Highlighting the NFL's All-Over-30 Team

The NFL seems to get younger every year, infused with new life force from cheap rookies as we froth around the draft. But what if we created a team of wily veterans?

Imagine, if you will, an NFL world of "old" players. What would that look like? Which players 30 or above would make the squad? 

Like the All-Pro team—with first and second choices, for good measure—let's look at the All-Over-30 team based on quality of play and what they may have left in the tank. We'll allow players who are actually 30 to expand the pool a bit.

Quarterback

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First Team All-Over-30: Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers

The quarterback position is absolutely loaded here, so it was almost too hard to pick just one. In the end, however, how could we pick anyone over Aaron Rodgers?

The reigning NFL MVP is playing at the peak of his powers and is efficiently dominant on an annual basis. If you were starting an NFL team from scratch, Rodgers would be the first player chosen behind Andrew Luck. 

Rodgers broke the record for passer rating in 2011—his first MVP season—with a ridiculous 122.5 rating, and he has been above 100 in each of the past six seasons. His career passer rating of 106.0 is the best in NFL history by a wide margin, and he isn't showing any signs of a drop-off.

A few more years of this and Rodgers might be crowned one of the best quarterbacks in NFL history. Enough said.

Second Team All-Over-30: Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh Steelers

This was a much more difficult choice.

We have Tom Brady, reigning Super Bowl champion and arguably the best quarterback in NFL history. Then there is Peyton Manning, the best quarterback ever from a statistical standpoint. 

What about Drew Brees? Tony Romo?

All these are excellent choices, but some are too old and others take a back seat to a perennially underrated Pittsburgh signal-caller—Ben Roethlisberger. 

After years of run-heavy offenses—not to mention a number of injuries—Roethlisberger has been relatively healthy and the Steelers have ramped up the passing game. Big Ben led the league in passing yards last season with 4,952, and he tossed 32 touchdowns to go with it. 

Roethlisberger might not have Manning's statistics or Brady's recency bias, but he could certainly play at a high level for several more years.

Running Back

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First Team All-Over-30: Adrian Peterson, Minnesota Vikings

This is shaping up to be quite the squad.

Were it not for the incredible depth at quarterback, Adrian Peterson might be the most valuable member of the All-Over-30 team. As it stands, he will have to settle for second-best player on this squad.

Though he has been through the ringer after his troublesome off-field issues, Peterson remains one of the league's most talented running backs, even at 30 years of age. After all, he is just a few years removed from his epic 2,097-yard season, and he had 1,266 yards and 10 touchdowns in a "letdown" campaign in 2013.

Given a year off, who knows how well he might play with fresh legs.

Second Team All-Over-30: Frank Gore, Indianapolis Colts

It's a good thing Peterson turned 30 this year—the pickings were slim otherwise.

That makes sense, given the relative wear and tear running backs take when compared to other positions. It's amazing that a guy like Frank Gore—who has 2,784 regular-season touches in his career after tearing ACLs in both knees—has been so resilient and impactful.

Gore will get a chance to shine in a properly balanced offense this season with the Colts.

Wide Receiver

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First Team All-Over-30: Jordy Nelson, Green Bay Packers; Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona Cardinals

Calvin Johnson narrowly missed the cutoff here—he is just a couple of months away from 30—so we'll take the next best option. That would be Jordy Nelson, the underrated dynamo in Green Bay.

Some say Nelson is a product of his quarterback, Aaron Rodgers. That may be true from a statistical standpoint—he has averaged 1,416.5 yards and 10.5 touchdowns over the past two seasons—but Nelson is a fantastic receiver in his own right.

His running mate here has the opposite problem.

Many have viewed Larry Fitzgerald as one of the best receivers of his generation, one that has been plagued by quarterback play that has been mediocre at best outside the relatively brief Kurt Warner years. 

Fitzgerald may have lost a step, but imagine his statistical output in Nelson's place.

