When considering NFL Draft prospects, age has become a factor

Apr 23, 2026 at 09:02 AM

Darin Gantt

The Carolina Panther’s practice on Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026 at Bank Of America Stadium, in Charlotte, NC.

CHARLOTTE — In the old days, when you talked about numbers in relation to the draft, it was standard stuff like 40 times or college stats.

But with the way the college game has changed, scouts and personnel men have had to consider a new factor when gauging prospects entering the NFL — age.

With a wider disparity in the ages of draftable players than ever — thanks to NIL and COVID-era eligibility rules — NFL teams have to evaluate birth dates as much as heights and weights.

"I think that matters; I think it matters a lot," Panthers general manager Dan Morgan said this offseason. "You've got to think about, depending on the position, about a second contract.

"You definitely have to keep that in mind."

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At a surface level, part of that is about physical maturity (the league requires players to be at least three years out of high school to be eligible for the draft), and part is about future finances.

For example, Morgan said quarterbacks usually have a longer runway in the NFL, often not playing until they're a few years into the league. Other positions are often asked to contribute right away, which figures into the calculus.

Over the last five years, the entry age of all drafted players has spiked to close to 24, with so many players taking advantage of extra eligibility. But the average age of first-rounders is in the low 22s for the last decade, as more teams opt for the upside offered by extra years in a league in which the average career span remains around four years.

As it applies to this year's draft, that means you have to balance the idea of development vs. immediate impact.

Players such as Arvell Reese, Jeremiyah Love, and Francis Mauioga are considered top 10 prospects because they're among the best players, plus the fact that none have reached their 21st birthday.

Miami defensive lineman Akheem Mesidor, left, and defensive lineman Rueben Bain Jr. react following the Cotton Bowl College Football Playoff quarterfinal game against Ohio State Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

On the other hand, there's Miami pass-rusher Akheem Mesidor, who has already turned 25, but has a record of high production to suggest he can make an immediate impact.

Morgan said that as they're stacking their board in advance of a draft, in general, there's more of a ding for being older than an automatic bonus for being young, since production remains the most important part of this.

"You've still got to be a really good player," he said. "Because the upside stuff doesn't always work out either."

Last year for the Panthers, it did.

They traded up to draft pass-rusher Nic Scourton in the second round last year before he turned 21. And he walked into an NFL locker room full of grown men and realized things were different.

Upon meeting long snapper JJ Jansen, who turned 40 this offseason, Scourton pointed out that his mother was Jansen's age. This made the longest-serving Panther feel some sort of way, but also illustrated that Scourton was not yet a finished product — and he still tied for the team lead with 5.0 sacks last year.

"Honestly, it was a little difficult coming from being the top of the food chain in college, and then having to come here and just restart all over," Scourton said. "And then with such respected guys, like I'm working next to Derrick Brown in this weight room and watching how he approaches the game and how he takes this so seriously. The NFL kind of forces you to grow up, or you'll be left behind in a sense, and that's just how I approached it. I try to be like those guys who try to come in here and still be myself by working hard and following everything the coaches tell him and tell me.

"But honestly, I think it doesn't really matter how old you are. It's just about your perspective and how you take on football. Like, are you going to come and you're going to be a professional, or are you going to come and you're going to lollygag and not necessarily waste your opportunity, but take it for granted?"

The Carolina Panthers hold Voluntary Workouts Phase 1 on Tuesday, Apr 21, 2026 at the Atrium Health Training Facility in Charlotte, NC.

Scourton did not do that last year, which adds to the value he carries for the future.

Vice president of football operations Brandt Tilis pointed out that thinking about future free agency (after four seasons) changes the way you project players.

"Nick's a great example because you saw Nick at 21 get better as the season went on," Tilis said. "And we have high hopes for him for not only next season, but for the rest of his career because of the age and the ascension there.

"I think what you're also seeing with older players is they step in, and they're contributing immediately. And there's something to be said for that. So, do we get the long runway with the guy? If you draft a guy at 25 and he's a free agent at 29, that's not ideal. But at the same time, if you get four really good years out of that player, and he plays a premium position, that is valuable.

