Last season, the Detroit Lions fielded one of the NFL’s youngest overall rosters of the last 20 years. On defense, there was just one player over 30 years old.
That player, Michael Brockers, is no longer in Detroit. And as a result, the Lions remain skewed precociously young on the defensive side of the ball.
As of July 30th, there are six defensive players who are 28 years old. The greybeard is journeyman defensive lineman Christian Covington, all 29 years old of him. Covington is no lock to make the final 53, either.
The bulk of the 28-year-olds represent the leadership on the defense. Alex Anzalone and Charles Harris are players the coaching staff trust and depend upon to help bring along the young players and keep developing. Tracy Walker is a team captain. Newcomer Cam Sutton has captain written all over him, too. Romeo Okwara has tremendous experience to offer as a washout with a former team who emerged as a force, only to lose significant time to injuries. Jalen Reeves-Maybin is back in the den to help lead the special teams unit — provided he makes the team.
Anzalone, Harris, Reeves-Maybin and Sutton all hail from the NFL draft class of 2017, meaning they’re 28 but already entering their seventh professional seasons. Okwara was a rookie in 2016, giving him an extra year of experience. It’s an asset of drafting younger players, even if the Lions themselves only drafted Reeves-Maybin (and Walker, in 2018).
The coaching staff being comprised of so many former players — and recently active players at that — helps mitigate any potential void of veteran experience or aged wisdom with such a young roster. The Lions do have cap room to consider signing an older veteran if they choose, but thus far Detroit has shown little inclination to add anyone on defense. These Lions are willing to sacrifice a little older experience for youthful potential.