Best NFL Young Players To Watch Next Season

As much as we love watching the old veterans showcase their experience there is nothing better than watching a young up-and-comer tearing things up.

Here we look at some that fall into that latter category with our review of the best NFL young players to watch next season; for clarity, we’re classing young as any player that falls south of the NFL average age meaning our players will be no older than 25-years old. Let’s go.

5. Ja’Marr Chase

Kicking off our list of the best NFL young players to watch next season is Ja’Marr Chase of the Bengals. Chase arrives into next season with this tag after coming into the previous campaign with a shed load of doubters on his back; there were so many reports regarding his inability to catch a football consistently during the preseason. Those concerns – if there were any in closer quarters – were quickly blown out of the water.

His presence turned the Bengals into an offensive powerhouse. Sure, Cincinnati also boast Joe Burrow in their ranks but Chase made him a damn sight better owing to the chemistry they struck up; it felt like they were just a moment away from exploding for a massive play.

If you need more to back up Chase’s impressive season then look no further than the 17 yards per catch he served up. Of course, the ‘sophomore slump’ is a slight worry but the flip side of that is that Chase kicks on to another level. If that happens, he could become one of the best receivers in the league come the season’s close.

4. Nick Bosa

Next up we have Nick Bosa. Bosa might be one of the reasons why you can see the San Francisco 49ers so high in the NFL odds if you are betting on Bovada sportsbook. Right now he leads the odds to win the Defensive Player of the Year Award.

Still, he is quite the curious case. When he first arrived on the scene he was impressed massively scooping the Defensive Rookie of the Year award on route to their Super Bowl appearance. That ultimately saw the team come up short but, for the player himself, he left the game – and season – with a lot of credit in the bank. The following season, he barely played though meaning there were question marks over him this season.

You wouldn’t have known about those question marks though. Bosa has just turned in another mightily impressive campaign with the standout stat being his league leading 21 tackles for loss. Combine that with a career high in solo and combined tackles and sacks and you can see why we’re desperate to see him go again next year. It will be the first year he’s ever arrived with real momentum behind him too.

3. Lamar Jackson

We now turn our attention to Lamar Jackson. Jackson is a funny old player. He’s on the radar, then he’s off the radar. Who knows what he’s going to deliver. What you can say for certain though is that there is nobody worth their salt that can doubt the electricity and speed that Jackson brings to the quarterback position – and there is certainly nobody in Baltimore that can hold a candle to the former Louisville graduate.

Jackson isn’t all about sheer explosive pace though. The Ravens QB is a sensational playmaker. When the ball hits his hands the entire watching crowd is just waiting for something to happen. He does seem to be a player on an upward trajectory as well; his arm strength and his throwing accuracy have improved at a fairly steady rate since he entered the NFL back in 2018, when he went as the number 32 draft pick. At 25-years-old, he’s still not at his prime years and should his passing development continue on the same track then he will become a serious dual-threat player owing to his mobility and what would be a stellar passing range. If those boxes are both ticked off, he’ll be as close to unstoppable as anyone else in the league.

2. Joe Burrow

We won’t spend long talking about the “silver medalist” in our list of the best NFL young players to watch next season because we’ve already touched on him once. It’s Joe Burrow. Burrow – with the help of Chase – has helped transform the Bengals from a bottom five team in the league to Super Bowl contention. What’s more remarkable is that he’s done so in just two years.

When we talk about next season, it’s easy to sleep on Burrow owing to what we have already seen from him. That would be a mistake though. The roster around him is being improved all the time and, in particular, there is a real strength in depth being built in the wide receiver position. If things play out according to plan for Burrow and the Bengals, this coming season could easily see them dominate the wings with Burrow orchestrating all of it. It could be his best season yet.

1. Justin Herbert

The AFC has grown exponentially in talent throughout this current offseason. That is unquestionably great for us fans but it has also caused quite a few people to seemingly forget about LA Chargers man Justin Herbert; we’re backing him to be the best young player in the NFL next season. Herbert became the first quarterback in league history to toss 30 plus touchdowns in both of his first two seasons after putting up 31 in his debut campaign and following that with 38 last year.

Now, the Chargers are bulking up their defense with some big time signings – such as Austin Johnson – in free agency, the sky is the limit for this squad. Herbert will be the one leading the charge and there is more than half a chance that he throws them into the post season. If he does then from that point on anything could happen and he’ll have a chance of being the standout man of the entire season.