The top 25 NFL players under the age of 25

7. QB Deshaun Watson, Houston Texans

He burst onto the scene early as a rookie in 2017 and after just 26 quarters of play, he was lost for the remainder of the scene after suffering a torn ACL during a November practice. This past year, Houston Texans’ quarterback Deshaun Watson still didn’t look like himself early in 2018 – perhaps due to the fact that he wasn’t totally healthy just yet. But that would change slowly but surely and before you could say Jadeveon Clowney, Bill O’Brien’s team had overcome a 0-3 start, reeled off nine consecutive victories, finished with 11 wins and captured a division title.

Of course, Watson took a licking and kept on ticking this past season. He would complete 68.3 percent of his passes for 4,165 yards and nearly three times as many touchdown passes (26) as interceptions (9). The 23-year-old offensive weapon also totaled 551 yards and five scores on the ground on 99 carries. That licking came in the form of being sacked a league-high 62 times in 16 regular-season contests and thrice more in the playoff loss to the rival Colts.

The 6-foot-2, 220-pound signal-caller saw the Texans put a priority on the offensive line in the first two rounds of April’s draft. And that unit must come up big of O’Brien’s club is to hold off Indianapolis in the AFC South. Meanwhile, Watson has done nothing but impress when healthy his first two seasons and who knows what’s in store the next few years.

Next: No. 6