The Cleveland Browns are in a position to compete for a lot of things in 2021. The AFC North title, the playoffs, the AFC Championship game and the Super Bowl are all within reason for the team. This Cleveland team isn’t a team of hype, the 2020 season proved that they have the recipe for success and they’ve done nothing but build on it.
Despite those lofty, attainable goals, the Browns are still a team full of young players. A quick look at their roster page shows only seven players age 30 or older with backup quarterback Case Keenum leading the way at 33. Of those seven, only Malik Jackson, JC Tretter and Troy Hill are expected to be starters.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, Cleveland has 11 players that are 22 years old or younger on their initial 53-man roster. That includes Anthony Schwartz who is still only 20 years old. Many of those 22 years of age and younger are expected to be key contributors including Greg Newsome II, Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, Donovan Peoples-Jones, Jedrick Wills Jr. and Schwartz.
While expected to compete for the Super Bowl, the Browns still have the fourth-youngest roster in the NFL, according to a report:
The average age of each #NFL roster…
(via @AWalkerColts) pic.twitter.com/D5Q6nAir4Q
— NFL Stats (@NFL_Stats) September 1, 2021
While there are only slight differences, with 22 of the 32 teams with an average age under 26 years old, it is still a telling sign. Of the top ten youngest teams, there are only four teams with realistic expectations to compete for the playoffs this year (Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, Los Angeles Rams). While anything can happen in the NFL, the rest of the top ten is filled with teams trying to build to competitiveness.
In the past, the Browns stayed young as they tried to build their team up to competitive standards. Now that they are there, they are still a young team compared to the rest of the league.