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How old is the Browns' offensive line compared to the rest of the NFL?

Scott R. Galvin-USA TODAY Sports

Every year, we take a look at how old the Cleveland Browns' offensive line is compared to the rest of the NFL. This year, the data was provided courtesy of Blogging the Boys, our Cowboys affiliate. First, let's take a look at the team's history.

Three years ago, the Browns were listed as having the 25th oldest offensive line with an average age of 27 years. Two years ago, the Browns had the 20th oldest offensive line in the NFL, with an average age of 26.4 years of age. Last year, the Browns had the 8th oldest offensive line in the NFL with an average age of 27.4 years.

This offseason, the Browns had two significant losses on the line with the departures of C Alex Mack and RT Mitchell Schwartz. Mack was getting up there in age, but Schwartz was still pretty young. What seems pretty certain in 2016 is the left tackle through right guard positions, while right tackle is a big question mark.

There are five different guys who are potentially competing for that spot -- Alvin Bailey (24), Shon Coleman (24), Spencer Drango (23), Michael Bowie (24), and Austin Pasztor (25). All of them are relatively young, so we'll assign the vacant right tackle spot an age of 24 years old.

Player Age Avg
Joe Thomas 31.8
Joel Bitonio 24.9
Cameron Erving 24.1
John Greco 31.5
(Unknown) 24.0
136.2 27.2

The ages were calculated as of opening day in 2016. With an average age of 27.2 years, the Browns would be tied for the 14th oldest (or 19th youngest, depending on how you want to look at it) offensive line in the NFL. Blogging the Boys' data is slightly different because they are putting the team's oldest right tackle candidate, Pasztor, in at right tackle.

Age across the NFL is not always indicative of the type of offensive line being assembled. If the team ditched Thomas in favor of a rookie (i.e. they started Drango and Coleman), then the Browns would have the 5th youngest offensive line in the NFL. Greco and Thomas are the team's next free agents in 2018 and 2019, respectively.