"So, I think age matters, and we certainly look at it. But the flip side of it isn't so negative either."

Scourton said the adjustments for him began during the pre-draft process, and being mature enough to handle the disappointment of not being a first-round pick.

"I feel like I was very mature in the situation of attacking the draft, like building up for working as hard as I possibly can to make sure I was ready," Scourton said. "But I wasn't mentally there for the downfall. Obviously slipping in the draft, feeling like I should've gone higher than I did.

"It's a really stressful time, but such a really rewarding time, and like I just learned so much about myself during that time as well, right? Just in terms of dealing with adversity, bouncing back from things, being resilient."

There were also the funny parts, like making Jansen feel old, or going out with teammates upon arrival here and not being old enough to legally get a drink.

Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young (9) greets New Orleans Saints quarterback Tyler Shough (6) after an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Ella Hall)

He also saw the flip side during his pre-draft training, as he worked out alongside Saints quarterback Tyler Shough.

Shough came into the league old enough to be off his parents' insurance, and two years older than Panthers starter Bryce Young (who was in his third year in the league). But being alongside the 26-year-old while working out also gave Scourton a sense of what he was about to experience.

"I'm going to be honest with you, Shough is not childish, but he's just a super playful guy," Scourton said. "But I'm going to be honest, I don't think anybody worked harder than Shough at my training facility. From the aspect of a quarterback lifting and being there all day, always throwing, always getting rehab, like he was a consummate professional, and then you talk to him, you understand why.

"I mean, he was in college with (Chargers quarterback) Justin Herbert (who was drafted in 2020), like he understood what was at hand. He was already there with his wife; they understood. You could tell he was very intentional with his draft process because you know he doesn't have as much time to make mistakes as me."

And for a quarterback, time takes on a different meaning than at other positions.

Panthers head coach Dave Canales said with increasing movement between schools, many players often have experience in multiple systems, which can be an important teaching point when it comes to quarterbacks in particular, as they enter the league.

"There are two ways to look at it: One is they have a lot more experience in learning new systems, so they have to use their mind to click into these types of progressions," Canales said. "So there's a benefit to that because when we get them, it won't be like they played in one system the whole time. They've probably seen two or three, whether they move schools or not. There's coaching turnover as well. So we're seeing a lot of guys who have had a good amount of exposure. So that's a plus for them.

"We're getting an older, more mature player. That's a positive for quarterbacks. Some other positions, you'd like them to be younger, so that you get more out of that first contract, but for the quarterback position, these guys can play well into their 30s. When you do change styles of concepts, when you do change things, it makes it harder to get into the depth of what you are doing, get into the whys of all that. So that can be a little bit of a challenge at times.

"It's player to player. Some guys can just pick it up quickly. Those are the ones who have success early on. And the guys who are going to struggle to get the language, struggle to get the calls out, their trajectory just takes a little bit longer, and that's where you have to be patient, and you have to be realistic about the development of a player and make sure that you grow it at a pace that's sustainable for the player, and also for the success of your team."

Carolina Panthers General Manager, Dan Morgan speaks to the media on Tuesday, April. 14, 2026 at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, NC.

That's why Morgan doesn't turn age into a blanket statement. In general, would a team rather have a younger player? Of course. Does that disqualify an older player? It does not.

"I think you definitely have to weigh it," Morgan said. "I think it's definitely part of the evaluation process, but I also don't think it's everything, and it doesn't take a guy out of the running because maybe he's 25, 26 years old.

"So, yeah, it's definitely something that we weigh in, but it's not everything."

And their experience with Scourton last year also informs that opinion, having seen what upside looks like. When it's handled as maturely as he did last year, that helps illustrate why they were so eager to move up for him.

"I can't really speak on older guys because I haven't been to one of those," Scourton said. "I've been young, but I haven't been the older guy coming in, but I feel like the older guys should understand that this opportunity does not last forever, and the journey for them to get here was a lot longer and harder than mine was. So you would think they would respect the situation a little bit more and understand what's at stake."

That's true for the team as well.