Eight grizzled NFL vets drinking from the Fountain of Youth

Playing in a game in which most players last but a few years, there are some grizzled old veterans in the NFL who are performing at a level even most youngsters couldn’t arrive at even in their wildest dreams.

For the purposes of this article, we’re setting the cut-off at 35 years and older, which in NFL terms is undeniably ancient.

These NFL stars are legends in their own right, and they routinely school their youthful opponents. Verifying the legends are indeed true, they’ve discovered the Fountain of Youth and drink from it every weekend.

Charles Woodson, S, Oakland Raiders (39)

How in the world is Woodson still one of the best safeties in the NFL?

Playing in his 18th NFL season, the 39-year-old defensive back defies Father Time and the football gods every weekend by playing at an absurdly high level.

Ok, so he’s not nearly as fast as he was when he came into the league out of Michigan with the Heisman glow. But his knowledge of the game, legendary instincts and an African Elephant’s nose for the football allow Woodson to create turnovers better than almost anyone in football.

Heading into Week 14, he’s just one shy (with seven) of Cincinnati’s Reggie Nelson for the league lead in takeaways.

Capping off his success this season, Woodson achieved a career goal back in Week 5 when he intercepted Peyton Manning (twice), which was something he’d never before been able to accomplish. Unfortunately for Manning, turnovers were rather commonplace this year before the future Hall of Famer’s injuries sidelined him, opening the door for young Brock Osweiler to step in. But I digress.

Woodson is well on his way to being voted to his fourth career First-Team All-Pro squad, playing some of the finest ball of his career this year for the Raiders.

Carson Palmer, QB, Arizona Cardinals (35)

When Palmer suffered an ACL injury last season, many thought it was the beginning of the end for a guy who’d never really lived up to his full potential. Rather than shrivel up and die, however, Palmer came back stronger than ever and now leads one of the league’s most dangerous offenses — one that has continued to thrive despite missing its top two running backs.

Despite playing behind an offensive line that allows a ton of pressure, Palmer is putting up jaw-dropping numbers: 3,693 yards passing (No. 3 in the NFL) with 29 touchdowns (No. 2) and nine interceptions. Better still, the Cardinals are winning games at a tremendous rate the past two seasons when he starts.

Despite being a high-volume passer, Palmer is connecting regularly with his receivers deep down the field, as his No. 2-ranked 8.84 yards per attempt clearly illustrates.

Thanks to a tireless work ethic (read more about that here, via MMQB.com), both on the practice field and in the film room, Palmer has developed himself into one of the NFL’s preeminent signal-callers.

He’s playing the best football of his career, and if the Cardinals can somehow develop an offensive line Palmer looks like he could play a handful of seasons more, having clearly discovered the legendary Fountain of Youth.

Julius Peppers, OLB, Green Bay Packers (35)

Not only is Peppers still performing at a high level at the age of 35, but he had to learn an entirely new position late in his career. Unlike Woodson’s transition from corner to safety, which can be natural, Peppers transitioned from defensive end to outside linebacker, which is extremely difficult.

For 12 years the dynamic pass-rusher out of North Carolina State terrorized quarterbacks as a pure defensive end playing with Carolina and Chicago. He was then brought to Green Bay and thrust into a 3-4 defense that asks its pass-rushers to drop into coverage, among other things he never did much before.

After registering seven sacks last year, Peppers already has seven more this season and could easily get to double-digits as the Packers move into the home stretch. While his coverage skills are still a work in progress, Peppers is playing at an extremely high level for Green Bay and should be a key player for the team heading into the playoffs.

The best part?

Peppers still feels pretty good these days, even towards the end of another long season.

“Certain days,” he said recently (h/t Kent Babb of the Washington Post) “you wake up and you’ve got to get it going a little more than others. But for the most part, I’m able to just get up and get it rolling, rolling pretty good.”

Currently tied with all-time great Lawrence Taylor with 132.5 career sacks, Peppers should be around a few more years to move up the all-time list if his body continues to stay fresh.

Tom Brady, QB, New England Patriots (38)

Already a sure-fire Hall of Famer and candidate for NFL GOAT at the quarterback position, we’re going to look back on Brady’s career and wonder what could have been. He’s always been saddled with a mediocre receiving corps (Randy Moss being the exception) and has still managed to put up ridiculous numbers.

Once again, despite playing with a group of terrible receivers again this year, Brady is leading the league in both passing yards (3,912) and touchdowns (31), while throwing just six interceptions.

His only half-way decent receivers have gone down in flames to injury, one after another. Then Rob Gronkowski was taken out in Week 12, and Brady threw two costly interceptions — including a pick-six — last weekend trying to do too much. He desperately needs Gronkowski back, as soon as possible.

