There have several changes in the Saints philosophy since Coach Kellen Moore arrived here in February 2025. Along with surrounding quarterback Tyler Shough with as many weapons on offense as possible, maybe an even higher priority was making this team younger.
The change in ranking over the past three seasons has made this clear and obvious. Heading into the 2024 season, New Orleans ranked fourth-oldest in the NFL, younger than only the Pittsburgh Steelers, Minnesota Vikings and Miami Dolphins. In 2023, the Saints were the oldest team in the NFL at an average of 27.4 years old.
As we sit just two months from the start of training camp 2026?
Three of those four teams have dramatically shifted that ranking, and one of them is the Saints, who currently sit at ninth-youngest in the league at 25.79 years old, according to Ian Hartitz of The Fantasy Life Show.
Average NFL roster age entering the 2026 season (sorted from youngest to oldest) pic.twitter.com/h74Tm35Dnu
— Ian Hartitz (@Ihartitz) May 6, 2026
(Interestingly, the Dolphins went from oldest to youngest, and the Vikings are now seventh-youngest. The Steelers remain in the oldest half.)
How does youth translate to winning? Interestingly, the Green Bay Packers were the youngest team in the NFL for three straight seasons after Aaron Rodgers left from 2023 through 2025 and made the playoffs all three campaigns.
Here’s a chart on the five youngest teams since 2022 and how they finished those respective seasons (spoiler alert: all but two had winning seasons):
(WC: Lost in wild-card round; DIV: Won division; CONF: Made conference title game; SB: Made Super Bowl.)
2025
Rank
Team
Avg Age
Record
1
Packers
25.3
9-7-1 (WC)
2
Jets
25.8
3-14
3
Seahawks
26.3
14-3 (SB)
4
Cowboys
26.4
7-9-1
5
Eagles
26.5
11-6 (DIV)
2024
Rank
Team
Avg Age
Record
1
Packers
24.9
11-6 (WC)
2
Bucs
25.4
10-7 (DIV)
3
Rams
25.5
10-7 (DIV)
4
Chiefs
25.5
15-2 (SB)
5
Eagles
25.5
14-3 (SB)
2023
Rank
Team
Avg Age
Record
1
Packers
25.0
9-8 (WC)
2
Rams
25.3
10-7 (WC)
3
Bengals
25.4
9-8
4
Colts
25.4
9-8
5
Seahawks
25.4
9-8
2022
Rank
Team
Avg Age
Record
1
Packers
25.0
9-8 (WC)
2
Rams
25.3
10-7 (WC)
3
Bengals
25.4
9-8
4
Colts
25.4
9-8
5
Seahawks
25.4
9-8
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