It's no secret that the Eagles' projected starters at the skill positions (Kevin Kolb, LeSean McCoy, Leonard Weaver, DeSean Jackson, Jeremy Maclin, and Brent Celek) are incredibly young. In fact, here are their ages, as of May 30, 2010, to the exact day...
| Player | Position | Birthdate | Age (as of May 30, 2010) |
| Kevin Kolb | QB | 24-Aug-84 | 25 years, 9 months, 6 days |
| LeSean McCoy | RB | 12-Jul-88 | 21 years, 10 months, 18 days |
| Leonard Weaver | FB | 23-Sep-82 | 27 years, 8 months, 7 days |
| DeSean Jackson | WR | 1-Dec-86 | 23 years, 5 months, 29 days |
| Jeremy Maclin | WR | 11-May-88 | 22 years, 19 days |
| Brent Celek | TE | 25-Jan-85 | 25 years, 4 months, 5 days |
| Average age | 24 years, 4 months, 12 days |
In short, very young. But how young exactly are they in comparison to the rest of the league? After the jump, I'll beat it to death by breaking down where the Eagles rank position by position among the other NFL teams...
Disclaimer - For the following charts, I used depth charts from a few major sports websites, and cross-compared those with feedback from fans of each team regarding who they thought their starting skill position players would be for the majority of their games this year, if it wasn't obvious. Naturally, there could be some debate on a number of them. For example, the Seattle fans told me that LenDale White was penciled in as their starting RB, and he was released literally about an hour later that day; the Raiders fans had varying opinions on their starting WR corps, the Denver fans explained that their wide receivers would play in various game situations, but would get similar playing time, etc etc. Anyway, I felt that I just needed to explain the methodology of how I arrived at determining the projected starters - I apologize in advance if I got any wrong. So, without further ado...
QB's
| Age Rank | Player | Team | Birthdate | Age (as of May 30, 2010) |
| 1 | Matthew Stafford | Lions | 7-Feb-88 | 22 years, 3 months, 23 days |
| 2 | Josh Freeman | Buccaneers | 13-Jan-88 | 22 years, 4 months, 17 days |
| 3 | Sam Bradford | Rams | 8-Nov-87 | 22 years, 6 months, 22 days |
| 4 | Mark Sanchez | Jets | 11-Nov-86 | 23 years, 6 months, 19 days |
| 5 | Chad Henne | Dolphins | 2-Jul-85 | 24 years, 10 months, 28 days |
| 6 | Matt Ryan | Falcons | 17-May-85 | 25 years, 13 days |
| 7 | Joe Flacco | Ravens | 16-Jan-85 | 25 years, 4 months, 14 days |
| 8 | Kevin Kolb | Eagles | 24-Aug-84 | 25 years, 9 months, 6 days |
| 9 | Matt Moore | Panthers | 9-Aug-84 | 25 years, 9 months, 21 days |
| 10 | Alex Smith | 49ers | 7-May-84 | 26 years, 23 days |
| 11 | Aaron Rodgers | Packers | 2-Dec-83 | 26 years, 5 months, 28 days |
| 12 | Trent Edwards | Bills | 30-Oct-83 | 26 years, 7 months |
| 13 | Vince Young | Titans | 18-May-83 | 27 years, 12 days |