Second Team All-Over-30: Brandon Marshall, New York Jets; Andre Johnson, Indianapolis Colts

These two are getting a bit long in the tooth, but they are still a great pair of No. 1 wideouts. Both are in new situations where they should thrive, to boot.

Marshall was hobbled by injuries last season, but he still managed 721 yards and eight touchdowns in 13 games. He has shown an ability to produce in spite of his quarterback situation—he had the ninth-most receiving yards among his peers over the past three years despite his injury woes—and that will be put to the ultimate test with Geno Smith under center for him this year.

He should be up to the task if he's healthy.

Johnson, meanwhile, has been a pass-catching dynamo throughout his career despite living in quarterback purgatory for most of it. We'll see just how good he still is now that he has a bona fide star throwing him the ball in Andrew Luck.

Tight End

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First Team All-Over-30: Greg Olsen, Carolina Panthers

Rob Gronkowski is the NFL's best tight end, and Jimmy Graham has been his biggest challenger when both are healthy. Unfortunately, for the purposes of this article, both are too young.

Fortunately, we have a sneaky good option to top the list—Greg Olsen.

Carolina's big tight end has blossomed into one of the most reliable players at his position, steadily increasing his profile ever since the Chicago Bears traded him to the Panthers for a third-round pick in July 2011. It's a mistake former Bears general manager Jerry Angelo still regrets, per WGWG Chicago (h/t NFL.com's Chris Wesseling).

"I understood he wasn't the ideal fit in (Mike Martz's) scheme, but we let our best receiver go," Angelo said. "Obviously it was Cutler's favorite receiver at the time. ... That's on me. I understood what the coaches were saying, but you don't let one of your better players out the door."

Olsen posted his first 1,000-yard season last year, and there is little reason to think he won't have a similar output in 2015 given the state of Carolina's receiving corps.

Second Team All-Over-30: Antonio Gates, San Diego Chargers

How could we have a team of thirty-somethings and not include Antonio Gates?

Granted, the big tight end seems to be nearing the end of the line, but Gates can still make a major contribution when he is healthy. The future Hall of Famer bounced back from a couple of injury-marred seasons to average 846.5 receiving yards and eight touchdowns over the past two years.

Left Tackle

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First Team All-Over-30: Jason Peters, Philadelphia Eagles

Jason Peters has been arguably the league's best left tackle over the past five or six years when healthy.

He overcame a twice-ruptured Achilles in 2012, regaining his form a year later and rating as the top offensive tackle in 2014, per Pro Football Focus. He is simply a fantastic all-around offensive lineman, even at 33 years of age.

Second Team All-Over-30: Joe Thomas, Cleveland Browns

Despite his top PFF billing in 2014, it wasn't easy picking Peters to be on the first team here. It was even more difficult to leave Andrew Whitworth of the Cincinnati Bengals—who finished second this year in PFF's rating of offensive tackles—off altogether.

Joe Thomas has been a bit better over the long haul, however, and he is a few years younger, too.

Right Tackle

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First Team All-Over-30: Sebastian Vollmer, New England Patriots

Whereas there are a plethora of quality left tackles over the age of 30, there seems to be a dearth of such-aged talent at right tackle.

While there might not be an obviously elite above-30 option, there are a couple of strong candidates from which to choose.

The top one is Sebastian Vollmer, who has ranked among the best right tackles in the league for years at Pro Football Focus. The well-rounded lineman likely gives Patriots quarterback Tom Brady peace of mind under center.

Second Team All-Over-30: Zach Strief, New Orleans Saints

Zach Strief has protected Drew Brees' front side for his entire career, ever since Brees came to the Saints from San Diego. Pro Football Focus rated him as the league's fifth-best right tackle this past season.

Guard

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First Team All-Over-30: Marshal Yanda, Baltimore Ravens; Evan Mathis, Philadelphia Eagles

It seems as though Marshal Yanda and Evan Mathis have remained atop the rankings at guard for a decade.

