Youth can be considered a crutch in some sports. When people look at a team full of younger guys some see a lack of leadership and players who do not know how to handle the pressure and road bumps that come along through the season.
For the NFL, the idea of youth can be thought about in a completely different way. This year five rookie quarterbacks will be leading their team in week one of the regular season.
Though it is not always ideal to have such a young player at an important position, youth in the NFL represents a team looking up. If an organization takes their rookies and develops them into their system they can become a high caliber team for the next decade.
Take a look at the Detroit Lions. The Lions had a winless season and drafted guys like Calvin Johnson, Matthew Stafford, and Ndamukong Suh and are now a contender for the playoffs. A team will have a couple of bumpy years along the way but when they can draft the needed positions the youth of a team becomes their strong point.
Youth is something the Seattle Seahawks are very familiar with. They are one of the five teams that have a rookie starting at the quarterback position with Russell Wilson and are continuing to get younger. Over the last two days, they have released veterans Terrell Owens, Deuce Lutui and Alex Barron.
Along with releasing these veterans, the Seahawks traded away linebacker Barrett Ruud to the New Orleans Saints and Tarvaris Jackson to the Buffalo Bills for draft picks to bring in more young players to develop in the organization.
The average age of the current players on the Seahawks roster is 26 years old. The key rookies on the team are Wilson, linebacker Bobby Wagner and running back Robert Turbin.
Seattle has the opportunity to develop these young rookies in key positions to fit their scheme and build a talented team for a number of years. With the organization continuing to get rid of age while allowing the team to add young players through the draft, the Seahawks have a chance to get ahead in the NFC West.
Of course it is not a sure thing that these rookies will pan out like they did for Detroit and other teams in that situation but it does give fans hope if these young players can mesh together and mature into a strong unit.
Wilson has shown some ability in the preseason and if that can continue through the regular season as he develops throughout the year, Seattle may have their quarterback for the future. It is hard to judge a rookie before he has played his first regular season game but with the performances he has given, the argument can be made.
The Seahawks are a young team and with smart decisions through the draft and an intelligent coach in Pete Carroll to help these players mature, Seattle can take control of a subpar division in the NFC.
Buy Seattle Seahawks Tickets | Buy Seattle Seahawks Apparel
