Jermichael Finley has finished in the top 11 of both DVOA and DYAR for the past three seasons. RT Bryan Bulaga (23) has surrendered only 5.0 blown-block sacks in two years. His counterpart, LT Marshall Newhouse (25), assumed the left tackle position in place of an injured Chad Clifton(released in April) before he was ready, so his team-leading 9.0 blown-block sacks aren't as much of a concern as they otherwise would be.


On defense and special teams, Morgan Burnett (23) was involved in nearly 14 percent of the Packers' defensive plays last season, making him one of the most active safeties in the league. First-round pick Nick Perry will start opposite Clay Matthews at outside linebacker. In a down year for pass-rushing prospects, Perry was No. 1, according to SackSEER (SackSEER is Football Outsiders' projection system for pass-rushers, explained here.)".Randall Cobb (22) might be fifth on the depth chart at wide receiver, but he was the third-most valuable kickoff returner last year (6.4 expected points added), as well as the seventh-most valuable punt returner (4.7 expected points added).
 

FrankRizzo

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By the way, in case u were wondering who was ahead of us, here:

1. New England Patriots


Truth be told, our statistical analysis last year said the Patriots had the best 25-and-under talent in 2011, but we went with our gut instead. Lesson learned. New England had 15 significant contributors last season who qualify this season as well, but we really need only to discuss the three who helped produce the No. 3 offensive DVOA in the league. If you can believe it, tight ends Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez are still only 23 years old. Whether we look at standard or advanced stats, Gronkowski had a record-setting season: He was the first tight end ever to lead the NFL in receiving touchdowns, and also had the best receiving DYAR (defense-adjusted yards above replacement) for any tight end since 1991. To put the latter in perspective, the second-through-fourth-best tight end seasons were clustered at 357 or 358 DYAR; Gronkowski beat that by about 100 (459).
Of course, lest we forget Hernandez in New England's double-shot of matchup nightmares; he led all tight ends by breaking 21 tackles and he actually carried the ball 11 times in the team's final five games. Nate Solder (24) helped make huge tight end seasons possible by giving up only 2.5 blown-block sacks in his rookie year. With the retirement of Matt Light, Solder will switch from right tackle to left tackle, further increasing his value.

Finally, the Patriots added LB Dont'a Hightower (22) and DE Chandler Jones (22) in the draft, both of whom should contribute this season and in the future.

Times are good in New England.

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2. Detroit Lions


Last year, Detroit was ranked only fifth on this list mostly because of concerns about QB Matthew Stafford's throwing shoulder. Well, Stafford put those concerns to rest, finishing 2011 in the top 10 in both DVOA and DYAR, so here the Lions sit at No. 2. Although Calvin Johnson is the obvious lynchpin, the growth of second-year slot receiver Titus Young (23) and the return of injured running backs Jahvid Best (23) and Mikel Leshoure (22) should allow Detroit's offense to maintain -- if not improve -- its No. 10 DVOA from last season. First-round tackle Riley Reiff is the Lions' left tackle of the future but is talented enough to beat out the underwhelming Gosder Cherilus for Detroit's starting right tackle job this season.

Most of the Lions' 25-and-under talent on defense is involved heavily in the running game, which is one reason the unit improved from 27th to 18th in run defense DVOA. DT Ndamukong Suh (25) needs no introduction, but less-heralded youngsters like LB DeAndre Levy (25) and in-the-box safeties Louis Delmas (25) and Amari Spievey (24) each contributed their fair share. As a center fielder in pass defense, Delmas doesn't get his hands on too many balls (three passes defensed and zero interceptions the past two seasons), but he also doesn't get beat deep. His value was on full display in the last six games of last season, when the Lions' pass defense basically fell apart without him.


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3. Cincinnati Bengals


QB Andy Dalton (25) and WR A.J. Green (24) didn't disappoint in their rookie seasons. The former was the only other player besides Newton to garner votes for Offensive Rookie of the Year, and the latter made the Pro Bowl. Dalton played his best on third downs (38.9 percent DVOA) and in the red zone (28.0 percent DVOA), while Green had a 57 percent catch rate and dropped only two passes all year despite having 39 percent of his targets come 16 or more yards downfield. Cincinnati also has two other young pieces in the pass offense with TE Jermaine Gresham (24) and RT Andre Smith (25).

The Bengals' run defense improved from 25th to 16th in DVOA thanks in large part to the play of middle linebacker Rey Maualuga (25) and DT Geno Atkins (24), the latter of whom also led the team in sacks. DE Carlos Dunlap (23) was a force as a situational pass-rusher, producing a team-leading 13 quarterback hits and 20.5 hurries to go along with his four sacks. Cincinnati's pass defense ranked 18th in DVOA despite the front seven finishing 10th in adjusted sack rate, which spoke to problems on the back end. To help remedy that, the Bengals selected CB Dre Kirkpatrick in the first round of April's draft.


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4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers


The 2011 Buccaneers were a cautionary tale for those of us who take pride in these rankings. Tampa Bay was our No. 1 team last year, but virtually every youngster we cited ended up playing worse than advertised. Franchise QB Josh Freeman (24) threw 16 more interceptions than he did in 2010 and fell from inside the top 10 in DYAR and DVOA to outside the top 30. Freeman's No. 1 target, WR Mike Williams (25), had nearly 200 fewer receiving yards and eight fewer touchdowns than in 2010 despite an identical number of catches (65). RB LeGarrette Blount (26), though not a qualifier this year, lost his job thanks to a case of fumblitis. Hey, it's not all bad. Rookie Doug Martin, who had the fourth-highest speed score among this year's backs, replaces Blount in the starting lineup.

