July 12, 2016
Matt Rourke/AP
The Eagles have a nice balance of youth and talent on their defensive front seven.
A few weeks ago, we took a detailed look at the average age of the Eagles' offensive starters compared with the rest of the NFL. It turned out that they have the second youngest skill position players in the NFL (if you cheat a little and use Carson Wentz instead of Sam Bradford), but the oldest offensive line in the NFL.
Today, we'll turn our attention to the defensive side of the ball, and more specifically, the defensive front seven. We used the depth charts at Ourlads.com for teams other than the Eagles. I find Ourlads to have the most accurate depth charts, but will occasionally disagree with their Eagles depth charts, so there can be some minor variance from team to team depending on some less than obvious choices at various starting positions.
Here were the results:
| Team | Average age | Team | Average age |
| Bills | 24.7 | Panthers | 26.7 |
| Chargers | 25 | Buccaneers | 26.7 |
| Steelers | 25.1 | Titans | 26.9 |
| Raiders | 25.3 | Bears | 27 |
| 49ers | 25.4 | Patriots | 27 |
| Jaguars | 25.6 | Broncos | 27 |
| Cardinals | 25.7 | Ravens | 27.3 |
| Cowboys | 25.9 | Vikings | 27.6 |
| Saints | 25.9 | Seahawks | 27.7 |
| Browns | 25.9 | Jets | 27.7 |
| Giants | 26 | Packers | 28 |
| Eagles | 26.1 | Redskins | 28.1 |
| Rams | 26.3 | Chiefs | 28.1 |
| Texans | 26.3 | Dolphins | 28.6 |
| Falcons | 26.4 | Bengals | 29 |
| Lions | 26.6 | Colts | 29.6 |
Here's how the Eagles look on their front seven, age-wise:
| Player | Position | Age |
| Connor Barwin | DE | 29 |
| Bennie Logan | DT | 26 |
| Fletcher Cox | DT | 25 |
| Vinny Curry | DE | 28 |
| Nigel Bradham | LB | 26 |
| Jordan Hicks | LB | 24 |
| Mychal Kendricks | LB | 25 |
Connor Barwin will turn 30 in October, but otherwise, the rest of the Eagles' front seven starters are all 28 years of age or younger. If you'd like to substitute Brandon Graham in for one of the defensive ends, he's 28.
The Eagles' best player, Fletcher Cox, is still only 25 years old and entering his prime. Jordan Hicks, who has to prove he can stay healthy, showed a whole lot of talent a season ago, and he's just 24. Mychal Kendricks meanwhile, has been in the league for four years. While Kendricks has been inconsistent, he has certainly shown impressive flashes of talent and he's still only 25.
Being young is fine and good, but it's meaningless if the players aren't any good. The Eagles have a nice mix of youth and talent in their defensive front seven.
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