Steelers now sport some of the best, young talent in the NFL
I vividly recall during the NFL off-season all of the pomp and circumstance surrounding the youth movement of the Cleveland Browns and how they are poised to take over the league throughout the upcoming years.
However, the Pittsburgh Steelers have been on their own youth movement as of late and have quietly assembled an arsenal of young studs.
Below I break down some of the key contributors on the Pittsburgh Steelers depth chart by both, positional group as well as their age when compared to the league average.
For this comparison, I used a study conducted by Hero Sports last December, so while the numbers aren’t 100% correct for the 2019 season, they still reflect a proper overview as players age one year heading into this year as well as younger players entering the league.
Offensive Line
David DeCastro (29), Matt Feiler (27), Ramon Foster (33), Maurkice Pouncey (30), Alejandro Villanueva (30)
Average Age: 29.8
NFL Average: 29.3
Believe it or not, this really isn’t a group of old men: yet. The season group of three Pro Bowlers is on the money when it comes to the league average age.
QB Mason Rudolph (24)
NFL Average: 33.1
With Rudolph stepping in for 37-year-old Ben Roethlisberger, the Steelers become substantially younger at the quarterback position. His backup, Devlin Hodges, is only 23.
Running Backs
James Conner (24), Jaylen Samuels (23)
Average Age: 23.3
NFL Average: 23.5
Benny Snell Jr. is 21 years old and would drop the average to 22.6.
Wide Receivers
JuJu Smith-Schuster (22), James Washington (23), Donte Moncrief (26), Ryan Switzer (24), Diontae Johnson (23)
Average Age: 23.6
NFL Average: 26.7
Donte Moncrief doesn’t skew this much: removing him lowers the average 0.6 to 23.0 even.
TE Vance McDonald (29)
NFL Average: 26.7
McDonald is basically the only option at the tight end position for the Steelers. Xavier Grimble is 26 and Zach Gentry, inactive for the first two games, is 23. That averages out to 26.0.
Defensive Line
Javon Hargrave (26), Cameron Heyward (30), Stephon Tuitt (26)
Average Age: 27.3
NFL Average: 27.6
Inside Linebackers
Mark Barron (29), Devin Bush (21), Vince Williams (29)
Average Age: 26.3
NFL Average: 26.7
Outside Linebackers
Bud Dupree (26), T.J. Watt (24)
Average Age: 25.0
NFL Average: 27.3
Cornerbacks
Joe Haden (30), Steven Nelson (24), Artie Burns (24), Mike Hilton (25), Cameron Sutton (24)
Average Age: 25.4
NFL Average: 25.6
Safeties
Sean Davis (25), Terrell Edmunds (22), Minkah Fitzpatrick (22), Kameron Kelly (23)
Average Age: 23.0
NFL Average: 25.5
If you remove Davis, who was just placed on IR (with potential to return later this season) the average drops to a whopping 22.3, which is the youngest unit of contributors on the Steelers.
