Top 30 athletes under 30

9. Russell Wilson, Seattle Seahawks – 26 years old

The Jacksonville Jaguars may have the quarterback of their future with Blake Bortles, and he’ll probably end up having a really good career — maybe. Bortles is good, but the jury is still out.

It still has to hurt Jaguars fans when they think about the fact their team took a punter five picks before the Seattle Seahawks drafted Russell Wilson at No. 75 overall. As good of a punter Bryan Anger is, we all know that was a mistake of the grandest kind.

Wilson’s measurables are not ideal. He’s 5-foot-11, and it’s preferred that quarterbacks have a little more size to throw over linemen and (more importantly) see the routes developing behind them.

The franchise quarterback for the Seahawks has proven the scouts wrong and dominated on the field.

Let’s talk about the fact he hasn’t missed a game and hasn’t seen his completion percentage drop below 63 percent since he entered the league. Or maybe we should talk about how he threw for 72 touchdowns and only 26 interceptions in his first three years.

He’s already won a Super Bowl and rushed for more than 2,000 yards, too. There is nothing Wilson cannot do. When he does take off with the ball, he’s smart with it. He knows when and how to slide in order to protect his body. He gets out of bounds at the right times and knows where the first down markers are at all times.

Maybe Wilson contends for an MVP award one day, but he’ll definitely lead his team back to a Super Bowl.

Next: No. 8 Stephen Curry