The 10 best NFL players under 25 entering the 2021 season

Pittsburgh Steelers vs Baltimore Ravens
Pittsburgh Steelers vs Baltimore Ravens

#3 QB Kyler Murray, Arizona Cardinals, 24

Despite his small stature, Kyler Murray plays well beyond his size, and is a game-changing dual-threat similar to a young Cam Newton or pre-injury Robert Griffin lll. He took college football by storm by winning the Heisman and going number one overall in 2019 after never taking up football before college.

He improved from his rookie season with an 8-8 record, 67.2% completion rate, 3,971 passing yards, 26 TDs, 12 INTs, 819 rushing yards and 11 TDs. He has continued to improve in his young career, and the team around him is stacked this year.

Murray was ranked at #39 in the NFL Top 100.


#2 QB Justin Herbert, LA Chargers, 23

Justin Herbert has one less year of experience than Kyler Murray as the sixth overall pick last year, but looks like a better QB already. Herbert was the 2020 OROY and has the intangibles you want in a QB: big arm, pocket awareness and decision-making.

He also holds the NFL rookie record for the most TD passes in a season (31) and the most 300-yard games in a season (8), and he racked up those numbers with a sub-par offense. Herbert is talented enough to keep his team hanging around as a playoff contender, and slots in at #56 in the NFL Top 100 this year.


#1 QB Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens, 24

Lamar Jackson is the best mobile QB in the NFL, and has improved as a passer with a solid offense (even though his stats dipped from 2019 to 2020). In 2018, he won the Heisman, and was drafted as the last pick in the first round.

Lamar Jackson is just 1-3 in the postseason while having a 30-7 record during the regular season. Going forward, his status as an elite QB will rely on his playoff success and proven results as a passer.

He had 36 passing TDs in 2019 and just 26 in 2020 while throwing for 1,206 yards and seven TDs in 2019, and 1,005 yards and seven TDs last year. Despite the slight regression in his production, Lamar Jackson is a one-man army in the NFL, similar to Russell Wilson.

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