Inside the Article:
We have certainly had some great players throughout the history of Detroit Sports, but, who are the current youngsters on the Detroit Pistons, Detroit Red Wings, Detroit Tigers, and Detroit Lions who will eventually go down in the history books as some of the all-time greats in Detroit history? While browsing Twitter, I came across a tweet from Jim Costa of 97.1 The Ticket, and he asked his followers to list their “Detroit Top 5 under 25”.
The 12 Finalists
When looking up and down the rosters of the Pistons, Red Wings, Tigers, and Lions, I was able to come up with a solid list of young players, but as you will see below, some are certainly more solid than others. In fact, some may not belong yet, such as Spencer Torkelson and Jameson Williams but I included them since they were first-round picks and are still young.
Here are the 12 finalists for our Detroit Sports Top 5 Under 25 list, in no particular order:
Detroit Pistons
Cade Cunningham, Jalen Duren, Jaden Ivey
Detroit Red Wings
Detroit Tigers
Spencer Torkelson, Tarik Skubal, Riley Greene
Detroit Lions
Aidan Hutchinson, Penei Sewell, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams
Detroit Sports Top 5 under 25
Ok, let me begin by saying that coming up with the top five from this list was VERY difficult, and ranking them in order was certainly a challenge. That being said, here are my Detroit Sports Top 5 under 25 for 2023.
3. Amon-Ra St. Brown
2. Cade Cunningham
1. Penei Sewell
To me, No. 1 on my Detroit Sports Top 5 Under 25 list was pretty simple. Sewell just turned 22 in October and he is already one of the top offensive linemen in the entire NFL. There is no question about it that if he can stay healthy, he will be a Pro Bowl tackle for the next decade, and maybe more.
Putting Cunningham at No. 2 caused me some pause because he’s only played one season and now he is out for the season with an injury. That being said, I am assuming that he will come back healthy and end up being a perennial NBA All-Star.
My biggest debate came at No. 3 as I tried to decide between Amon-Ra St. Brown and Moritz Seider, and to be honest, I still am debating if I got it right. As you can see above, I gave St. Brown the nod as he was phenomenal for the Lions this past season. Seider has the potential to be one of the best defensemen in Red Wings’ history and he is certainly deserving of a spot on this list.
At the No. 5 spot on my Detroit Sports Top 5 Under 25 list, I put Aidan Hutchinson, though I also considered Lucas Raymond and Riley Greene for the final spot. Hutchinson started off slow, but came on VERY strong during his rookie season, as he is now a finalist for the NFL Rookie of the Year award.