| 14 | Matt Leinart | Cardinals | 11-May-83 | 27 years, 19 days |
| 15 | Jay Cutler | Bears | 29-Apr-83 | 27 years, 1 month, 1 day |
| 16 | Kyle Orton | Broncos | 14-Nov-82 | 27 years, 6 months, 16 days |
| 17 | Matt Cassel | Chiefs | 17-May-82 | 28 years, 13 days |
| 18 | Ben Roethlisberger | Steelers | 2-Mar-82 | 28 years, 2 months, 28 days |
| 19 | Jason Campbell | Raiders | 31-Dec-81 | 28 years, 4 months, 30 days |
| 20 | Philip Rivers | Chargers | 8-Dec-81 | 28 years, 5 months, 22 days |
| 21 | Matt Schaub | Texans | 25-Jun-81 | 28 years, 11 months, 5 days |
| 22 | Eli Manning | Giants | 3-Jan-81 | 29 years, 4 months, 27 days |
| 23 | Tony Romo | Cowboys | 21-Apr-80 | 30 years, 1 month, 9 days |
| 24 | Carson Palmer | Bengals | 27-Dec-79 | 30 years, 5 months, 3 days |
| 25 | Drew Brees | Saints | 15-Jan-79 | 31 years, 4 months, 15 days |
| 26 | David Garrard | Jaguars | 14-Feb-78 | 32 years, 3 months, 16 days |
| 27 | Tom Brady | Patriots | 3-Aug-77 | 32 years, 9 months, 27 days |
| 28 | Donovan McNabb | Redskins | 25-Nov-76 | 33 years, 6 months, 5 days |
| 29 | Peyton Manning | Colts | 24-Mar-76 | 34 years, 2 months, 6 days |
| 30 | Matt Hasselbeck | Seahawks | 25-Sep-75 | 34 years, 8 months, 5 days |
| 31 | Jake Delhomme | Browns | 10-Jan-75 | 35 years, 4 months, 20 days |
| 32 | Brett Favre | Vikings | 10-Oct-69 | 40 years, 7 months, 20 days |
RB's
| Age Rank | Player | Team | Birthdate | Age (as of May 30, 2010) |
| 1 | Beanie Wells | Cardinals | 7-Aug-88 | 21 years, 9 months, 23 days |
| 2 | LeSean McCoy | Eagles | 12-Jul-88 | 21 years, 10 months, 18 days |
| 3 | Knowshon Moreno | Broncos | 16-Jul-87 | 22 years, 10 months, 14 days |
| 4 | Rashard Mendenhall | Steelers | 19-Jun-87 | 22 years, 11 months, 11 days |
| 5 | Felix Jones | Cowboys | 8-May-87 | 23 years, 22 days |
| 6 | Ryan Mathews | Chargers | 1-May-87 | 23 years, 29 days |
| 7 | Ray Rice | Ravens | 22-Jan-87 | 23 years, 4 months, 8 days |
| 8 | Jamaal Charles | Chiefs | 27-Dec-86 | 23 years, 5 months, 3 days |
| 9 | Kevin Smith | Lions | 17-Dec-86 | 23 years, 5 months, 13 days |
| 10 | Steve Slaton | Texans | 4-Jan-86 | 24 years, 4 months, 26 days |
| 11 | Matt Forte | Bears | 10-Dec-85 | 24 years, 5 months, 20 days |
| 12 | Justin Forsett | Seahawks | 14-Oct-85 | 24 years, 7 months, 16 days |
| 13 | Chris Johnson | Titans | 23-Sep-85 | 24 years, 8 months, 7 days |
| 14 | Shonn Greene | Jets | 21-Aug-85 | 24 years, 9 months, 9 days |
| 15 | Maurice Jones-Drew | Jaguars | 23-Mar-85 | 25 years, 2 months, 7 days |
| 16 | Adrian Peterson | Vikings | 21-Mar-85 | 25 years, 2 months, 9 days |
| 17 | Laurence Maroney | Patriots | 5-Feb-85 | 25 years, 3 months, 25 days |
| 18 | Pierre Thomas | Saints | 18-Dec-84 | 25 years, 5 months, 12 days |
| 19 | Michael Bush | Raiders | 16-Jun-84 | 25 years, 11 months, 14 days |
| 20 | Steven Jackson | Rams | 22-Jul-83 | 26 years, 10 months, 8 days |
