The Eagles had the youngest defense in the NFL last year and finished No. 1 in the NFL in yards allowed and passing yards and won the Super Bowl.
So they did the only thing that made sense.
They got younger.
Depending on the outcome of a couple position battles, the Eagles could have 11 starters 28 or younger, 10 who are 26 or younger and as many as seven who are 24 or younger.
All of which is unprecedented in franchise history.
The Eagles have never gone through a season without anybody 29 or older starting at least 12 games (or 10 games before 1978).
This team’s oldest guaranteed defensive starter is 28-year-old Zack Baun, although 29-year-old Adoree’ Jackson could beat out Kelee Ringo for a starting cornerback spot.
But if Ringo wins that job, you’re looking at a starting defense averaging either 24.2 or 23.9 years old, depending who wins the second safety battle between Sydney Brown and Andrew Mukuba.
Until we know every other team’s defensive starters we can’t say for sure this will be the youngest defense in the NFL. But it is fair to say it’s unheard of for a Super Bowl favorite to be this young.
The projected defense has 10 starters who were in college as recently as 2021 and seven or eight who were in college in 2023.
“Young means energetic, hungry, chasing that second contract and trying to make the most of their rookie deal,” Baun said. “By the looks of it, I’m one of the oldest. I don’t know who’s starting at corner yet, but it’s crazy.
“I think having a young group is actually really good for this defense because Vic (Fangio) is so hard-nosed and he can be tough sometimes. Having young guys straight from college who are used to that, having been coached by (Georgia’s) Kirby Smart and or (former Alabama coach) Nick Saban. All those young guys are used to that college mentality and that’s kind of what Vic brings. I think it’s the veterans, the older guys, that are kind of like, ‘Nah, Vic.’ But I think it’s good for this defense.”
The youth on defense is the product of tremendous drafting and roster management over the last few years by Howie Roseman.
Baun and Jackson were both initially signed as budget free agents, but every other potential defensive starter is homegrown. That level of roster construction allowed Roseman to cut ties with older players like Josh Sweat, Milton Williams, Darius Slay, C.J. Gardner Johnson, Oren Burks, Isaiah Rodgers and Bryce Huff as well as absorb Brandon Graham’s retirement.
We won’t know until the season begins, but there’s no reason to think the lower-priced youngsters who are replacing those veterans can’t handle the challenge.
”We’ve seen it since Nick’s been here, that they want the best players to play, and they’re young players with incredible talent,” Roseman said before practice Wednesday. “That’s why you’re drafting guys high, and it’s a great opportunity for our young players to understand that playing time’s available.
“There’s not a day that goes by that we don’t talk about this roster, including in the offseason, and talk about what we’re looking for and what we’re seeing and what we really need. And so I think our message to our players is go compete, you know, and it doesn’t matter if they’re here one year or five years.
“Obviously I think on defense we only have three guys over 25 years old, but they’ve been playing football for a long time. … A lot of these guys, when you look down the defensive roster, they have continuity within each other. You watch some of the guys who played together, whether it was last year or together in college, and they have chemistry. They understand what the other guys are thinking.”
It’s not just the projected starting lineup that’s insanely young.
There are 42 defensive players currently on the 90-man roster and only five are older than 26. In addition to Baun, cornerback Parry Nickerson and Ogbo Okoronkwo are 30, Jackson is 29 and special teamer Patrick Johnson is 27. And only Baun is a roster lock.
“Every guy is here for a reason, picked by Howie and our team,” Nick Sirianni said. “We played young guys last year and we’ll play the guys that best help us win football games. That’s what we’re in the business of, winning football games. So the best guys that help us win football games will be the guys that are in there – young, old, middle, it doesn’t matter.”
Baun was drafted by the Saints and Blankenship was undrafted, so it’s possible the Eagles will start nine of their own draft picks on defense (or undrafted free agents, in Blankenship’s case), and Davis – who turned 25 in January – will be the oldest.
The only team since the inception of the 16-game schedule in 1978 to reach the playoffs without a defensive starter over 28 is the 2005 Bears, who went 11-5, won the NFC North and lost to the Panthers in the conference semifinal round.
“It’s crazy to think about,” Blankenship said. “There really aren’t a lot of negatives (having such a young defense). I would say there’s a lot more positives because the young guys are willing to work.
“Not saying the older guys aren’t, but the young guys are coming straight from college, they’re ready to be coached hard and ready to learn. So that’s what I’m having fun with.”
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