Yesterday, we looked at the age-adjusted offenses from 2017. Today we do the same for defenses, just like we did last year. Here’s how I opened that column:
Being young isn’t by itself a virtue: the Browns ranked in the bottom 5 in points allowed, yards allowed, net yards per attempt allowed, net yards per rush allowed, turnovers forced, and first downs allowed. But Cleveland was, by far, the youngest defense in the NFL last season.
In 2016, the Browns defense had an average AV-adjusted age of just 25.2; the Falcons were the second-youngest defense at 25.8. In 2017, the Falcons again had an average AV-adjusted defense that was just 25.8 years old. But the Browns? That number dropped to just 24.5! The Browns defense was even younger than the Browns offense, and was by far the youngest unit in all of football:
| Rk | Team | AV | Avg Age |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cleveland Browns | 87 | 24.5 |
| 2 | New Orleans Saints | 99 | 25.5 |
| 3 | Dallas Cowboys | 100 | 25.6 |
| 4 | San Francisco 49ers | 84 | 25.7 |
| 5 | Atlanta Falcons | 97 | 25.8 |
| 6 | Detroit Lions | 99 | 25.9 |
| 7 | Green Bay Packers | 85 | 25.9 |
| 8 | New York Jets | 97 | 26 |
| 9 | Houston Texans | 84 | 26 |
| 10 | Indianapolis Colts | 82 | 26.1 |
| 11 | Pittsburgh Steelers | 103 | 26.1 |
| 12 | Jacksonville Jaguars | 135 | 26.2 |
| 13 | Los Angeles Chargers | 117 | 26.2 |
| 14 | New York Giants | 88 | 26.3 |
| 15 | Los Angeles Rams | 110 | 26.3 |
| 16 | New England Patriots | 104 | 26.4 |
| 17 | Oakland Raiders | 86 | 26.5 |
| 18 | Washington Redskins | 100 | 26.5 |
| 19 | Chicago Bears | 108 | 26.7 |
| 20 | Philadelphia Eagles | 121 | 27 |
| 21 | Tennessee Titans | 102 | 27.1 |
| 22 | Denver Broncos | 98 | 27.2 |
| 23 | Buffalo Bills | 89 | 27.3 |
| 24 | Cincinnati Bengals | 96 | 27.3 |
| 25 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 85 | 27.3 |
| 26 | Seattle Seahawks | 107 | 27.4 |
| 27 | Kansas City Chiefs | 93 | 27.4 |
| 28 | Baltimore Ravens | 116 | 27.4 |
| 29 | Minnesota Vikings | 125 | 27.6 |
| 30 | Miami Dolphins | 89 | 27.7 |
| 31 | Arizona Cardinals | 109 | 27.7 |
| 32 | Carolina Panthers | 96 | 28.7 |
We can look at the Browns defense in more depth, just as we did with the team’s offense yesterday: other than McCourty, nobody was even 28 years old on the defense.
| Player | Pos | 9/1 Age | AV | Tm Def AV | Perc | AgeWt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joe Schobert | OLB | 23.8 | 9 | 87 | 10.3% | 2.5 |
| Christian Kirksey | OLB | 25 | 7 | 87 | 8% | 2 |
| Jason McCourty | DB | 30.1 | 6 | 87 | 6.9% | 2.1 |
| Trevon Coley | DL | 23.1 | 6 | 87 | 6.9% | 1.6 |
| Jamar Taylor | CB | 26.9 | 5 | 87 | 5.7% | 1.5 |
| Carl Nassib | DE | 24.4 | 5 | 87 | 5.7% | 1.4 |
| Danny Shelton | DT | 24 | 5 | 87 | 5.7% | 1.4 |
| Jabrill Peppers | SS | 21.9 | 5 | 87 | 5.7% | 1.3 |
| Nate Orchard | OLB | 24.7 | 4 | 87 | 4.6% | 1.1 |
| Emmanuel Ogbah | DE | 23.8 | 4 | 87 | 4.6% | 1.1 |
| Derrick Kindred | SS | 23.7 | 4 | 87 | 4.6% | 1.1 |
| James Burgess | LB | 23.5 | 4 | 87 | 4.6% | 1.1 |
| Myles Garrett | DE | 21.7 | 4 | 87 | 4.6% | 1 |
| Jamie Collins | OLB | 27.3 | 3 | 87 | 3.4% | 0.9 |
| Briean Boddy-Calhoun | DB | 24.6 | 3 | 87 | 3.4% | 0.8 |
| Larry Ogunjobi | DT | 23.2 | 2 | 87 | 2.3% | 0.5 |
| Caleb Brantley | DT | 23 | 2 | 87 | 2.3% | 0.5 |
| Kai Nacua | FS | 22.5 | 2 | 87 | 2.3% | 0.5 |
| Charley Hughlett | LS | 27.3 | 1 | 87 | 1.1% | 0.3 |
| Jamie Meder | DT | 26.4 | 1 | 87 | 1.1% | 0.3 |
| Derron Smith | FS | 25.6 | 1 | 87 | 1.1% | 0.3 |
| Ibraheim Campbell | SS | 25.3 | 1 | 87 | 1.1% | 0.3 |
| Mike Jordan | DB | 24.9 | 1 | 87 | 1.1% | 0.3 |
| Deon King | LB | 24.2 | 1 | 87 | 1.1% | 0.3 |
| B.J. Bello | LB | 22.8 | 1 | 87 | 1.1% | 0.3 |
In 2018, Collins will be the oldest player on defense, and he turns 29 in October. The Browns selected Myles Garrett and Jabrill Peppers in the first round last year, and both will still be 22 when the season starts; this year, Cleveland took 21-year-old cornerback Denzel Ward with the 4th overall pick. As a result, the Browns should once against have one of the youngest defenses in the NFL.
As for Carolina? The 2017 Panthers had five major contributors who were in their 30s: LB Thomas Davis (34.4 last year), S Mike Adams (36.4), DE Mario Addison (30.0), DE Julius Peppers (37.6), and DE Charles Johnson (31.1). All but Johnson are returning this year, and the 2018 Panthers defense will also rely on three other members of the secondary (in addition to Adams) who are in their 30s in Colin Jones and Captain Munnerlyn and Da’Norris Searcy.
Carolina only had three regular defensive players — James Bradberry, Shaq Thompson, and Daryl Worley — that you could reasonably label as young (under 26 at the start of the season). The Panthers selected cornerback Donte Jackson in the second round this year, but otherwise, that doesn’t look super likely to change much. Expect the Panthers defense to be very old in 2018, unless injuries hit so hard that the team is forced to rely on younger players.