| 21 | Frank Gore | 49ers | 14-May-83 | 27 years, 16 days |
| 22 | Joseph Addai | Colts | 3-May-83 | 27 years, 27 days |
| 23 | DeAngelo Williams | Panthers | 25-Apr-83 | 27 years, 1 month, 5 days |
| 24 | Jerome Harrison | Browns | 26-Feb-83 | 27 years, 3 months, 4 days |
| 25 | Cedric Benson | Bengals | 28-Dec-82 | 27 years, 5 months, 2 days |
| 26 | Ryan Grant | Packers | 9-Dec-82 | 27 years, 5 months, 21 days |
| 27 | Brandon Jacobs | Giants | 6-Jul-82 | 27 years, 10 months, 24 days |
| 28 | Cadillac Williams | Buccaneers | 21-Apr-82 | 28 years, 1 month, 9 days |
| 29 | Michael Turner | Falcons | 13-Feb-82 | 28 years, 3 months, 17 days |
| 30 | Clinton Portis | Redskins | 1-Sep-81 | 28 years, 8 months, 29 days |
| 31 | Fred Jackson | Bills | 20-Feb-81 | 29 years, 3 months, 10 days |
| 32 | Ricky Williams | Dolphins | 21-May-77 | 33 years, 9 days |
WR's
| Age Rank | Player | Team | Birthdate | Age (as of May 30, 2010) |
| 1 | Kenny Britt | Titans | 19-Sep-88 | 21 years, 8 months, 11 days |
| 2 | Percy Harvin | Vikings | 28-May-88 | 22 years, 2 days |
| 3 | Jeremy Maclin | Eagles | 11-May-88 | 22 years, 19 days |
| 4 | Hakeem Nicks | Giants | 14-Jan-88 | 22 years, 4 months, 16 days |
| 5 | Michael Crabtree | 49ers | 14-Sep-87 | 22 years, 8 months, 16 days |
| 6 | Mike Thomas | Jaguars | 4-Jun-87 | 22 years, 11 months, 26 days |
| 7 | Earl Bennett | Bears | 23-Mar-87 | 23 years, 2 months, 7 days |
| 8 | Darrius Heyward Bey | Raiders | 26-Feb-87 | 23 years, 3 months, 4 days |
| 9 | DeSean Jackson | Eagles | 1-Dec-86 | 23 years, 5 months, 29 days |
| 10 | Mohamed Massaquoi | Browns | 24-Nov-86 | 23 years, 6 months, 6 days |
| 11 | Devin Thomas | Redskins | 15-Nov-86 | 23 years, 6 months, 15 days |
| 12 | Dwayne Jarrett | Panthers | 11-Sep-86 | 23 years, 8 months, 19 days |
| 13 | Sidney Rice | Vikings | 1-Sep-86 | 23 years, 8 months, 29 days |
| 14 | Pierre Garcon | Colts | 8-Aug-86 | 23 years, 9 months, 22 days |
| 15 | Mike Wallace | Steelers | 1-Aug-86 | 23 years, 9 months, 29 days |
| 16 | Eddie Royal | Broncos | 21-May-86 | 24 years, 9 days |
| 17 | James Hardy | Bills | 24-Dec-85 | 24 years, 5 months, 6 days |
| 18 | Chaz Schilens | Raiders | 7-Nov-85 | 24 years, 6 months, 23 days |
| 19 | Calvin Johnson | Lions | 25-Sep-85 | 24 years, 8 months, 5 days |
| 20 | Davone Bess | Dolphins | 13-Sep-85 | 24 years, 8 months, 17 days |
| 21 | Josh Morgan | 49ers | 20-Jun-85 | 24 years, 11 months, 10 days |
| 22 | Steve Smith | Giants | 6-May-85 | 25 years, 24 days |
| 23 | Mike Sims-Walker | Jaguars | 21-Nov-84 | 25 years, 6 months, 9 days |
| 24 | Keenan Burton | Rams | 29-Oct-84 | 25 years, 7 months, 1 day |
| 25 | Robert Meachem | Saints | 28-Sep-84 | 25 years, 8 months, 2 days |
| 26 | Dwayne Bowe | Chiefs | 21-Sep-84 | 25 years, 8 months, 9 days |
