My uneducated guess is that defenders often start at other positions (e.g., striker or midfielder) before shifting to defense because of some limitation in their game. The TFC academy has really only started producing players with decent ability the past few years, so they've generally played in more advanced positions because there hasn't necessarily been someone else blocking them for playing time in the academy teams. For example, maybe if we had another strong wing prospect, Jayden Nelson maybe would have been developed as a RB.Originally Posted by Kamp Berg
Along with that, I think defenders generally peak at a later age than midfielders or defenders. There aren't a ton of top teams in the world that are running out 20/21 year olds as a starting CB, whereas you see Foden and Vinicius starting for City and Real.