The studs from Baltimore and Philadelphia, respectively, have routinely been favorites of Pro Football Focus, consistently ranking among the best at the position when healthy.

Second Team All-Over-30: Ben Grubbs, Kansas City Chiefs; Jahri Evans, New Orleans Saints

For a time, Ben Grubbs was up there with the first-teamers. He was even on the same team at one point—Yanda and Grubbs formed a formidable duo along the interior of the offense for Baltimore.

When he moved on, he teamed up with Jahri Evans, another great guard in New Orleans. That pair had been among the best in the league until Grubbs fell off a bit in 2014 and was traded to the Kansas City Chiefs in March.

Center

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First Team All-Over-30: Nick Mangold, New York Jets

The rock in the middle of the New York Jets line hasn't fallen off with age. On the contrary, he is on top of the NFL at his position, according to Pro Football Focus.

Mangold has routinely rated out as one of the best centers in the league, and 2014 was no different. At 31, he could have a few great years left in him.

Second Team All-Over-30: Ryan Kalil, Carolina Panthers

While there was a clear choice at the top here, we had a number of plausible options after Mangold. Free agents Brian De La Puente and Chris Myers have been among the better centers in the league throughout their careers—though neither has been particularly heralded—but Ryan Kalil took the cake.

Kalil has been steady for the Panthers for years, something that can't be said for many other teams or even elsewhere on Carolina's own offensive line.

Edge-Rusher

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First Team All-Over-30: Cameron Wake, Miami Dolphins; Mario Williams, Buffalo Bills

Could you imagine if Cameron Wake and Mario Williams were coming off the edge to get you? This is currently the fever dream of a frightened quarterback.

Wake is arguably the league's best pass-rusher, even at the age of 33. Pro Football Focus has rated him as the best player at his position in three of the past four seasons, including the top-rated 4-3 defensive end last season.

Williams has been no slouch himself, enjoying the best production of his career during the last couple of seasons. 

Second Team All-Over-30: Julius Peppers, Green Bay Packers; DeMarcus Ware, Denver Broncos

These two are a tad past their prime, but Julius Peppers and DeMarcus Ware are still quality pass-rushers at 35 and 32, respectively. 

Peppers is a bit closer to the twilight of his career, yet he ranked among the best 3-4 outside linebackers last season, per Pro Football Focus. 

Interior Defensive Line

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First Team All-Over-30: Vince Wilfork, Houston Texans; Kyle Williams, Buffalo Bills

Vince Wilfork is a big, bad man. It's unfortunate he was too expensive for the New England Patriots to keep.

His loss was Houston's gain, however, as the Texans now have one of the league's best defensive lines with Wilfork in town. 

The same can be said about the Bills, where Kyle Williams has formed a formidable duo in the middle alongside Marcell Dareus for a few years now.

Second Team All-Over-30: Terrance Knighton, Washington; Haloti Ngata, Detroit Lions

Terrance Knighton's career turnaround has been remarkable, though not enough for the Denver Broncos to make a serious effort to keep him this offseason. Washington scooped him up, and he should help beef up that interior defensive line in the nation's capital.

Haloti Ngata, meanwhile, might reasonably fill Ndamukong Suh's shoes in Detroit, an endeavor few defensive tackles could dream of accomplishing. He might not be the dominant player he was a few years ago, but Ngata is still among the best at age 31. 

Inside Linebacker

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First Team All-Over-30: Derrick Johnson, Kansas City Chiefs

Patrick Willis would have been the man here, hands down. Alas, retirement called. For all of the 49ers, it seems.

Anyway, the next-best option is out of Kansas City. One of the more underrated players in the league, Derrick Johnson has helmed a defense that has been rather formidable for much of his tenure.

Johnson is making his way back from a torn right Achilles, but a number of athletes have successfully overcome that injury in recent years. The Chiefs did a nice job defensively last season without him—ranking in the top 10 in total defense and No. 2 in scoring—which suggests the unit could be surprisingly dominant in 2015 when he returns.