| 27 | Miles Austin | Cowboys | 30-Jun-84 | 25 years, 11 months |
| 28 | Donnie Avery | Rams | 12-Jun-84 | 25 years, 11 months, 18 days |
| 29 | Brandon Marshall | Dolphins | 23-Mar-84 | 26 years, 2 months, 7 days |
| 30 | Santonio Holmes | Jets | 3-Mar-84 | 26 years, 2 months, 27 days |
| 31 | Greg Jennings | Packers | 21-Sep-83 | 26 years, 8 months, 9 days |
| 32 | Larry Fitzgerald | Cardinals | 31-Aug-83 | 26 years, 8 months, 30 days |
| 33 | Nate Washington | Titans | 28-Aug-83 | 26 years, 9 months, 2 days |
| 34 | Steve Breaston | Cardinals | 20-Aug-83 | 26 years, 9 months, 10 days |
| 35 | Josh Cribbs | Browns | 9-Jun-83 | 26 years, 11 months, 21 days |
| 36 | Marques Colston | Saints | 5-Jun-83 | 26 years, 11 months, 25 days |
| 37 | Braylon Edwards | Jets | 21-Feb-83 | 27 years, 3 months, 9 days |
| 38 | Vincent Jackson | Chargers | 14-Jan-83 | 27 years, 4 months, 16 days |
| 39 | Devin Hester | Bears | 4-Nov-82 | 27 years, 6 months, 26 days |
| 40 | Michael Clayton | Buccaneers | 13-Oct-82 | 27 years, 7 months, 17 days |
| 41 | Michael Jenkins | Falcons | 18-Jun-82 | 27 years, 11 months, 12 days |
| 42 | Mark Bradley | Buccaneers | 29-Jan-82 | 28 years, 4 months, 1 day |
| 43 | Roy Williams | Cowboys | 20-Dec-81 | 28 years, 5 months, 10 days |
| 44 | Roddy White | Falcons | 2-Nov-81 | 28 years, 6 months, 28 days |
| 45 | Malcolm Floyd | Chargers | 8-Sep-81 | 28 years, 8 months, 22 days |
| 46 | Nate Burleson | Lions | 19-Aug-81 | 28 years, 9 months, 11 days |
| 47 | Kevin Walter | Texans | 4-Aug-81 | 28 years, 9 months, 26 days |
| 48 | Andre Johnson | Texans | 11-Jul-81 | 28 years, 10 months, 19 days |
| 49 | Wes Welker | Patriots | 1-May-81 | 29 years, 29 days |
| 50 | Lee Evans | Bills | 11-Mar-81 | 29 years, 2 months, 19 days |
| 51 | Antonio Bryant | Bengals | 9-Mar-81 | 29 years, 2 months, 29 days |
| 52 | Jabar Gaffney | Broncos | 1-Dec-80 | 29 years, 5 months, 29 days |
| 53 | Anquan Boldin | Ravens | 3-Oct-80 | 29 years, 7 months, 27 days |
| 54 | Deion Branch | Seahawks | 18-Jul-79 | 30 years, 10 months, 12 days |
| 55 | Santana Moss | Redskins | 1-Jun-79 | 30 years, 11 months, 29 days |
| 56 | Steve Smith | Panthers | 12-May-79 | 31 years, 18 days |
| 57 | Reggie Wayne | Colts | 17-Nov-78 | 31 years, 6 months, 13 days |
| 58 | Chris Chambers | Chiefs | 12-Aug-78 | 31 years, 9 months, 18 days |
| 59 | Chad Ochocinco | Bengals | 9-Jan-78 | 32 years, 4 months, 21 days |
| 60 | T.J. Houshmandzadeh | Seahawks | 26-Sep-77 | 32 years, 8 months, 4 days |
| 61 | Randy Moss | Patriots | 13-Feb-77 | 33 years, 3 months, 17 days |
| 62 | Hines Ward | Steelers | 8-Mar-76 | 34 years, 2 months, 22 days |
| 63 | Donald Driver | Packers | 2-Feb-75 | 35 years, 3 months, 28 days |
| 64 | Derrick Mason | Ravens | 17-Jan-74 | 36 years, 4 months, 13 days |
TE's
| Age Rank | Player | Team | Birthdate | Age (as of May 30, 2010) |
