Cleveland Browns Greg Newsome II really is still a kid

Cleveland Browns first-round draft pick Greg Newsome II is still only 20 years old, and will surely get better.  

Cleveland Browns first round draft pick Greg Newsome may be worth millions now, but he cannot legally drink beer in the State of Ohio for a few more days, since he will not turn 21 until May 18.  We was the youngest cornerback in the first two rounds, as you can see from the table below.

One of the world’s easiest but most often overlooked analytics stat is the age of the prospect compared to his peers. There is a huge difference between a 21-year-old and a 22-year-old athletically.

If you draft a cornerback who is 22 years old, he will very likely be closer to the top of his game, while the 21-year-old is further away, but can be expected to have greater potential for improvement down the road. Cornerback is a lot like being a martial artist, in that the corner has to be a master at reading the quarterback as well as the receiver, while anticipating and outfighting the receiver for the ball.  The point is, it takes time to learn how to play the position. It does not happen overnight.

Those of you who played high school sports can attest to the fact that you were way more dominant as a senior than as a junior. That process continues in college, as freshmen are not nearly as strong or capable as seniors.

Moreover, it does not stop at graduation.

The website socalledfantasyexperts.com examined Pro Football Focus grades and concluded that cornerbacks tend to peak at about age 27, not right out of college as some fans seem to think.

In the table below, Greg Newsome II is the youngest of all cornerbacks in the first and second round. He will not turn 21 until next May 18.

Hence, even though he is now worth millions of dollars, he is not allowed to legally drink beer in the State of Ohio. Sorry about that, Greg. But moderation is a good policy, in any case.

Player   University               Round/Overall  NFL Team Date of birth (age)

Jaycee Horn, Kentucky                    1/ 8        Carolina         Nov 26,1999  (21)
Patrick Surtain II, Alabama,           1/9          Broncos        April 14, 2000 (21)                                            Caleb Farley  Virginia Tech             1/22       Titans            Nov 2,1998 (22)
Greg Newsome II, Northwestern 1/26       Browns         May18 2000 (20).                                               Eric Stokes, Georgia                        1/29       Green Bay    March 1,1999 (22)

Tyson Campbell, Georgia                2/33       Jaguars        March 17, 2000  (21)                                              Kelvin Joseph                                      2/44       Dallas           November 11, 1999 (21)                          Asante Samuel Jr., FSU                     2/47       Chargers     October 3, 1999 ( 21)

Patrick Surtain is only a month older than Newsome, so it figures that those two might be more apt to have a somewhat higher ceiling than the others. Caleb Farley and Eric Stokes, on the other hand, are a little older than the others and might be a bit closer to their peak.

In year one, it might be expected that Farley and Stokes might out-perform Surtain and Newsome, but over a five-year period Surtain and Newsome might continue to improve and eventually overtake Farley and Stokes in the rankings.