Carl Lawson had a dominant final season at Auburn, with 14 tackles for loss and nine sacks. He slipped to the Bengals in the fourth round of the 2017 draft primarily because of injury concerns. But part of the reason may have also been that he’s just 16 years old, according to the Bengals’ website.
Bengals think their new draft pick Carl Lawson is only 16 years old
Cincinnati’s roster lists Lawson at age 16, which is clearly a typo, but that’s not going to keep us from having some fun.
Jeanna Kelley has been covering the Falcons for The Falcoholic since 2011 and the NFL for SB Nation since 2015.
Sixteen is awfully young to be playing in the NFL. How was this not one of the biggest stories of the NFL draft?
Amobi Okoye was the youngest player drafted into the NFL back in 2007 at the age of 19, but Lawson has him beat by three whole years. And we thought Lawson’s teammate, Joe Mixon, was young. At 20 years old, Mixon is four full years older than the youthful Lawson.
Despite being the youngest NFL player in history, Lawson is just a normal 16-year-old who likes doing normal 16-year-old things.
Carl Lawson should be getting ready for his junior prom, or enjoying the newfound freedom that comes with being old enough to finally get one’s driver’s license. Instead, he’s embarking on an NFL adventure at the tender age of 16.
OK, fine. Lawson’s age on the roster is just a typo. He’s 21, and he’ll turn 22 about a month before training camp starts, and the Bengals will probably correct the roster soon.
See More:
