Over the last couple of weeks, we've looked at the playing time of the Cowboys' recent rookie classes, wondered who the 2013 breakout player could be and how much playing time the 2013 draft class could see this year.
Along the way, we ...
Over the last couple of weeks, we've looked at the playing time of the Cowboys' recent rookie classes, wondered who the 2013 breakout player could be and how much playing time the 2013 draft class could see this year.
Along the way, we touched on a couple of names that will likely be Cowboys franchise players in a couple of years: the Cowboys' young guns. In five years or so some of the young guns on the current roster will be the faces of the Dallas Cowboys. So today, we'll look at who the top ten guys under the age of 25 are.
The reason we're going for 25 is that Daniel Jeremiah of NFL.com last year looked at the league's top ten players under the age of 25, and 25 felt like a good cut-off age. When I then set out to compile the list for the Cowboys, I thought it'd be an easy exercise. Before I even started compiling names, I thought that I'd have to add an addendum with the players not making the list. Turns out, that wasn't the case, as some of the players that I was thinking of for this list are already 25 years or older: DeMarco Murray, Bruce Carter, Dan Bailey are all 25, Phil Costa, Sean Lissemore and Orlando Scandrick will all be 26 by the time the season starts and Sean Lee will even turn 27 on July 22nd this year - those guys are not spring chicken anymore.
So without further ado, here are the top ten young guns on the Cowboys' roster, all of whom will still be under 25 at the start of the 2013 regular season on September 5, 2013.
Rank
Name
POS
Experience
Age on Opening Day 2013
1
Dez Bryant
WR
3
24 years, 10 months, 0 days
Dez Bryant squeezes into this list with just two months to spare, and I'm not sure that calling him a "young gun" is doing him justice any longer. Bryant came into his own in the second half of last season and now looks to be everything the Cowboys expected when they moved up in the first round to get him. There is no denying his athletic ability, and he is electrifying to watch. There are other very good wide receivers in the league, but very few bring such a level of raw energy and intensity to the game, and it will be Bryant's "intangibles" more than his play that will make him a superstar in the league.As Garrett would say, "Passion. Emotion. Enthusiasm." Nobody has more of it than Dez Bryant. Bryant has the stuff to be the emotional leader of this team; he already provides the emotional spark when the Cowboys need it. There's still a long way to go, but Bryant is beginning to fill out that no. 88 jersey.
2
Tyron Smith
LT
2
22 years, 8 months, 24 days
Incredibly, Smith already has two years of NFL starting experience and is still the second youngest player on this list. Smith won't even be 23 years old by the time the season starts. In his second year at left tackle and his second year under Bill Callahan, Smith is poised to take a big step in his performance. A step he has prepared for diligently, taking karate classes in the offseason to improve his hand-eye coordination and adding 10 pounds of weight to "be a better run-blocker and be stronger and more physical."
3
Morris Claiborne
CB
1
23 years, 6 months, 28 days
Secondary coach Jerome Henderson said that Claiborne’s offseason wrist surgery impacted his rookie year significantly: he wasn’t able to participate in OTAs and wasn’t able to spend enough time in the weight room to gain NFL-level strength, and Claiborne had a rocky rookie season as a result. The Cowboys famously had ranked as the "the highest-rated DB since Deion Sanders", and towards the end of the season, with his confidence increasing, we began to see glimpses of what he could be capable of. When you combine a full offseason in which he's already added eight pounds of muscle, a year of NFL experience and his talent level, then you could have the makings for a huge sophomore season, especially in the new defensive scheme.
4
Tyrone Crawford
DE
1
23 years, 9 months, 13 days
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