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As rookie minicamp wraps up, the Cincinnati Bengals have a new look at the youngest members of the team. The Bengals will have plenty of young players to fill out the depth of the roster.
The majority of the Bengals’ draft class came out as juniors. All four of their first picks, from Ja’Marr Chase to Cameron Sample, are only 21 years old. For comparison, Joe Burrow was 23 when he was drafted.
But where do the Bengals rank among the rest of the league?
According to rosters on team websites, the Bengals have the 12th-youngest roster in the NFL.
According to rosters on all 32 team websites, the #Colts currently are tied for the eighth-youngest roster in the NFL, with an average age of 24.98.
— Andrew Walker (@AWalkerColts) May 15, 2021
Here's the rest of the list, @JimIrsay. pic.twitter.com/5lN1Ga4qkS
The average age on the Bengals’ roster is only 25.04 years old. This makes them second in the division, behind only the Browns. The Steelers are ranked 20th, while the Ravens are ranked 27th. The Browns are in a three-way tie for eighth, so the Bengals are actually only two spots behind.
The Bengals core consisted of several veterans going into last season, like Andy Dalton, A.J. Green, and Carlos Dunlap. Now, all three are with other teams, which helps drive the Bengals’ average age down.
Not surprisingly, eight of the nine youngest players are rookies. Tee Higgins, at 22 years old, is the only experienced player under the age of 23.
The two oldest players on the Bengals’ roster are specialists. Long snapper Clark Harris and punter Kevin Huber are 36 and 35, respectively. Riley Reiff and Mike Daniels are next at 32 years old, followed by Xavier Su’a-Filo at 30 and Quinton Spain at 29.
Some of this data may not be entirely accurate right now. Numerous players on the team don’t have birthdays listed on the Bengals’ official website, specifically late-round draft picks and college free agents. The average age would like rise slightly.
The other thing to consider is that after training camp, a lot of these rookies will not survive roster cuts, so the average age will probably go up slightly.
This shows how much Zac Taylor has rebuilt this roster. He inherited a fairly old roster from Marvin Lewis, and for better or for worse, Taylor has let some experienced players go during the rebuild.