Patriots jump Texans atop ESPN’s under-25 NFL talent ranking
Aaron Schatz’s 2026 ESPN ranking puts New England at No. 1, with Houston second after years at the top.
By Deshawn Carter · Sports Writer
2 min read
The New England Patriots have grabbed the top spot in ESPN’s 2026 ranking of NFL teams by under-25 talent, ending the Houston Texans’ run at No. 1, according to ESPN analyst Aaron Schatz.
Schatz wrote that Houston had held the lead in the ranking since 2022, but sits second this year. The team ahead of the Texans has a recent postseason receipt: New England beat Houston on its way to last season’s Super Bowl, according to ESPN.
The ranking is built around one of the NFL’s favorite roster-building sweet spots: young players who can still improve and are often playing on cheaper rookie contracts. Schatz wrote that those contracts can help teams stay within the salary cap while giving front offices room to add veteran free agents.
ESPN’s list covers all 32 teams for the 2026 season, with player ages measured as of Sept. 1, 2026. Schatz also identified “blue-chip” players as the top 60 cornerstone assets in the league, while noting that there is not a dramatic cliff between the final player in that group and those just outside it.
Super Bowl teams show up near the top
Both teams from last season’s Super Bowl are in ESPN’s top 10 for under-25 talent, Schatz wrote. The Super Bowl matchup listed by ESPN was between the Seahawks and Patriots.
That gives the ranking a tidy twist: the Patriots are both a recent Super Bowl team and ESPN’s top roster for young talent. Houston, meanwhile, remains right behind them at No. 2 despite losing the top slot.
Schatz stressed that young talent is not a requirement for being a top title contender. ESPN’s current favorite to win Super Bowl LXI is ranked last in under-25 talent, according to the analysis, with the piece pointing to veteran strength as the tradeoff.
How ESPN says the list was built
Schatz said the ranking uses a mix of measures tied to players younger than 25. The methodology cited by ESPN includes:
- The number of starts made by players under 25.
- The number of snaps played by players under 25.
- The quality of play from under-25 players, adjusted for age.
The idea, according to Schatz, is to look beyond who is winning right now and measure which clubs have young players already contributing, with room to grow.
Schatz, who has more than 20 years of experience in NFL analytics, is the creator of the DVOA and DYAR metrics and serves as chief analytics officer at FTN Network, according to ESPN.
This story draws on original reporting from ESPN.com.