Raiders among top under-25 talented teams in NFL

Most any rebuild requires a team to load up on young talent. The Raiders are coming off a season in which they were the worst team in football. Making their roster a proving ground for hopefuls. Some of whom have already proven themselves at a young age and others who have the makings of breaking out this season.

Just how much young talent do the Raiders have? A recent ranking of under-25 talent put out by ESPN has them among the best.

ESPN ranked the Raiders sixth in the league for under-25 talent, up from 11th last season.

The top under-25 talent is TE Brock Bowers, RB Ashton Jeanty, and QB Fernando Mendoza.

Bowers being the only proven star of the bunch, while Jeanty and Mendoza appear poised for stardom.

We start with No. 1 pick Mendoza, who will turn 23 on Oct. 1. He comes into Las Vegas with high expectations after leading Indiana to its first national championship. Once he is firmly the QB1, he'll be handing the ball off to 22-year-old Jeanty and throwing it to three 23-year-olds: Bowers and wide receivers Jack Bech and Dont'e Thornton Jr. There's also a lot of youth on the Raiders' offensive line. Right guard Jackson Powers-Johnson is 23, right tackle DJ Glaze will be 24 in early August, and Charles Grant (24) and Caleb Rogers (24) might compete for jobs.

The two wide receivers are both entering their second season after lackluster rookie campaigns. Former 58 overall pick Jack Bech has the most potential of the two.

The offensive linemen is interesting because the two third-year starters will be fighting for their jobs against the two second-year linemen as well as rookie Trey Zuhn III (23). So, regardless of who wins, the Raiders figure to have at least two under-25 starters on their line and as many as six offensive starters.

This article originally appeared on Raiders Wire: Raiders among top under-25 talented teams in NFL