| 1 | Rob Gronkowski | Patriots | 14-May-89 | 21 years, 16 days |
| 2 | Jermaine Gresham | Bengals | 16-Jun-88 | 21 years, 11 months, 14 days |
| 3 | Jermichael Finley | Packers | 26-Mar-87 | 23 years, 2 months, 4 days |
| 4 | Zach Miller | Raiders | 11-Dec-85 | 24 years, 5 months, 19 days |
| 5 | Shawn Nelson | Bills | 5-Oct-85 | 24 years, 7 months, 25 days |
| 6 | Greg Olsen | Bears | 11-Mar-85 | 25 years, 2 months, 19 days |
| 7 | Brandon Pettigrew | Lions | 23-Feb-85 | 25 years, 3 months, 7 days |
| 8 | Brent Celek | Eagles | 25-Jan-85 | 25 years, 4 months, 5 days |
| 9 | Dustin Keller | Jets | 25-Sep-84 | 25 years, 8 months, 5 days |
| 10 | Ben Patrick | Cardinals | 23-Aug-84 | 25 years, 9 months, 7 days |
| 11 | Marcedes Lewis | Jaguars | 19-May-84 | 26 years, 11 days |
| 12 | John Carlson | Seahawks | 12-May-84 | 26 years, 18 days |
| 13 | Anthony Fasano | Dolphins | 20-Apr-84 | 26 years, 1 month, 10 days |
| 14 | Vernon Davis | 49ers | 31-Jan-84 | 26 years, 3 months, 30 days |
| 15 | Kevin Boss | Giants | 11-Jan-84 | 26 years, 4 months, 19 days |
| 16 | Leonard Pope | Chiefs | 10-Sep-83 | 26 years, 8 months, 20 days |
| 17 | Kellen Winslow | Buccaneers | 21-Jul-83 | 26 years, 10 months, 9 days |
| 18 | Jeff King | Panthers | 19-Feb-83 | 27 years, 3 months, 11 days |
| 19 | Owen Daniels | Texans | 9-Nov-82 | 27 years, 6 months, 21 days |
| 20 | Heath Miller | Steelers | 22-Oct-82 | 27 years, 7 months, 8 days |
| 21 | Chris Cooley | Redskins | 11-Jul-82 | 27 years, 10 months, 19 days |
| 22 | Jason Witten | Cowboys | 6-May-82 | 28 years, 24 days |
| 23 | Bo Scaife | Titans | 6-Jan-81 | 29 years, 4 months, 24 days |
| 24 | Ben Watson | Browns | 18-Dec-80 | 29 years, 5 months, 12 days |
| 25 | Jeremy Shockey | Saints | 18-Aug-80 | 29 years, 9 months, 12 days |
| 26 | Antonio Gates | Chargers | 18-Jun-80 | 29 years, 11 months, 12 days |
| 27 | Visanthe Shiancoe | Vikings | 18-Jun-80 | 29 years, 11 months, 12 days |
| 28 | Todd Heap | Ravens | 16-Mar-80 | 30 years, 2 months, 14 days |
| 29 | Randy McMichael | Rams | 28-Jun-79 | 30 years, 11 months, 2 days |
| 30 | Dallas Clark | Colts | 12-Jun-79 | 30 years, 11 months, 18 days |
| 31 | Daniel Graham | Broncos | 16-Nov-78 | 31 years, 6 months, 14 days |
| 32 | Tony Gonzalez | Falcons | 27-Feb-76 | 34 years, 3 months, 3 days |
As the above charts show, the Eagles' starters heading into the 2010 season rank as follows...
- Kolb - 8th youngest starting QB in the NFL
- McCoy - 2nd youngest starting RB in the NFL
- Jackson - 9th youngest starting WR in the NFL
- Maclin - 3rd youngest starting WR in the NFL
- Celek - 8th youngest starting TE in the NFL
Note - Since many NFL teams either use a fullback very sporadically or don't have them on their roster at all, choosing instead to mainly utilize 2-TE or 3-WR sets, I omitted them from the following chart...
