Cardinals Youth Movement in Full Swing

Monti Ossenfort prefers young talent over old. Yet another shift in his management of the Arizona Cardinals since taking over in 2023.

Jan 5, 2025; Glendale, Arizona, USA; San Francisco 49ers running back Patrick Taylor Jr. (32) runs the ball as Arizona Cardinals cornerback Garrett Williams (21) defends in the second half at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-Imagn Images / Matt Kartozian-Imagn Images

When Monti Ossenfort took the reigns as the general manager of the Arizona Cardinals in 2023 he immediately set to reshaping the roster in his own image.

Previously, the Cardinals had a league-wide reputation for having older rosters that led to being labeled the "retirement home of the NFL" by some on social media.

In fairness, there were several examples during the Steve Keim era where legendary players just a bit past their prime were signed to play out the last few years of their career in the desert. A.J. Green and Terrell Suggs being just two examples.

Even before Keim, Hall of Fame running backs Emmitt Smith and Edgerrin James spent some of their last professional season with the Cardinals before retiring.

In 2017, the Cardinals had the oldest team in the NFL with an average age of 27.3 and stayed in the bottom third in average age through 2020.

For context, between 2020 and 2023 the Super Bowl winning Rams and Chiefs averaged 26.0 or younger.

Stocking teams with young talent largely occurs through the draft and Ossenfort has clearly shown in his two years as GM that this is his preferred method of team building.

In the previous two offseasons the Cardinals have not made many free agency moves for older players and focused heavily on the youth/durability of the few players they did add.

Taking a look at the sixty players currently under contract with the Cardinals for 2025, the average age is 25.48. A significant sign that the front office values youth in a different way from previous regimes.

The youth movement in Arizona is real. Looked at the ages of the 60 players currently under contract for 2025 and the average age is 25.48.

Massive shift in roster building strategy from year's past.

— Kyler Burd (@AZCard_BurdsEye) February 18, 2025

In the past two drafts Ossenfort has selected 21 players. Five of them played more than 50% of all snaps last year with an additional three playing significant rotational roles at more than 30% of snaps.

The Cardinals have prioritized adding talent at premium positions with young athletes. Paris Johnson Jr. is set up to be the franchise left tackle for a decade and is only 23 years old. Garrett Williams and Max Melton both have the potential to be starting caliber cornerbacks for this team for years to come and are 23 and 22 years old, respectively.

Most notably, the team added a No.1 wide receiver with the fourth overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft in Marvin Harrison, Jr. Regardless of his rookie performance relative to expectations, Harrison, Jr. had a good year with over 800 receiving yards and 8 touchdowns.

He should only improve his connection with quarterback Kyler Murray in the future, and it should be mentioned, he is only 22 years old.

With hindsight it seems clear that rumors of the Cardinals front office not having planned for contention in 2024 might have some truth to them.

If the plan all along was to make a genuine push in 2025 than Ossenfort's move to revamp this team with young, talented players makes a lot of sense.

Now with hundreds of snaps under the belts of these young athletes they are much better prepared to take a big step next season.

Now, it should be mentioned that the average age of the roster will increase after free agency when older players are added to the squad.

However, it does point to an overall trend of this Cardinals regime taking seriously the need to build for sustained success through the draft and prioritizing youth and durability.