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Rick Scuteri/Associated Press

In the National Football League, youth is king.

Sure, there are plenty of veteran stars in the league on both sides of the ball. Tom Brady is on the wrong side of 40 and still chugging along. Chandler Jones of the Arizona Cardinals paced the league with 17 sacks in his sixth season in 2017. Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown (the gold standard at the position) turns 30 in July.

In addition to experience, all those players share another thing in common—massive salaries.

In today's era of the salary cap and team-friendly rookie deals, acquiring a young star is doubly advantageous. Not only does that player make an impact himself, but the money the team saves on his contract can be used to patch other holes.

The Los Angeles Rams are a case study in that edge in 2018—the money they aren't paying Jared Goff and Todd Gurley helped pave the way for the addition of Ndamukong Suh.

Both of those young studs make an appearance in this article. Included here you'll find the best of the young guns. Many will be the superstars of tomorrow. Some are already there.

Ranking these youngsters is an admittedly subjective exercise. After all, some have only had one year to show what they can do. Others have been up and down. Others still more consistent but less meteoric.

But that doesn't mean we shouldn't try. And try we have, with the top 25 players in the NFL who have yet to celebrate their 25th birthdays.