Atlanta Falcons: The average age of each defensive position

One of the biggest things to watch for the 2023 Atlanta Falcons is their defense and how they perform following another disappointing and inconsistent season.

It is hard to imagine them not improving from their performance last year. Following the retirement of Dean Pees, the Falcons brought in Ryan Nielsen to be their defensive coordinator and then proceeded to spend a boatload of money on that side of the ball. That spent money has also changed the average age of each position for the defense, which is what we are reviewing here—with the special teams thrown in as well.

The average age of each of the Atlanta Falcons defensive and special teams positions

The Atlanta Falcons deployed a blend of young and veteran players on defense last year with the likes of the two young safeties, some young edge rushers, and then older players like Grady Jarrett and Rashaan Evans.

Surprisingly, the starting lineup didn't necessarily get younger this offseason. Terry Fontenot brought in Jessie Bates (who is just slightly older than the other safeties), Calais Campbell, and David Onyemata who will all raise the average age a tick.

Let's get right to it and look at the average age of each defensive position and the average age of the special teams (kicker, punter, & long snapper) as we stand right now. As I mentioned in the offensive edition, this takes the exact age of each player (down to the day of writing this) to average the age of each position.

Average age of each defensive position:

• Average age of entire defense: 26.1
• Average age of special teams: 26.94

If you looked back on the offensive portion of this, then you know how much younger they are compared to the defense, which isn't surprising. It is a good strategy back the front office; bring in young, talented offensive playmakers and then fill the defense with some smart veterans.

It will be exciting to see how the construction of this roster plays out. Hopefully, the blend of youth and veterans will turn into immediate success so that they can break their long playoff drought.