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No team seems to hit higher peaks or lower valleys than the Packers, who alternate busts (A.J. Hawk) with franchise-caliber players (Greg Jennings) during draft weekends. They had eight picks in Rounds 1-3 in 2007-2008, though, and their eventual haul appears to be tight end Jermichael Finley and whoever wins the wide receiver battle between James Jones and Jordy Nelson. A team that currently relies on well-aged tackles Chad Clifton (34) and Mark Tauscher (33) undoubtedly hopes to see signs of development from second-year man T.J. Lang and 2010 first-round pick Bryan Bulaga this year; with the historical injury woes of Clifton and Tauscher, the young guys may need to hold their own at some point this year. Combining that with another great year from linebacker Clay Matthews would help push the Packers well up these charts.

Not only are the Texans at the top of our rankings, but they could be even further ahead of the pack if we included players who are currently 25 and turn 26 before September 1. That would allow us to add star middle linebacker DeMeco Ryans to the Texans' haul. Even without him, though, the Texans are downright spoiled for talent. No one can match their one-two punch of Mario Williams and Brian Cushing, the best young players at their respective positions in the NFL. Add Ryans into the mix, and the Texans have three guys in their starting 11 who should be starting in the Pro Bowl every year. They're that good.

Those three players aren't the only talents on defense, either. Defensive tackle Amobi Okoye has been inconsistent as a pro, but consider that he's just 23; Okoye is more than six months younger than Ndamukong Suh, who hasn't played a pro down. Safety Bernard Pollard was gifted by the Chiefs and immediately shored up the team's biggest weakness. The versatile Connor Barwin had 4.5 sacks in limited time last year. Zac Diles benefited from playing alongside two elite linebackers, but held his own in coverage on the weak side. The team may start second-year corner Glover Quin across from rookie Kareem Jackson and would not regret it. The Texans go deep. Throw in their troika of young running backs, led by Steve Slaton, and Houston is an organization at the peak of its developmental work. General manager Rick Smith doesn't get much attention nationwide, but since he took over for Charlie Casserly in 2006, it's hard to find anyone who's identified and acquired young talent as well as Smith has.

LUKE23 wrote:Wow, that is a pretty tough ranking. But I guess I question what the definition of "young talent" is.

To me, if we look 26 and younger, we have:

Rodgers
Jennings
Finley
Matthews
Bulaga
Collins
Burnett
Jones
Nelson
Sitton
Raji

as players that can be anywhere from above average starters to pro bowlers.

eagle13 wrote:oh and Tramon is only 26 i think

jakecronus8 wrote:I think the ranking has a lot to do with how many guys we've missed on.

Newz wrote:I guess I don't see how anyone couldn't like our youth... A majority of our team is young and we are going to (most likely) be a playoff team.

Rockmaninoff wrote:Packers should be #1 on this list for Rodgers alone. The NFL is all about the QB. How many teams have one as good, and as young?

I can actually imagine Rodgers going 5000/500/50, and it's not unbelievable.

Rockmaninoff wrote:I can actually imagine Rodgers going 5000/500/50, and it's not unbelievable.

LUKE23 wrote:Brady had 4,800 yards and 50 TD (with only 8 INT), 398 completions a couple years ago in what is likely the best season ever for a QB. 50 TD and 5,000 yards would be the best season of all-time most likely. I can see him getting around 35 TD and 4,600 yards, but 50 TD and 5,000 yards is really pushing it.