On defense, it was the same story. CB E.J. Biggers (24) allowed 4.4 yards per pass more than he did in 2010 and dropped from 13th to 76th in success rate. DE Da'Quan Bowers (22) finished third on the team in quarterback hurries despite limited playing time for most of the season, but he tore his Achilles tendon two months ago. LB Geno Hayes (25) was solid against the run once again, but he took his talents to the Windy City this offseason.

Defensive tackle Gerald McCoy (24) tore his biceps (again) and ended up starting only six games. If there was any silver lining to the Buccaneers' black cloud last year, it was the promising play of young starters DE Adrian Clayborn (24), DT Brian Price (23) and LB Mason Foster (24). Add in first-round strong safety Mark Barron and the situation seems even less depressing.
 

FrankRizzo

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And on the flip side, the bottom:
26. Pittsburgh Steelers


Pittsburgh has spent heavily over the past few drafts in an attempt to fix its offensive line. Between C Maurkice Pouncey, G David DeCastro, T Marcus Gilbert and T Mike Adams, the Steelers might do the unthinkable: give Ben Roethlisberger enough time to throw a ball unmolested. Beyond that, though, much of the Steelers' value on this list is in running pieces such as Rashard Mendenhall and David Johnson. We think very highly of CB Cortez Allen and DE Ziggy Hood, but if they are the top two young players on your defense, that's a bit troubling.


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27. San Diego Chargers


The Chargers have a lot of their value tied up in one player: RB Ryan Mathews, who looks poised to become a perennial top-5 fantasy football pick, as long as he can stay healthy. Wideout Vincent Brown is promising and should see more action this year. They've also got a pair of decent young starters in LB Donald Butler and G Louis Vasquez but need leaps from highly drafted players such as DT Corey Liuget and CB Marcus Gilchrist to really start ascending the list. LB Jonas Mouton, a 2011 second-rounder, could join the fray quickly after missing last year to injury, and if the Chargers got as big of a steal as some experts are predicting by finding DE Melvin Ingram with the 18th overall pick, it wouldn't be a major surprise to see them 10 slots higher next season.


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28. Atlanta Falcons


Trading massive piles of draft picks for WR Julio Jones might yet be proven to be a terrific idea, but doing so has left this team with only a few eggs to place in their young-player basket. Jones, obviously, has a chance to be one of the best receivers in the NFL as soon as this year. Sean Weatherspoon, likewise, had a fantastic season for Atlanta in 2011 and should be a mainstay at linebacker.

After those two, it gets murky. LB Akeem Dent was a very good special teams player last year, but we have no real statistical track record to say that he'll be an adequate replacement for Curtis Lofton. G Joe Hawley, RB Jacquizz Rodgers and DT Corey Peters comprise the best of the rest. Then again, at least the Falcons have a team that can win now, which somewhat excuses their lack of young depth.


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29. Buffalo Bills


Marcell Dareus was an enormous addition as a rookie, notching 5.5 sacks despite playing some 3-4 nose tackle last season. Beyond him, the Bills had more questions than answers. CB Aaron Williams is going to be a contributor in their secondary, but RB C.J. Spiller is blocked by Fred Jackson, and the addition of Cordy Glenn in the draft could place LT Chris Hairston on the bench or at a different position. WR Donald Jones has been rather inconsistent, and the rest of the Bills' youth movement focuses an awful lot on quantity over quality -- or at least that's how it has gone so far.


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30. New York Jets


Remember what we just said about free-agent signings affecting the U-25 list? Well, at least DE Aaron Maybin actually started games and was productive at times -- he's still really a supporting edge rusher on a good team, but New York hasn't found that premium pass-rusher yet. WR Jeremy Kerley made our top 25 prospects list (coming Tuesday), and DT Muhammad Wilkerson and CB Kyle Wilson are a pair of decent, young building blocks for the defense. But nobody knows quite what to make of DE Quinton Coples, so forgive us for taking the same wait-and-see approach that he took toward going after quarterbacks in his senior season at North Carolina.


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31. Chicago Bears


With the graduation of RB Matt Forte and WR Johnny Knox, the Bears have very little youth on offense to fall back on. J'Marcus Webb still qualifies at tackle, but even if you are Mike Tice, sole believer in Webb's potential, Webb has yet to post a season worth crowing about. Gabe Carimi had to deal with injuries in his rookie season, and outside of Chicago's young safety tandem of Chris Conte and Major Wright, none of their young defenders managed to start multiple games in 2011.

Wide receivers Alshon Jeffery (age 22) and Brandon Marshall should help rejuvenate this team's passing game, but at the cost of two third-round picks, the Bears will again be at a disadvantage when draft day rolls around next season.


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32. New Orleans Saints


Obviously they didn't know this at the time, but given the fact that the Saints were forced to forfeit multiple high picks in light of the bounty scandal, the trade up for Mark Ingram looks even sillier in retrospect. New Orleans now employs four solid running backs in Ingram, Chris Ivory, Pierre Thomas and Darren Sproles. To make matters worse, Ingram was dinged up last year and made even less of an impact than you would expect given the other solid players at his position.

Malcolm Jenkins is a fine safety, but Patrick Robinson continued to struggle at corner, and Cameron Jordan notched just one sack in 15 starts. Perhaps Martez Wilson's conversion to defensive end will help raise the tide, but there isn't much help coming in future drafts due to the aforementioned punishment.

In short, this is a team that very much needs to win now. Which is why it's a good thing Drew Brees is now signed.
 

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