Youngest NFL players: Jets RB Braelon Allen tops list for 2024

The New York Jets and Tennessee Titans were tied at 17 late in the fourth quarter of their Week 2 matchup when New York made a consequential play call.

With just under five minutes left in the game, the Jets decided to run the ball with their backup running back Braelon Allen rather than starter Breece Hall.

Allen paid off the decision. His offensive line opened up a massive hole on the right side and the Wisconsin product scampered through it before finding his way to the end zone to give the Jets a lead they would not relinquish.

In doing so, Allen became the youngest player in NFL history to score two touchdowns in a single game. That record might be hard to beat given Allen's age and the barriers for entry the NFL has in place specifically to keep players from breaking into the league at too young an age.

Here's what to know about the NFL's youngest players for the 2024 season.

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Who is the youngest player in football?

Braelon Allen is the youngest player in the NFL for the 2024 season. The Jets rookie is the lone 20-year-old playing in the league, as he won't turn 21 until Jan. 20, 2025.

Allen played collegiately at Wisconsin and was selected in the fourth round of the 2024 NFL draft by the Jets. He ran for 3,494 yards and 35 touchdowns on 597 carries with the Badgers, and established himself as a professional prospect thanks to his massive 6-foot-1, 235-pound frame.

Allen opened the season as New York's primary backup running back and figures to get a handful of touches each game as a complement to the third-year star. He became the youngest player in NFL history to score two touchdowns in a game in the Jets' 24-17 Week 2 win over the Titans.

It isn't easy for young players to break into the NFL. The league has specific barriers for entry that stipulate players must be at least three years removed from high school to be eligible for the NFL draft.

The goal of this policy is to ensure that players who make it to the pros are ready for the level of physicality that the NFL offers.

Of course, some players have found ways to skirt those requirements to get to the league faster. Completing high school early and reclassifying to a different year is the most popular way for players to get to the NFL a year early, but even then, the league's barriers for entry have largely prevented teenagers from making it to the league.

But 20 year olds like Allen? They are becoming slightly more common in the NFL.

Youngest NFL players in 2024

Denver Broncos running back Audric Estime was the only other NFL player close to 20 years old when the season started. He saw his first action with the Denver Broncos on Sept. 8, just two days after his 21st birthday.

The NFL's 25 youngest players as of Sept. 1 were all less than 22 years old. They are as follows:

• Braelon Allen, RB, Jets (20 years, 225 days)

• Audric Estime, RB, Broncos (20 years, 360 days)

• Nate Wiggins, CB, Ravens (21 years, 4 days)

• Cam Little, K, Jaguars (21 years, 15 days)

• Malik Nabers, WR, Giants (21 years, 35 days)

• Trey Benson, RB, Cardinals (21 years, 42 days)

• Keon Coleman, WR, Bills (21 years, 107 days)

• Calen Bullock, S, Texans (21 years, 124 days)

• Xavier Worthy, WR, Chiefs (21 years, 127 days)

• Mekhi Wingo, DT, Lions (21 years, 137 days)

• Jonah Elliss, OLB, Broncos (21 years, 151 days).

• Jaylen Wright, RB, Dolphins (21 years, 153 days)

• Ja'Tavion Sanders, TE, Panthers (21 years, 158 days)

• Blake Fisher, OT, Texans (21 years, 160 days)

• Terrion Arnold, CB, Lions (21 years, 163 days)

• Joe Alt, OT, Chargers (21 years, 186 days)

• Trevin Wallace, LB, Panthers (21 years, 192 days)

• James Williams, LB, Titans (21 years, 199 days)

• Cooper DeJean, CB, Eagles (21 years, 206 days)

• JC Latham, OT, Titans (21 years, 206 days)

• Troy Franklin, WR, Broncos (21 years, 208 days)

• Dallas Turner, EDGE, Vikings (21 years, 212 days)

• Kamari Lassiter, CB, Texans (21 years, 222 days)

• Kingsley Suamataia, OT, Chiefs (21 years, 227 days)

• Chop Robinson, EDGE, Dolphins (21 years, 243 days)

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Youngest players in NFL history

Pre-Super Bowl era

Jim Snyder is officially the youngest player to see NFL action. He was just 16 when he suited up for the Milwaukee Badgers during the 1925 season. He played just one game, and his statistical output is unknown.

The NFL had 23 total teenagers play during its early days, according to Stathead. None have done so since 1944, when 19-year-old Tom Bedore and 18-year-old Frank Santora played for Washington and Boston Yanks, respectively.

Super Bowl era

Amobi Okoye is the youngest NFL player of the Super Bowl era. The Houston Texans selected him 10th overall in the 2007 NFL draft when the Louisville product was just 19. The defensive tackle turned 20 on June 10th of that year but made his NFL debut at 20 years, 91 days old.

Okoye played six NFL seasons with the Texans and Chicago Bears, totaling 177 tackles and 16 sacks. He is one of just five 20-year-old players to see the field since the Super Bowl era, along with Allen, Arthur Brown, Tremaine Edmunds and Kevin Jefferson.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Meet the youngest player in the NFL, Jets RB Braelon Allen