Offense Will Benefit From Personnel Versatility

The Packers played a lot of 11 personnel in 2019. Look for that number to decrease in 2020. 

In Matt LaFleur’s first season as head coach of the Green Bay Packers, the offense played 60% of snaps in 11 personnel (3 WR, 1 RB, 1 TE). Behind Davante Adams, the receivers on the field rotated pretty regularly with Allen Lazard, Geronimo Allison, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, and Jake Kumerow all seeing their share of snaps. 

In 2019, the Packers carried six receivers on the roster, but in recent seasons they’ve kept as many as seven and as few as five. With LaFleur vocal about wanting to run the ball, and the Packers selecting a bruising running back and versatile tight end on day two of the draft, wide receiver could be a less-emphasized position in 2020. And that’s not to say Davante Adams won’t remain a top-five receiver in the league and players like Allen Lazard and Devin Funchess won’t have big roles to fill on offense, because they will, but the Packers might not feel a need to carry a sixth receiver on the roster with LaFleur’s desire for versatility on offense. 

It’s not entirely out of the realm of possibilities that the Packers might only keep five receivers heading into 2020, deciding instead to carry an extra running back or tight end. (Though it’s hard to imagine five tight ends on the roster. This isn’t the Chicago Bears we’re talking about after all.)

On the topic of tight ends, though, the Packers played 20% of snaps in 12 personnel last season (2 WR, 1 RB, 2 TE). That number could increase this season. Green Bay will expect Jace Sternberger to take a leap in his second season, now as TE1 on the roster, and the remaining trio of Marcedes Lewis, rookie Josiah Deguara, and Robert Tonyan will give LaFleur plenty of options when it comes to how the offense can operate out of 12. 

What’s interesting about 12 personnel is that the Packers passed only 40% of the time from 12, meaning 60% of those 229 snaps were actually running plays. Running the ball out of 12, the Packers scored three touchdowns and averaged 4.2 yards per carry. 

Operating out of 21 personnel (2 WR, 2 RB, 1 TE) 12% of the time in 2019, the Packers scored only one rushing touchdown but averaged 4.8 yards per carry. The Packers obviously return Aaron Jones in 2020, but the selection of power back A.J. Dillon in the second round of the draft gives Green Bay another layer to its run game. Consider a personnel grouping that has Jones, Dillon, Adams, and Sternberger or Deguara on the field at the same time. That’s what 21 can do for this offense. 

A theme from both LaFleur and offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett this past offseason has been being multiple on offense, meaning that whichever personnel groupings are on the field, the offense still has options. The drafting of Deguara and Dillon has all but ensured the offense is going to emphasize some different packages in 2020. While some will continue to focus on a perceived lack of production from the wide receiving core in 2019, Dillon and Deguara help to further explain how LaFleur’s offense doesn’t funnel through his wide receivers. Players like Dillon and Deguara only make Davante Adams more dangerous by adding another layer of versatility to LaFleur’s personnel packages. 

Let’s look now at the San Francisco 49ers offense. In 2019, the 49ers ranked second in rushing yards per game, second in points per game, and fourth in yards per game. When it came to passing yards per game, however, the 49ers dropped all the way to 13th. 

What did the 49ers do on offense that made them so dangerous? They were multiple. On the ground, Tevin Coleman, Raheem Mostert, and Matt Breida all averaged 4.0 yards per carry or greater. Through the air, tight end George Kittle paved the way for the rest of the offense with 1,053 receiving yards, 622 of those yards coming after the catch. Wide receivers Deebo Samuel and Emmanuel Sanders both added over 500 receiving yards themselves, with Sanders only playing in 10 games for the 49ers. And this doesn’t include fullback and offensive chess piece Kyle Juszczyk, either. 

The 49ers only played 40% of snaps in 11 personnel. San Francisco had the most success in 21 personnel, playing 28% of snaps there with a 55% success rate. For reference, the Packers didn’t have above a 48% success rate in any personnel package in 2019 (unless we count 32 personnel, but they only played three snaps there so the sample size is minute). 

Only Minnesota (25%) and Arizona (36%) played fewer snaps in 11 personnel than the 49ers in 2019. And San Francisco played the most snaps in 21 by a wide margin, with no other team playing more than 21% of snaps in that grouping. 

With the positions the Packers emphasized in the draft, expect them to come out in some different looks in 2020. General Manager Brian Gutekunst said after the draft that the focus was on getting LaFleur the guys he needed to run his offense the way he wanted to moving forward. This should take some pressure off Rodgers and the receivers and give the offense some versatility regardless of which personnel groupings are on the field. 

All personnel statistics came from Sharp Football Stats. 

