2025 NFL Free Agency: The 10 Best 25-and-Under Players in This Year’s Class – Bleacher Report
Source: Bleacher Report
Super Bowl LIX is complete, the Philadelphia Eagles are NFL champions, and the 2025 offseason has officially begun. Over the next few months, the league’s other 31 teams will try piecing together rosters capable of getting to where the Eagles currently are.
Free agency will be a big part of that process. The 2025 salary cap is expected to rise to as much as $275 million, and a number of potential difference-makers are expected to be available. Franchises hoping to find long-term success, however, may look to skew younger this offseason.
The good news is that several of this year’s top impending free agents are only entering their playing primes. Whether they actually reach free agency remains to be seen, but a number of proven playmakers who should still have long careers ahead of them are scheduled to hit the open market.
Here, we’ll rank the top 10 impending free agents who will be 25 or younger when free agency officially opens on March 12. Factors like past production, player upside, health and positional value were all considered.
New Orleans Saints cornerback Paulson Adebo will carry some questions into free agency. The 25-year-old (26 in July) suffered a broken femur seven games into the 2024 season—though he was already back to running by early February.
Adebo also has a tendency to hold, which can lead to multiple penalties in a single game.
That said, Adebo has been one of the NFL’s most underrated cornerbacks when at his best. He has recorded 10 interceptions and an impressive 43 passes defended in 52 career games. He allowed an opposing passer rating of just 71.9 in coverage this past season and a rating of 62.7 in 2023.
Adebo has also improved as a tackler. He was credited with 19 missed tackles over his first two seasons but only nine over the last two—though, as noted, his 2024 campaign was cut short.
Teams may have to accept the reality that Adebo’s aggressive style of play will lead to penalties, and they may not be eager to offer a long-term contract because of his latest injury. However, good, young perimeter corners aren’t easy to find, and Adebo can be a legitimate difference-maker in the secondary.
It might be a bit surprising to learn that pass-rusher Chase Young won’t turn 26 until April. The 2020 second overall pick and Defensive Rookie of the Year is already on his third franchise, having signed a one-year with the Saints last offseason.
Young spent his first three-and-a-half seasons with the Washington Commanders but was traded to the San Francisco 49ers ahead of the 2023 deadline.
While Young flashed a tremendous amount of potential during his rookie campaign, his stock took some major hits in the ensuing years. He suffered a torn ACL in 2021 and missed the majority of the 2022 season while recovering. Washington then declined the fifth-year option on his rookie contract and flipped him to San Francisco the following season.
However, Young managed to revitalize his career in New Orleans, despite playing for a team that struggled overall. He appeared in all 17 games and finished with 5.5 sacks, 21 quarterback hits and 34 QB pressures.
Young players who can get after opposing quarterbacks will always have value. And while Young hasn’t played up to his draft status just yet, there’s still time for him to emerge as an NFL force.
Teams will undoubtedly have questions regarding the ability of Ernest Jones IV to stick with a team. The 25-year-old (26 in November) has been traded twice within the last calendar year.
Jones was a full-time starter for the Los Angeles Rams in 2023 but was traded to the Tennessee Titans in the offseason. Tennessee then flipped him to the Seattle Seahawks for linebacker Jerome Baker ahead of the 2024 trade deadline.
However, Jones has been productive wherever and whenever he’s been given an opportunity. His quick emergence with Seattle this past season should sit well with teams seeking a linebacker who can make an instant impact.
Jones was an immediate starter in Seattle and finished with 94 tackles, an interception and a forced fumble in 10 starts with the franchise. He’s topped 100 tackles in each of the past four seasons and has been more than adequate in coverage—he allowed an opposing passer rating of just 81.0 with the Seahawks this past season.
While Jones only offers limited value as a pass-rusher, he will be one of the top off-ball linebackers in this year’s free-agent class. That’s if he doesn’t sign an extension with Seattle first.
“We’re going to get it done,” Jones said in January, per Gregg Bell of The News Tribune. “I’m going to be a Seahawk. I firmly believe that.”
Los Angeles Chargers cornerback Asante Samuel Jr. probably would have been more coveted if he was able to hit the market last offseason. The 25-year-old (26 in October) appeared in only four games this past season because of a shoulder injury and didn’t seem to mesh with new defensive coordinator Jesse Minter.
Samuel has also yet to address his penchant for missed
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