Draft or trade: How old is the Patriots' roster compared to other playoff teams? originally appeared on nbcsportsboston.com

The perception certainly exists that the Patriots roster is too old and slow.

Perhaps it's the constant "Tom Brady is showing his age" takes that come from the national media.

Despite having found a way to win yet another Super Bowl, for large stretches of the regular season, and at several points in the last few years (*cough* Super Bowl LII *cough*) the Patriots have struggled against younger, faster teams.

This is due to several factors. First, and most importantly, the Patriots have not been very productive in the draft for the last few years.

In 2016, the Patriots lost their first round draft pick due to their Deflategate punishment.

In 2017, the Patriots only drafted four players-only one of whom-Deatrich Wise, made the team.

In 2018, despite drafting nine players, when accounting for injuries and roster decisions, running back Sony Michel was the only standout contributor for the team.

As a result of this, the Patriots have had to rely on trades and signing free agents to build their team, which results in having a roster comprised of primarily older players.

Secondly, Patriots coach Bill Belichick is said to prefer veteran players on his team.

But hot takes aside, however you look at it, with free agency and the 2019 NFL draft looming, here is how the Patriots really stack up.

Compared with every other 2018 playoff team, the Patriots did, in fact, have the oldest roster on the field.

The average age of the Patriots 53 man roster that finished the season was 27.6 years old.

The average age of the other 11 playoff teams was 26 years old.

This table breaks it down:

As it turns out, the Patriots roster is almost two years older on average, than any other team that made the playoffs last season.

While the Pats still ended up winning the Super Bowl, forgoing draft picks in favor of trades only goes so far. As we saw in the Super Bowl last year on defense, and in the regular season this year on offense, having to rely on retreads instead of fresh talent can take its toll.

While the Patriots' latest Lombardi Trophy is not even a month old, the Pats will need to focus on drafting and developing younger players if they hope to remain a contender in the years to come.

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