Cowboys snap-weighted age is a great sign for future success

Youth is a valuable trait in professional sports. Young players are often at their cheapest, most athletic, and most promising points in their professional careers. There’s a natural optimism that surrounds young players. With yet-to-be fully developed skills, the sky is the limit for young rosters

The Cowboys value youth as much, if not more, than just about anyone else in the NFL. A team that prides themselves on their drafting, Dallas leans on young players significantly each and every season. It helps keep payroll under control and the needle pointed up.

Football Outsiders recently finalized the NFL’s snap-weighted age (SWA) numbers from 2022. SWA calculates the average age of each roster based on snap contributions. In other words, players who contribute the most, count the most and those buried on the depth chart, count little.

With an SWA of 25.9 years-old, they found the Cowboys were the eighth youngest team in the NFL. Not bad for a team that advanced to the divisional round of the post-season and finished sixth in DVOA. Of the playoff teams, only the Chiefs, Giants and Bengals were younger than Dallas.

The Eagles, who are the early NFC East favorites for 2023, finished the season with an SWA of 26.6, ranking 11^th oldest in the league. Their defense specifically ranked fairly aged, coming in as the fourth oldest (compared to Dallas which is the 10^th youngest).

Dallas had the distinction of being both young and successful in 2022, which is something every front office strives for and an excellent sign for continued success moving forward.

The Cowboys were the 8th youngest team in snap-weighted age (per Football Outsiders) last season and look to get even younger at a couple key positions in 2023. It’s another good sign for the future. pic.twitter.com/fhqRoKUHqv

— Reid D Hanson (@ReidDHanson) May 9, 2023

While the Cowboys added veterans like Brandin Cooks (29) and Stephon Gilmore (32) in the offseason, they also moved on from veterans such as Jason Peters, Anthony Barr and Carlos Watkins. With a new full class of rookies joining the roster, Dallas will likely maintain their standing as one of the younger postseason-bound teams in 2023.

With youth, hope springs eternal. The Cowboys are advantageously situated to be young and stay young for the foreseeable future.  While this doesn’t assure them of success going forward, it’s a good sign and a strong indicator the team is well-constructed and the future will remain bright in…