Kolb/McCoy/Jackson/Maclin/Celek in comparison to the rest of the NFL's skill position players...
| Team | Avg Age | |
| 1 | Eagles | 23 years, 8 months, 15 days |
| 2 | Lions | 24 years, 10 months, 19 days |
| 3 | Raiders | 25 years, 3 months, 28 days |
| 4 | 49ers | 25 years, 4 months, 29 days |
| 5 | Jets | 25 years, 5 months, 29 days |
| 6 | Bears | 25 years, 6 months, 1 day |
| 7 | Cardinals | 25 years, 7 months, 15 days |
| 8 | Titans | 25 years, 10 months, 26 days |
| 9 | Giants | 26 years, 2 months, 18 days |
| 10 | Rams | 26 years, 4 months, 14 days |
| 11 | Jaguars | 26 years, 4 months, 23 days |
| 12 | Buccaneers | 26 years, 7 months, 26 days |
| 13 | Bills | 26 years, 9 months, 27 days |
| 14 | Dolphins | 26 years, 11 months, 23 days |
| 15 | Panthers | 26 years, 11 months, 23 days |
| 16 | Broncos | 27 years, 1 month, 4 days |
| 17 | Cowboys | 27 years, 1 month, 10 days |
| 18 | Chiefs | 27 years, 1 month, 17 days |
| 19 | Steelers | 27 years, 4 months, 12 days |
| 20 | Chargers | 27 years, 6 months, 5 days |
| 21 | Texans | 27 years, 8 months, 17 days |
| 22 | Packers | 27 years, 9 months, 27 days |
| 23 | Saints | 27 years, 10 months, 3 days |
| 24 | Bengals | 28 years, 3 months, 12 days |
| 25 | Vikings | 28 years, 3 months, 19 days |
| 26 | Patriots | 28 years, 3 months, 21 days |
| 27 | Browns | 28 years, 6 months, 4 days |
| 28 | Falcons | 28 years, 9 months, 23 days |
| 29 | Redskins | 28 years, 11 months, 4 days |
| 30 | Ravens | 28 years, 11 months, 24 days |
| 31 | Colts | 29 years, 6 months, 3 days |
| 32 | Seahawks | 29 years, 9 months, 8 days |
| NFL avg | 27 years, 1 month, 6 days |
What the Eagles have here is special - As you can clearly see, the Eagles have the youngest group of skill position players in the NFL by a wide margin. The next closest team is the Detroit Lions, who have an average age of a little more than a year and 2 months older than the Eagles. However, youth without talent is useless, but the Eagles' skill position players have a rare combination of both.
Jackson and Weaver both deservedly made the Pro Bowl last year, and Celek probably should have. McCoy (945 yards from scrimmage last season) and Maclin (919 receiving yards including the playoff loss) both had good, promising rookie seasons. Kolb became the first passer in the history of the NFL to throw for over 300 yards in his first 2 NFL starts - Game tape of every throw he made in each of those games can be seen here and here. Add in one of the best 3rd receivers in the game (Jason Avant), a backup QB with some dynamic talents (Michael Vick), a handful of other young players (Cornelius Ingram, Clay Harbor, Charles Scott, Riley Cooper), and you're looking at one of most talented groups of skill position players in the entire league.
The 2010 season is going to be very frustrating at times - When you assemble this kind of youth, occasional dumb mistakes will be an absolutely certainty. However, it's hard not to be incredibly enthusiastic about the long-term capabilities of this group of playmakers, who by the way... should all be playing together for at least the next 6-8 years. The theme that seems to keep popping up in articles by the national pundits is that the Eagles are "rebuilding" their offense, which to me is utter nonsense. I would contend that this offense (particularly at the skill positions), although inexperienced, is already "rebuilt, cocked, and loaded."
Here's to a decade of high octane offense!
