With Tom Brady still bossing things at the top end of the NFL it is sometimes easy to forget the guys starting out their career. Here we make sure that doesn’t happen as we look at the five youngest players in NFL history.
Kicking off our list of the youngest players in NFL history is Juju Smith-Schuster. [If you are planning on betting on the NFL odds, Juju can be your guy.] The USC graduate joined the Pittsburgh Steelers as the 62nd overall pick in the 2017 draft. The young wide receiver made quite the impression early on too as he made the PFWA All-Rookie team in his inaugural season. He made 14 appearances and seven starts recording in excess of 900 receiving yards.
His next season was better though; arguably his best yet. He put up 1,426 yards and 111 receptions to earn a place on the Pro Bowl. Smith-Schuster is still with the Steelers and is off the back of his busiest season with 14 starts to his name in 2020.
From a 2017 draft pick to a man who entered the NFL some 71 years earlier, step forward Elmer Angsman who was a round three pick back in 1946. At the time, Angsman’s appearances for the Chicago Cardinals made him the youngest ever NFL player. It’s his only real claim to fame though as his performances weren’t noteworthy in any way, shape or form.
Angsman’s early days in the league were ‘okay’ in terms of output but his form collapsed towards the end of his seven year career; although he did feature in the first ever Pro Bowl game. After that, it was the commentary box for the running back.
We’ve just looked at Angsman; that’s the furthest we go back in time. Well, Tremaine Edmunds is the most recent to ply his trade in the NFL after joining the Buffalo Bills as a round one pick back in 2018. The linebacker, whose brother was also selected in the same draft, became an instant starter under head coach Scott McDermott.
Edmunds quickly set about repaying the faith shown in him by his boss. Sacks and interceptions quickly became a feature of his game with his week 14 interception seeing him become the youngest ever to record one. The impressive displays have continued and 2019 and 2020 saw him earn Pro Bowl honors.
Right, now we move onto the couple of players who broke into the NFL as teenagers. First up is Danielle Hunter of the Minnesota Vikings. He joined them in 2015 and, like Smith-Schuster, made the PFWA All-Rookie side after an impressive first showing amongst the elite.
His career had still been on the upward curve since though; ignoring the 2020 season that injury forced him to miss, the prior three seasons he had started every game for the Vikings; those three years have seen Hunter register 187 tackles and 36 sacks. Hunter has made two Pro Bowl teams and he’ll be hoping to come back with a bang in 2021.
Topping our list of the youngest players in NFL history is Amobi Okoye. Okoye arrived on the scene back in 2007 after graduating from Louisville. His first four years were spent in Houston where he initially impressed before eventually dropping out of favor.
After his time with the Texans, he joined the Chicago Bears then had a spell with the Buccaneers before his final NFL stint with the Dallas Cowboys was heavily impacted by a rare brain injury. In 2015, 11 months after joining the Cowboys, Okoye was released and joined the CFL; he hasn’t played since 2016 though. His career didn’t turn out as hyped but it will be a while until someone surpasses him as the youngest ever.
There you have it, the youngest players in NFL history. [ American football makes it so strong like an online essay editor helps your essay to be perfect.]
If you want to jump to the other end of the age spectrum then why not check out edge.twinspires.com for the oldest players in NFL history.
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