The Cleveland Browns are not a franchise that is in a rebuilding phase.
Rather, the team has come together over the past few years and has one salient characteristic: youth.
Browns' foundational players 26 or under:
-Baker Mayfield
-Nick Chubb
-Kareem Hunt
-Austin Hooper
-Jack Conklin
-Wyatt Teller
-Jedrick Wills
-Myles Garrett
-Denzel Ward
-Ronnie Harrison
-John Johnson#Browns— Hayden Grove (@H_Grove) March 15, 2021
In this case, youth is not wasted on the young.
Is it any wonder John Johnson wanted to join this team?
At nearly ever position, there is youth.
Not rookie youth, youth that has weathered a little experience.
That is a great place to be.
How Did This Happen?
Well, it is a product of having a lot of early round draft picks in the past couple of years.
The draft picks were a result of less than stellar seasons.
For the most part, the draft picks have been successful.
(Johnny Manziel is excluded, of course.)
Youth Is Cheaper
One of the benefits of a youthful roster is less dollars spent on monstrous veteran contracts.
A handful of the players are still on their rookie contracts.
Colin Cowherd rarely has a point that resonates with me, but he is right about this.
The best time to win is with players on rookie deals.
As soon as players are beyond their rookie contracts, the team starts to suffer.
Paying a large sum of money to keep a player at a key position creates a shortage of funds to attract other players needed to win in those less glamorous positions on the offensive and defensive line.
One expensive player cannot win the Super Bowl; football will always be a team sport.
The Top Of The Organization Is Young
Another item of note about the youthfulness of the Cleveland Browns is that it starts at the top.
GM Andrew Berry is 33 years old.
NFL Coach of the Year Kevin Stefanski is 38 years old.
Andrew Berry is the best GM in the league. Change my mind. pic.twitter.com/MFg58BzKXb
— Preston (@PrestonByGod) March 15, 2021
The youthfulness of the Browns from the top down is one of the many elements that makes them exciting.
Young Players Still Get Injured
Some would argue that younger players are less likely to suffer serious injuries.
That theory does not work for the Browns.
Rookie safety Grant Delpit got injured in training camp in 2020.
He tore his Achilles tendon and was out for the season.
Ideally, the youthful players bounce back quicker and better from injury.
We certainly hope that is the case for Delpit.
How The Browns Rank In Age
Per Phillyvoice.com in 2020, the Jacksonville Jaguars 53 man roster was the youngest (on average) at 24.9 years.
Rounding out the top five youngest teams on average were the Miami Dolphins at 25.0 years, the Los Angeles Rams at 25.1 years, the Browns at 25.4 years, and the Green Bay Packers at 25.5 years.
If you are wondering how the Super Bowl teams ranked, the Kansas City Chiefs were 16th at 25.9 years and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were 26th at 26.3 years.
The oldest team each of the last three seasons was the Atlanta Falcons in 2020, the New England Patriots in 2019, and the Oakland Raiders in 2018.
In the end, no one cares how old the players are.
The only numbers that matter are wins and losses, but it is interesting to compare the ages of the teams.
NEXT: Report: Former Browns CB Terrance Mitchell To Sign With Texans