1. 5th year Senior
2. 5 year Starters
3. Team Captains
4. Full 4 year Starters or players who impacted as Freshman
These two posts were just excellent analyses, very insightful. I would expand on that by pointing out that no fewer than 6 of our 11 picks were team captains, and of the first 6 picks, 5 were from major football colleges - which for the purpose of this discussion, I'm saying teams that are historically often ranked in the Top 25. Players who excelled at schools with traditionally very high standards, and compete against some of the best teams in the country. Schools that attract the highest quality recruits, where competition for a starting slot is very high. These players have been tested many times over, we've seen them truly at their absolute best.
Thirdly, as said perfectly by someone or several people in here, we have probably the largest group of young players entering their 2nd, 3rd and 4th seasons due to unusually large draft classes. Where do players typically ascend or begin to peak? I’d argue 3rd to 4th seasons.
You're exactly right. Historically, the statistics bear out that for the significant majority of young players, the transition from Year 2 to Year 3 is where they improve the most.
The first year, most players are overwhelmed by the learning curve, starting right from Day One of camp. The entire first season is just trying to adjust to the speed of the game, the complexity of their assignments, and the enormous step up in physicality and the strength of other players.
By the time the 2nd year camp comes around, they're much more prepared, and there aren't many surprises. A full year of NFL-level nutrition and conditioning programs has made them significantly stronger, and they match up better physically than they were able to do in their rookie year. They understand what they're up against and what they can expect, and they're more self-confident.
Going into Year 3, their physical conditioning is at its peak, they've had 2 full seasons and 2 complete training camps to learn how to play the game, and they get more out of their 3rd training camp than they did the first 2 because they understand how to use their time. They understand much more clearly what is expected of them, and what they are capable of doing. By the time most players start their 3rd full season, they're entering the prime of their careers, and ready to take full advantage of it.
In 2025 we don’t just have our regular clump of natural selections. I’d argue we have draft selections 23,25,42,55,87,87 Day1-2 talent being added into the mix over top of Edgerrin and Javon.
I'm a little surprised that this isn't talked about very much. It's going to be a really exciting camp; a huge logjam of high picks at many key positions. Three years worth of 1st and 2nd day picks, 10 of them altogether if you count the 2023 draft class who are just coming into their 3rd year. If they can all stay healthy this time, we're going to have a much stronger team.
