Football is a young man's game, which needs to be remembered when considering a couple of typically strong fantasy defenses, and individual defensive players. In particular, a couple of veteran Camerons.
Pittsburgh's Cameron Heyward (pictured) and New Orleans' Cameron Jordan both came into the league as late first-round picks in the same NFL draft (2011). Both have steadily put up strong numbers throughout their careers, and both are perennially part of top-1o pass rushes. But both are turning 34 this summer, so it's fair to wonder if they can keep it going.
If either is going to slow down, it hasn't been apparent yet. Jordan has 21 sacks across the last two seasons, while Heyward has 20.5. Heyward has also averaged 82 tackles in those seasons, and Jordan 63, both of which are top totals for defensive linemen. They've been doing it at 32 and 33, but recent history makes it seem a little less likely at 34.
This century, there have been 25 players aged 32 or older to record at least 50 total tackles and 8 sacks. That includes those two Camerons doing it in each of the last two seasons.
But just two guys have done it at age 34 or older. One was Bruce Smith, way back in 2000, and the other was Michael Strahan (who did it twice). It hasn't happened in the last 15 years. In the table below, those older players are in bold; data from pro-football-reference.com was used in generating this table.
| 50-TACKLE, 8-SACK SEASONS, AGED 32-PLUS (2000-PRESENT) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Player | Team | Age | Tck | Ast | Tot | Sk |
| 2022 | Cameron Heyward | PIT | 33 | 39 | 35 | 74 | 10.5 |
| 2022 | Cameron Jordan | NOR | 33 | 40 | 26 | 66 | 8.5 |
| 2021 | Cameron Heyward | PIT | 32 | 53 | 36 | 89 | 10.0 |
| 2021 | Cameron Jordan | NOR | 32 | 38 | 21 | 59 | 12.5 |
| 2021 | Von Miller | DEN,LAR | 32 | 33 | 17 | 50 | 9.5 |
| 2018 | Calais Campbell | JAX | 32 | 53 | 19 | 72 | 10.5 |
| 2016 | Lorenzo Alexander | BUF | 33 | 56 | 20 | 76 | 12.5 |
| 2014 | Terrell Suggs | BAL | 32 | 36 | 25 | 61 | 12.0 |
| 2013 | Calvin Pace | NYJ | 33 | 37 | 16 | 53 | 10.0 |
| 2013 | Robert Mathis | IND | 32 | 44 | 15 | 59 | 19.5 |
| 2011 | James Harrison | PIT | 33 | 48 | 11 | 59 | 9.0 |
| 2011 | Andre Carter | NWE | 32 | 31 | 21 | 52 | 10.0 |
| 2010 | James Hall | STL | 33 | 49 | 6 | 55 | 10.5 |
| 2010 | James Harrison | PIT | 32 | 70 | 30 | 100 | 10.5 |
| 2009 | Aaron Schobel | BUF | 32 | 34 | 22 | 56 | 10.0 |
| 2007 | Michael Strahan | NYG | 36 | 46 | 11 | 57 | 9.0 |
| 2007 | Jason Taylor | MIA | 33 | 47 | 9 | 56 | 11.0 |
| 2007 | Mike Vrabel | NWE | 32 | 56 | 21 | 77 | 12.5 |
| 2006 | Leonard Little | STL | 32 | 57 | 3 | 60 | 13.0 |
| 2006 | Jason Taylor | MIA | 32 | 42 | 20 | 62 | 13.5 |
| 2005 | Michael Strahan | NYG | 34 | 61 | 21 | 82 | 11.5 |
| 2004 | Willie McGinest | NWE | 33 | 35 | 16 | 51 | 9.5 |
| 2003 | Michael Strahan | NYG | 32 | 60 | 15 | 75 | 18.5 |
| 2001 | Robert Porcher | DET | 32 | 45 | 7 | 52 | 11.0 |
| 2000 | Bruce Smith | WAS | 37 | 48 | 9 | 57 | 10.0 |
That being said, the steady recent production on the part of Heyward and Jordan make it seem reasonable that at least one of the two will join Strahan and Smith this year; maybe both. Heyward has T.J. Watt around to command more defensive attention, while Jordan is part of a defense that hasn't ranked lower than 8th in sacks since 2017. They're going to grade out pretty high at the position in this year's IDP rankings.
There's a third candidate to join them this year as a 34-year-old top performer, Buffalo's Von Miller. He had 8 sacks (though just 21 tackles) in 11 games a year ago. But Miller tore his ACL last November, and the latest news has him iffy for the start of the season. Unlikely he puts up top sack numbers if he opens the season on the PUP list.
--Andy Richardson