If you want to win Super Bowls, you better have young talent. Not only are these players closer to their athletic primes, but they are also usually on their rookie contracts, and their low salary cap number gives teams the ability to use those financial resources elsewhere.
Below, we will reveal our NFL Defensive All-Under-25 First and Second Teams, using a 4-2-5 format with a slot corner. The only rule is that these players must be under 25 years old entering the 2024 NFL season -- that first full week of September. There are plenty of notable names to discuss here, so let's go ahead and jump in.
First Team
EDGE: Aidan Hutchinson (24)
The Michigan kid who also played his college football at Michigan and is now starring for the Detroit Lions has proven to be an NFL star, as he built on his impressive rookie season with 51 combined tackles, 11.5 sacks, 33 QB hits, seven passes defended, three forced fumbles and an interception in 2023. Hutchinson also recorded 101 pressures, which ranked second in the NFL behind the great Micah Parsons.
EDGE: Will Anderson Jr. (22)
The No. 3 overall pick burst onto the scene with 45 combined tackles, seven sacks and 22 QB hits in just 15 games played, which earned Anderson Defensive Rookie of the Year honors. He recorded the third-most pressures by a rookie over the last five seasons with 59. Only Parsons and Nick Bosa recorded more in their first NFL seasons. Anderson also had the third-best pass-rush win rate among edge defenders at 26%.
DT: Jalen Carter (23)
Another impressive rookie makes the list here, as Carter recorded 33 combined tackles, six sacks, eight tackles for loss and two forced fumbles in 2023. He ranked top five among all first-year players last season in pressures, tackles for loss and sacks!
DT: Alim McNeill (24)
Still one of the most underrated players in the league, McNeill recorded 32 combined tackles, 10 QB hits and a career-high five sacks for the Lions in just 13 games played in 2023. He's such a disruptive player in the middle, and should cash in very soon with him being in a contract year.
LB: Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah (24)
"JOK" finally had that career/Pro Bowl year the Cleveland Browns were hoping for, and he should take another step forward in 2024 with defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz. In 2023, Owusu-Koramoah recorded 101 combined tackles, 3.5 sacks, 20 tackles for loss, five QB hits, six passes defended and his first two career interceptions. His 101 total tackles and 20 tackles for loss both led all Browns, and those 101 takedowns were the most by a player to record 20+ tackles for loss in a season since the legendary Luke Kuechly in 2018.
LB: Nick Bolton (24)
Bolton missed nine games last season due to injury, but still recorded 60 combined tackles, three passes defended and one interception in the eight contests he did play in. When healthy, Bolton is absolutely one of the best linebackers in the NFL. In 2022, he recorded 180 combined tackles, two sacks and three passes defended to go along with two interceptions. He's in a contract year this season, so watch out.
CB: Sauce Gardner (23)
Sauce was named the best cornerback in the NFL by CBS Sports entering 2024, as he's allowed the fewest yards per target (4.6) over the past two seasons. The 2022 Defensive Rookie of the Year is just the seventh cornerback over the last half-century to make the Pro Bowl in each of his first two seasons, and the first cornerback to be named a First Team All-Pro in both of his first two seasons since Dick Harris in 1961.
CB: Patrick Surtain II (24)
The former No. 9 overall pick out of Alabama has made the Pro Bowl in each of the past two seasons, and was named a First Team All-Pro in 2022. While Surtain recorded just one interception this past season, he became the first-ever Denver Broncos player to record 10+ passes defended in each of his first three NFL seasons since the statistic was first tracked in 1991.
CB: Trent McDuffie (23)
McDuffie was one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL last season, as he earned First Team All-Pro honors after recording 80 combined tackles, three sacks, seven passes defended and a whopping five forced fumbles. He also recorded the most QB hits by a cornerback since the stat was first tracked in 2006 with nine, and quarterbacks completed 46% of passes for zero touchdowns and two interceptions when McDuffie was fired off the edge by defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo.
S: Kyle Hamilton (23)
Hamilton is arguably the best safety in the entire NFL, and a reason why is because he can play everywhere. It makes the former No. 14 overall pick out of Notre Dame one of the most unique players in today's game. In his second NFL season, Hamilton earned his first All-Pro and Pro Bowl honors after recording 81 combined tackles, three sacks, 13 passes defended and four interceptions in 15 games played. My favorite stat is that all three of his sacks came in the first half of the Week 3 matchup against the Indianapolis Colts.
S: Jevon Holland (24)
Holland came in at No. 5 on CBS Sports' top safeties list entering 2024. In 12 games played last year, he recorded 74 combined tackles, four passes defended, one interception and a career-high three forced fumbles. That one interception was a 99-yard pick six off a Hail Mary attempt before halftime in an eventual Black Friday victory over the New York Jets.
Second Team
EDGE: Greg Rousseau (Bills)
EDGE: Kayvon Thibodeaux (Giants)
DT: Jordan Davis (Eagles)
DT: Bobby Brown III (Rams)
LB: Ivan Pace Jr. (Vikings)
LB: Ernest Jones (Rams)
CB: Devon Witherspoon (Seahawks)
CB: Derek Stingley Jr. (Texans)
CB: Asante Samuel Jr. (Chargers)
S: Talanoa Hufanga (49ers)
S: Andre Cisco (Jaguars)
