Snap-Weighted Age Reveals how Broncos Relied More on Older vs. Younger Players
The Denver Broncos' 2021 season featured a mix of young and old players in the starting lineup. In plenty of instances, older players missed time or underperformed, resulting in younger players stepping into the lineup.
But how did the Broncos compared in terms of roster age with the rest of the NFL? Turns out they were league average, when measured by snap-weighted age.
Bryan Knowles of Football Outsiders examined each team's roster throughout the 2021 season, calculating a team's age by weighting the age of each player by the number of snaps played during the regular season. Snap-weighted age allows one to see the trends in how teams build their rosters.
The Broncos ranked 16th overall with a snap-weighted age of 26.3, which is just a tad lower than the league-wide metric of 26.4. They ranked 23rd on offense with a snap-weighted age of 26.1 (below the league-wide metric of 26.6), ninth on defense at 26.9 (above the league-wide metric of 26.4), and 24th on special teams at 25.6 (below the league-wide metric of 26.1).
It's not surprising that the Broncos were older on defense than offense, given that a number of recent draft picks took the majority of snaps on offense, while more veterans acquired in free agency or on second contracts from the Broncos played a lot of defensive snaps.
This season, though, things could change with how the snap-weighted age metric takes shape, given that the Broncos have moved on from certain defensive players, while acquiring several older players on offense — a notable one in particular.
Getting to the offense, quarterback Russell Wilson will be 34 years old, replacing Teddy Bridgewater, who entered the 2021 season at age 28, and Drew Lock, who was 24 at the start of the 2021 season (both former QBs turned a year older in November of 2021).
We can also look at snap-weighted age by position to get an idea about the roster makeup for 2022. Sticking with the offense, running back for the Broncos had a snap-weighted age of 24.4 — one of the youngest positional groups.
That number could go lower this season for the simple fact that the Broncos have yet to re-sign Melvin Gordon and may very well draft his replacement. Mike Boone is currently the oldest running back on the Broncos roster at 27 years old.
Tight end was also a young positional group last season, at 24.8 in 2021. That one may go up in 2022, after the Broncos traded Noah Fant, didn't bring back Eric Saubert and added 30-year-old Eric Tomlinson — though if the Broncos draft a tight end, it may not raise the metric that much.
As for the defense, it featured the Broncos' oldest positional group, the defensive line. The snap-weighted age of 28.0 included Shelby Harris, Shamar Stephen, and Mike Purcell, all of whom were 30 last season. With 27-year old D.J. Jones signign with the Broncos and Harris and Stephen both gone, that positional group's snap weighted age may drop.
The same could be true for the defensive backs, which had a snap-weighted age of 27. Kareem Jackson, Bryce Callahan, and Kyle Fuller accounted for a good amount of defensive snaps last season. Jackson has turned 34, Callahan will be 31, and Fuller will be 30 this season.
In other words, the snap-weighted age metric indicates that the Broncos relied more on experience on the defensive side of the ball, while looking to younger players on offense.
On defense this year, that trend appears to be changing, with newcomer K'Waun Williams being the only addition who is at least 30 years old now (though Randy Gregory will be 30 in November). Meanwhile, on offense, the Broncos added multiple players who are 30 years or older: Wilson, Tomlinson, Billy Turner, Tom Compton, and Josh Johnson.
Add to this the fact that Garett Bolles and Graham Glasgow will be 30 this season and it may be that the Broncos' offense is likely to rely more on older players in 2022.
It's a reminder to Broncos fans that you may see more turnover on one side of the ball after 2022 than the other. Several of the Broncos' free-agent acquisitions on offense are playing under one-year deals, plus there's the chance that Glasgow could be cut next year. That could mean new starters on offense at certain positions — perhaps some that come out of this year's draft class.
Also, there's a chance you could see a change in specialists, given that Sam Martin will be 32 years old this season while Brandon McManus will be 31. Martin could be more likely gone if a younger punter emerges, but with McManus, it's a change that could happen down the road.
The Takeaway
Regardless, the snap-weighted age gives some insight into how teams build their rosters, where they rely on older veterans and where they rely more on younger players, particularly recent draft picks.
In 2021, it wasn't hard to see that the Broncos relied more on older players on defense. But the way things are taking shape in 2022, it sure looks like that will switch from defense to offense.
It will be a while before we get a better idea — that will be after training camp and the preseason, when the Broncos finalize their 53-man roster.
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