 

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Maggie Loney is a writer for Cheesehead TV and podcaster for the Pack-A-Day Podcast and Pack's What She Said. Find her on Twitter at @MaggieJLoney.

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Comments (14)

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Bearmeat's picture

June 12, 2020 at 07:01 am

1. We're going to have to play a lot less 11 personnel this year, if for no other reason than that offensive personnel does not fit the best usage of our available talent on offense anymore.

2. We are absolutely not going to be keeping 6 WRs. 4 TEs and 4 RBs are far more likely.

3. I still want either Kenny Stills or Taylor Gabriel on our team. We need SOMEONE, ANYONE at WR with some speed to keep FS's busy other than MVS... who, lets face it, has shown why he was only a 5th round pick with his insane RAS.

4. Jace was out of bounds in the picture above. Glad it wasn't called that way. haha.

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Guam's picture

June 12, 2020 at 07:56 am

I wonder if it is going to be 3TE's and 5RB's? We only have one fullback / H-back on the roster in Deguara and that may not be enough to run MLF's offense. Injuries happen and some depth at fullback / H-back might be needed.

I also am not sure how much Tonyan brings to the table. I think he would be an easy cut if another good fullback / H-back can be found.

Completely agree that 6 WR's is not in the cards this year. ESB, MVS, Kumerow and Begelton are going to be in a dog fight for two spots on the roster.

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PeteK's picture

June 12, 2020 at 08:45 am

I also wanted Gabrie ,but now that we have Ervin and Begelton there is no need. I would rather have a DL.

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Bearmeat's picture

June 12, 2020 at 09:55 am

How about both?

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PeteK's picture

June 13, 2020 at 07:46 am

I would like to keep some money in the till for next year.

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ricky's picture

June 12, 2020 at 07:12 am

Robert Tonyan could be the odd man out this year. He's the guy who hangs around, looks good in practice, but rarely sees the field. Lewis should stick around to help mentor Sternberger and Deguara. Four TE's? Maybe. But if you only go with five WR's, you're apparently hoping to stash someone on the PS. And that number is also cutting it thin at WR. One injury and the team is in a world of hurt.

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ricky's picture

June 12, 2020 at 07:12 am

Robert Tonyan could be the odd man out this year. He's the guy who hangs around, looks good in practice, but rarely sees the field. Lewis should stick around to help mentor Sternberger and Deguara. Four TE's? Maybe. But if you only go with five WR's, you're apparently hoping to stash someone on the PS. And that number is also cutting it thin at WR. One injury and the team is in a world of hurt.

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Coldworld's picture

June 12, 2020 at 08:01 am

I believe the Hback is a fixture in what LaFleur is trying to do. As such it seems possible that there may need to be 2 HBacks. I could see 3 TEs and 2 HBacks.

Sternberger played a little Hback last year, but not particularly comfortably and now is TE 1. So if he is the back up then Tonyan would have to step up big time. Lewis is not going anywhere but likely isn’t playing H back, so that argues for three true TEs.

However, Funchess could be as effective as a move TE as Tonyan, but that would argue for 6 receivers, 2 TEs and an Hback or two. Obviously injuries could be a factor, but I could see 6 receivers under this scenario.

At running back, Jones and Dillon are obvious and Williams highly likely. I don’t see Ervin not being our return man and therefore you have 4 to start with and there could be a possibility of 5 if they want to run multiples and have more depth.

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PeteK's picture

June 12, 2020 at 08:43 am

I think Ervin will be more than our return man. His versatility as a runner and pass catcher allows the coaching staff to line him up anywhere on the field.

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dobber's picture

June 12, 2020 at 03:56 pm

I was really pleased with the fact that the Packers immediately put together a few offensive plays that took advantage of Ervin's quickness. That kind of adaptability seemed to be lacking in recent years, and the Packers needed a spark.

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jannes bjornson's picture

June 15, 2020 at 09:41 pm

They better, there is still little to no speed for the skill position groups.

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Leatherhead's picture

June 12, 2020 at 09:00 am

Tonyan gets a lot of love, but he doesn’t do much on the field. He’s not much of a blocker. I think he’ll be replaced by Looney.

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jannes bjornson's picture

June 15, 2020 at 09:42 pm

He is a guy looking to play in Dallas.

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PackerGold's picture

June 13, 2020 at 07:29 pm

Playing with constant and steady performers will be key in 2020. Aaron Rogers has got to know the receiving personnel to the point he has confidence in how they run their patterns, the speed and abilities of the ball catchers and who will lay their body out for the tough catch. With an ever changing personnel on offense there is no rhythm or consistency for Aaron to build upon.

Looking at the list of ball catchers, I think the more experienced players will win out. Players like Lewis and Adams.

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