However, given his track record for stepping up his game when the Pats need him the most, nobody should be surprised if New England’s golden boy ends up figuring a way out of the current mini-slump and takes his team to another Super Bowl.

Terence Newman, CB, Minnesota Vikings (37)

Minnesota features one of the NFL’s most dynamic defenses — last weekend’s embarrassing beat down courtesy of the Seattle Seahawks notwithstanding. Guys like Anthony Barr, Harrison Smith, Sharrif Floyd and rookie Eric Kendricks all receive plenty of well-deserved credit for their roles in turning this defense around, but Newman has quietly put together an outstanding season.

Taking full advantage of the pressure Minnesota’s front seven routinely puts on opposing quarterbacks, Newman has registered three interceptions this year and gotten his hands on 10 more passes. Pro Football Focus (subscription required) also has opposing quarterbacks achieving a passer rating of just 69.1 against the 13-year vet, who came into the league as a first-round pick of the Dallas Cowboys.

A long-time pupil of head coach Mike Zimmer’s, he’s been a stabilizing force for a young defense that was rudderless last year with much of the same talent.

“Terence hasn’t lost a beat,” Vikings cornerback Captain Munnerlyn said (h/t CBS Minnesota). “I told him he’s getting better with age. He’s going out there and competing at a very high level. He’s been a team leader, especially on the back end. He’s helping guys out a lot. He’s known this scheme forever. He knows the ins and outs of it. He’s like a coach back there.”

Minnesota is currently 8-4 and in second place behind Green Bay (also 8-4) in the division. Barring a tremendously disappointing finish, the Vikings should make it into the playoffs. And, while guys like Adrian Peterson and the aforementioned young defenders get all the credit in January, don’t forget about Newman’s contributions, without which the Vikings wouldn’t be there in the first place.

Anquan Boldin, WR, San Francisco 49ers (35)

A pro’s pro, Boldin has been a model teammate the past couple of years, despite playing for a franchise heading in the wrong direction. He’s also still finding a way to contribute in a meaningful way, despite playing with mediocre (or worse) quarterbacks in an offense that doesn’t feature the pass.

As such, Boldin’s 2015 numbers don’t jump off the page, but given his quarterback situation and the fact he missed two games he’s doing just fine, thank you. The receiver has caught 49 passes for 595 yards and two touchdowns this year.

He also became just the 18th player in NFL history to reach the 13,000-yard receiving plateau last Sunday against the Chicago Bears when he caught five passes for 37 yards. After the 26-20 overtime road win over Chicago, however, Boldin wasn’t interested in discussing his personal achievements. Rather, he pointed back to the team and what the victory means to a team that hasn’t experienced a lot of positives this year.

“I’m happy we got a win today,” Boldin said. “We’ve had a tough season and wins are hard to come by in this league. Whenever you can get one, you definitely have to be satisfied with it. The way we had to fight to get it makes it even more exciting.”

One of the league’s rock-solid citizens and model leaders, Boldin has always produced on the field. One has to imagine he’d still be putting up numbers at a prodigious pace if he were playing with one of the veteran quarterbacks on this list. As it stands, what he’s doing this year with San Francisco is impressive enough.

James Harrison, OLB, Pittsburgh Steelers (37)

Silverback. It’s an apt nickname for a guy who can bull-rush NFL offensive linemen like they are wearing skates.

Harrison really might be as strong as a male silverback mountain gorilla, and he’s still logging more snaps on average per game than any of his younger teammates at the outside linebacker position.

And he’s doing it all well, too. The folks at Pro Football Focus have Harrison ranked as the No. 7 3-4 outside linebacker in the NFL this year. He’s racked up five sacks, seven other hits and 21 quarterback hurries.

Remember, this is a guy who retired in 2014. He came back three weeks later after some injuries to Pittsburgh’s pass-rushing group but had to be convinced. His three sacks this past Sunday helped spark a huge win for the Steelers over Indianapolis, setting them up at 7-5 and in excellent position for a playoff berth with a strong finish.

Antonio Gates, TE, San Diego Chargers (35)

Since missing four games (suspension) to start the season, the league’s oldest starting tight end is proving he’s still one of the best in the game.

With 39 catches for 421 yards and four touchdowns, he’s been a reliable security blanket for Philip Rivers, who has needed one. Averaged out over a 16-game season, Gates would have caught 89 passes for 962 yards and nine touchdowns at the same pace.

Rivers, who is also sipping on some of the magical water from the fountain but barely missed this list, wants his buddy to come back next year, for good reason.

And the crazy part about Gates’ performance this year is that he’s doing all this with a gimpy knee and sore hip. These injuries were ailing him so much recently that he wondered aloud if he was hurting his team, per Michaek Gehlken of the San Diego Union-Tribune. Um…no, sir. No you are not.

It’s just a shame San Diego (3-9) is such a dumpster fire this year.