KC Chiefs have NFL’s 10th youngest roster

The Kansas City Chiefs have the 10th youngest roster in the entire NFL, at least when comparing the initial 53-man rosters.

The deadline has passed. The transactions have been submitted. Each and every NFL team is now compliant with the league’s 53-man roster demands as of Tuesday evening, which means we can begin to contrast and compare active rosters in various ways.

One such way is to chart just how old each team is on average, and this year, the Kansas City Chiefs are ranked as the 10th-youngest overall roster in the game, according to Spotrac.

This should come as no surprise to fans who’ve watched the Chiefs lean into a youth movement while retaining their ability to win all throughout the offseason. The intentional plan all along was to get younger and more athletic on the defensive side of the ball, but the Chiefs also gained further draft assets when the market became too expensive to extend Tyreek Hill at wide receiver, thus leading to further changes (and younger players brought in). The secondary is particularly green for the Chiefs heading into the season with five defensive backs drafted.

Right now, Chad Henne is the most experienced player on the team at the age of 37. Long snapper James Winchester is next at 33, tied with defensive end Carlos Dunlap. The Chiefs have four more players who are 30 or older, including tight end Travis Kelce and fullback Michael Burton. On the flip side, the Chiefs have four rookies who are all 21 and each is expected to be an instant contributor—from Trent McDuffie and George Karlaftis to Skyy Moore and Leo Chenal.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and New England Patriots employ the oldest overage rosters in the NFL. Meanwhile, the Detroit Lions and Cleveland Browns have the two youngest.