After each of the last six years, I’ve presented the AV-adjusted age of each roster in the NFL. Measuring team age in the NFL is tricky. You don’t want to calculate the average age of a 53-man roster and call that the “team age” because the age of a team’s starters is much more relevant than the age of a team’s reserves. The average age of a team’s starting lineup isn’t perfect, either. The age of the quarterback and key offensive and defensive players should count for more than the age of a less relevant starter. Ideally, you want to calculate a team’s average age by placing greater weight on the team’s most relevant players.
My solution has been to use the Approximate Value numbers from Pro-Football-Reference.com, and to calculate age using each player’s precise age as of September 1 of the year in question. Today, we will look at offenses; tomorrow, we will crunch these same numbers for team defenses. The table below shows the average AV-adjusted age of each offense, along with its total number of points of AV. In 2017, the Browns, Jaguars, and Texans were the three youngest offenses, with Cleveland really standing out.
| Rk | Team | AV | Avg Age |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cleveland Browns | 64 | 25.2 |
| 2 | Jacksonville Jaguars | 101 | 25.8 |
| 3 | Houston Texans | 88 | 26.1 |
| 4 | Los Angeles Rams | 130 | 26.3 |
| 5 | Carolina Panthers | 115 | 26.3 |
| 6 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 98 | 26.3 |
| 7 | Chicago Bears | 76 | 26.3 |
| 8 | Seattle Seahawks | 97 | 26.4 |
| 9 | Indianapolis Colts | 80 | 26.5 |
| 10 | Dallas Cowboys | 110 | 26.6 |
| 11 | Tennessee Titans | 93 | 26.7 |
| 12 | Kansas City Chiefs | 127 | 26.7 |
| 13 | New York Giants | 70 | 26.7 |
| 14 | Cincinnati Bengals | 88 | 26.9 |
| 15 | Green Bay Packers | 101 | 27 |
| 16 | Detroit Lions | 107 | 27 |
| 17 | Minnesota Vikings | 116 | 27.1 |
| 18 | Miami Dolphins | 78 | 27.1 |
| 19 | Philadelphia Eagles | 124 | 27.2 |
| 20 | Washington Redskins | 95 | 27.2 |
| 21 | Denver Broncos | 74 | 27.2 |
| 22 | San Francisco 49ers | 97 | 27.5 |
| 23 | Baltimore Ravens | 99 | 27.6 |
| 24 | Los Angeles Chargers | 106 | 27.7 |
| 25 | Oakland Raiders | 99 | 27.8 |
| 26 | New Orleans Saints | 135 | 27.9 |
| 27 | Pittsburgh Steelers | 123 | 27.9 |
| 28 | Atlanta Falcons | 118 | 28 |
| 29 | New York Jets | 84 | 28.2 |
| 30 | Buffalo Bills | 89 | 28.3 |
| 31 | New England Patriots | 143 | 28.4 |
| 32 | Arizona Cardinals | 74 | 29.1 |
How did the Browns get there? The table below shows every player on Cleveland’s offense last year to record any points of AV, along with their September 1st age. The final column is the product of their percentage of offensive AV multiplied by their 9/1 age; if you sum those numbers, you get the AV-adjusted average age of the offense. There were a few really young players (Kizer, Njoku) who helped, but the lack of contribution from anyone older than 28 is what moved the needle:
| Player | Pos | 9/1 Age | AV | Tm Off AV | Perc | AgeWt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kevin Zeitler | RG | 27.5 | 6 | 64 | 9.4% | 2.6 |
| J.C. Tretter | C | 26.6 | 6 | 64 | 9.4% | 2.5 |
| Joel Bitonio | LG | 25.9 | 6 | 64 | 9.4% | 2.4 |
| Shon Coleman | RT | 25.8 | 6 | 64 | 9.4% | 2.4 |
| Duke Johnson | RB | 23.9 | 6 | 64 | 9.4% | 2.2 |
| Spencer Drango | LT | 24.9 | 5 | 64 | 7.8% | 1.9 |
| Isaiah Crowell | RB | 24.6 | 5 | 64 | 7.8% | 1.9 |
| DeShone Kizer | QB | 21.7 | 5 | 64 | 7.8% | 1.7 |
| Joe Thomas | LT | 32.7 | 2 | 64 | 3.1% | 1 |
| Josh Gordon | WR | 26.4 | 2 | 64 | 3.1% | 0.8 |
| Seth Devalve | TE | 24.6 | 2 | 64 | 3.1% | 0.8 |
| Ricardo Louis | WR | 23.4 | 2 | 64 | 3.1% | 0.7 |
| Corey Coleman | WR | 23.2 | 2 | 64 | 3.1% | 0.7 |
| Rashard Higgins | WR | 22.9 | 2 | 64 | 3.1% | 0.7 |
| David Njoku | TE | 21.1 | 2 | 64 | 3.1% | 0.7 |
| Kenny Britt | WR | 29 | 1 | 64 | 1.6% | 0.5 |
| Austin Reiter | C | 25.8 | 1 | 64 | 1.6% | 0.4 |
| Kevin Hogan | QB | 24.9 | 1 | 64 | 1.6% | 0.4 |
| Kasen Williams | WR | 24.7 | 1 | 64 | 1.6% | 0.4 |
| Bryce Treggs | WR | 23.3 | 1 | 64 | 1.6% | 0.4 |
| Total | 100% | 25.2 |
And this year, Cleveland is once again going to be really young on offense, especially after using three premium draft picks on players (although all three are somewhat old for rookies; all will be 23 by the end of 2018). In addition to taking quarterback Baker Mayfield with the first overall pick in the Draft, the Browns also spent the 33rd pick on interior lineman Austin Corbett (he turns 23 in the December) and the 35th pick on RB Nick Chubb (also turns 23 in December).
The Browns made some veteran acquisitions, but they still only signed younger players. Cleveland added former Dolphins wide receiver Jarvis Landry (turns 26 in November) and ex-49ers running back Carlos Hyde (turning 28 in September). The team is littered with young talent in Gordon, Landry, Njoku, Johnson, and Chubb at the skill positions, even after trading Coleman to the Bills last night for a draft pick. And the offense line is full of players in their 20s, even after signing ex-Steeler Chris Hubbard (27) to play right tackle. Quarterback Tyrod Taylor (29) and backup TE Darren Fells (32) are the only players on offense expected to contribute who were born before 1990.
On the flip side, we have the 2017 Cardinals. Larry Fitzgerald (34.0), A.Q. Shipley (31.2), Carson Palmer (37.7), Alex Boone (30.3) and Jared Veldheer (30.3) helped make Arizona the oldest offense in football last season. Palmer, Boone, and Veldheer are gone, although the offensive line won’t be much younger by bringing back Mike Iupati (31) adding Justin Pugh (28) from New York and Andre Smith (31) from Cincinnati.