starter. What I mean is there isn’t some “oh, let’s give him a year or two to redshirt.” Every one of the recent examples played a significant number of games as a rookie. It wasn’t “you’re a backup this year,” it was “you will start as soon as you’re comfortable with enough of the playbook.”

If they aren’t playing day one (although many/most are), they’re starting by the halfway point of the season. That’s very different than what OP and others are suggesting.