Every offseason, Football Outsiders compiles a list of unheralded players who have the chance to become stars or major contributors. We use certain criteria to find the best young players who weren't high draft picks and still haven't had too much playing time but could be on track to become significant contributors.
What would that list look like now, as opposed to in the next offseason?
What follows is the Football Outsiders Top 25 Prospects list, based on which players would qualify right now. Some of these players could play their way off the list as their snap counts rise over the final two months of the season, while others might still be fairly unknown when we get to next year's training camp. But all of them are players to watch in the NFL going forward.
The criteria to make this list:
Third-round pick or lower, or undrafted, from the classes of 2015-2017
500 or fewer offensive or defensive career snaps through Week 10 of 2017 (except running backs, who have a maximum of 300 snaps)
No signed contract extension
Age 26 or younger
In the past, we've found players such as David Johnson, Danielle Hunter and Malcolm Butler on our list. Our 2017 offseason list already has graduates playing huge roles, including Tyreek Hill, Austin Hooper and Michael Pierce.
Here's who we like now:
