Tag: 11 personnel

Lions continue to use 3 WR sets as base offense

The Lions use 3 WRs at a higher rate than the league average despite not having a great WR corps

Even casual NFL fans have a pretty good understanding that the Detroit Lions cast of wide receivers is not among the strengths of the team. With Tyrell Williams out for weeks with a concussion, the most recognizable wide receiver on the Detroit roster is second-year Quintez Cephus. And now Cephus is out with a broken collarbone.

Despite the relative lack of impact talent at wide receiver, the Lions continue to lean heavily on deploying three wide receivers as their base offense. Through the first five games, Detroit has run 11 personnel (1 RB, 3 WRs, 1 TE) on 68 percent of its offensive snaps, per Sharp Football. That’s well above the league average of 58 percent in Sharp’s tracking.

It’s reflected in the Lions’ snap counts. Three receivers have played in over 60 percent of the team’s offensive snaps on the season, led by Kalif Raymond at 71.5%. Fourth wideout Trinity Benson has been on the field for 138 snaps, 10 more than No. 2 running back Jamaal Williams. No. 2 tight end Darren Fells has played just 112 and fullback Jason Cabinda is at 52 through five games.

Interestingly, the Lions have yet to run a single snap with four wide receivers on the field, per Sharp. The reliance on 11 personnel is less pronounced when the game margin is seven points or less. In those situations, coordinator Anthony Lynn’s Lions run with three wideouts 49 percent of the time, below the league average of 56 percent.

By way of comparison, the Lions were in three-wide sets 66 percent of the time in 2020 when the team had a more talented receiving corps.

Dolphins’ need for speed yields major boost in 11-personnel explosion

Dolphins’ need for speed yields major boost in 11-personnel explosion

The Miami Dolphins have a need for speed. And thanks to a handful of moves this offseason, that need appears to be filled. But just how much more dynamic is the Dolphins’ offense than it was last year? That, of course, depends on which personnel groups the team implements most frequently. But based off last year’s criteria, the Dolphins are a heck of a whole lot faster on offense.

Here is last year’s group of starting receivers and their 40-yard dash times from their respective pre-draft process.

WR (X) — DeVante Parker (4.45s)
WR (Slot) — Jakeem Grant (4.38s estimated)
WR (Z) — Preston Williams (4.61s) 
TE (Y) — Mike Gesicki (4.54s)
RB — Myles Gaskin (4.58s)

Average 40-yard speed: 4.51s

The true definition of what Miami’s base 11-personnel would look like is up for debate, given that Williams only played half the season and Grant was utilized much more frequently on the outside as the Z-receiver. But these were, generally speaking, Miami’s three best active receivers last season. And the speed of the group is modest, at best. Even other names like Lynn Bowden Jr. (4.50s estimated) and Malcolm Perry (4.63s) wouldn’t have helped. Nor would opt-out receiver Allen Hurns (4.54s). A healthy, 100% version of fellow opt-out WR Albert Wilson (4.43s) would have provided some level of a boost, but he’d also have pushed Grant out of the group and therefore would have technically made the unit “slower”.

This year’s unit? Buckle up.

WR (X) — DeVante Parker (4.45s)
WR (Slot) — Jaylen Waddle (4.30s estimate)
WR (Z) — Will Fuller V (4.32s)
TE (Y) — Mike Gesicki (4.54s)
RB — Myles Gaskin (4.58s)

Average 40-yard speed: 4.43s

Waddle, of course did not run a 40-yard dash at the Alabama Pro Day due to continued rehab and training from a 2020 ankle injury. But he’s blazing fast regardless as the fastest GPS tracked receiver in the 2021 NFL Draft. And he went toe to toe with at least one receiver who ran 4.27s in the 40.

“Me and (Henry) Ruggs raced twice I think my sophomore year after a workout,” Waddle once told CBS Sports. “The first one they say was a tie, and then the second he did beat me. He beat me by like a step or so but he did beat me.”

Miami’s 11-personnel grouping, which the team ran 55% of the time in 2020, is nearly a full tenth of a second faster than last year’s group. How fast is a 4.43s average for the 11-personnel grouping in Miami? Kansas City, which is renowned for their speed, boasted a 4.45s average speed with their own 11-personnel grouping last season, which the team implemented on over 70% of their snaps last year.

The speed is better. The production should follow and more explosive plays should, too — and the credit goes to Miami for having the self awareness of what their roster did (and didn’t) have going into the 2021 offseason.