The Atlanta Falcons are embracing a youth movement on offense – ESPN –

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — Jonnu Smith walked into his first meeting with the Atlanta Falcons earlier this spring, looked around the tight end position room and had a moment of realization. Smith is entering his seventh season and is still only 27 years old.

What he figured out momentarily startled him: Other than Parker Hesse, who is three months older than him and far less experienced in the NFL, Smith was the oldest player there.

“That’s a really young room,” Smith said.

The tight end room mirrors much of Atlanta’s offense. Between the draft and the reshuffling of the roster over the past two-plus years under general manager Terry Fontenot and head coach Arthur Smith, the Falcons have ended up with an exceedingly young offense entering 2023.

Based on projected starters for Week 1, Atlanta’s average offensive age would be 24.9 years old, making it younger than any Week 1 offense in the league in 2022 or 2021, based on numbers provided by Elias Sports Bureau. This projects second-round pick Matthew Bergeron at left guard and a two-tight end set of Smith and Kyle Pitts.

If Matt Hennessy wins the left guard job, it would nudge the number up to 25.18 years old, making Atlanta’s offense slightly older than the Pittsburgh Steelers’ offense last season (25.0 years old) and the Miami Dolphins’ offense in 2021 (25.16 years old), which were both the youngest in the league.

There are moves which can change the numbers between now and when Atlanta starts its season against the Carolina Panthers on Sept. 10 to alter the average age a little bit, but the overarching point remains: The Falcons are in the midst of a youth movement — with their core skill position players and quarterback almost all under the age of 25.

“For us, it’s just about building this team together,”…