Second Team All-Over-30: Daryl Smith, Baltimore Ravens

He might not be Ray Lewis, but Daryl Smith has filled in nicely for the future Hall of Famer in Baltimore. 

Smith has been key in ensuring the Ravens didn't fall off a cliff defensively despite some major personnel losses over the past few seasons. 

The 33-year-old was the league's seventh-best inside linebacker last season, according to Pro Football Focus, which is no small feat for a man his age. To put that into perspective, Ray Lewis ranked eighth in the league at a similar age in 2007, which is the earliest PFF data available.

Outside Linebacker (4-3)

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First Team All-Over-30: Thomas Davis, Carolina Panthers; Lance Briggs, Free Agent

Who'd have thought Thomas Davis would be one of the league's best outside linebackers after his horrific injury luck?

Davis shredded his knee three times in the span of a few years, and he almost quit because of it, as ESPN.com's Tommy Tomlinson recounted:

"

That night, he talked it over with his wife, Kelly. This time, he'd get a cadaver ligament to replace his ACL. It wasn't flexible enough for pro football, but maybe he could shoot hoops at the gym. The rehab wouldn't be as hard. He wouldn't have to train for the torque and thrust of life as an NFL linebacker. He'd stop when he was well enough to run around the backyard with his kids.

At first, he felt peace. No NFL player -- no pro athlete of any kind -- had come back from three ACL tears on the same knee. There was no point in thinking about it.

Then he thought about it.

He thought about all he had gone through that everyone knew about. He thought about the one thing almost nobody knew about.

The next morning, he showed up at Panthers practice. And he got ready to start over again.

"

It's a good thing he didn't quit, as Davis has been a rock for the Panthers since coming back from his last surgery.

The fact free agent Lance Briggs is the next-best option at the position means we won't be looking at a second team. The position is too thin at this age.

Cornerback

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First Team All-Over-30: Brent Grimes, Miami Dolphins; Antonio Cromartie, New York Jets

Cornerback is a young man's position.

Darrelle Revis barely missed the cutoff, leaving a fated pair here. Brent Grimes has overcome his diminutive stature and a shredded Achilles to become one of the top cover corners in the league, even at 31 years of age. 

His running mate will be Revis' in New York again this fall, Antonio Cromartie. Though not nearly as good as his elite partner, Cromartie has been one of the best cornerbacks in the league when healthy over the past several years. 

Second Team All-Over-30: Tim Jennings, Chicago Bears; Rashean Mathis, Detroit Lions

The drop off beyond Grimes and Cromartie is pretty steep here.

That isn't to say there aren't any options—aging Tim Jennings and Rashean Mathis are the best choices for the second team. But it was slim pickings otherwise.

Jennings has been a turnover machine for the Bears in recent years, though his production dropped off the map in 2014 along with the rest of that defense's performance. He did rate positively over at Pro Football Focus, however.

Similar things can be said about Mathis, who was actually the 12th-best corner in the league last season, according to PFF.

Safety

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First Team All-Over-30: Eric Weddle, San Diego Chargers; Antoine Bethea, San Francisco 49ers

Eric Weddle might be one of the best safeties in the league by virtue of his epic beard alone.

He's actually pretty good on the field, too. So good, in fact, that Weddle has been in an ugly contract dispute this offseason, per U-T San Diego's Kevin Acee.

If we were creating this list a year ago, Antoine Bethea wouldn't have been on it. Of course, that's mostly because he would've been too young, but also because he was floundering with the Indianapolis Colts.

Not so in San Francisco, where the 49ers have made a habit of churning out quality safeties. 

Second Team All-Over-30: Mike Adams, Indianapolis Colts

Solid but unspectacular, Mike Adams has quietly been one of the more consistent safeties in the league ever since his days in Denver. Pro Football Focus ranked him as the NFL's seventh-best safety this past season, giving him particularly high grades in coverage.