After Week 1 of the 2018 season, Hue Jackson was livid. Not because his Browns team had failed to win for the 17th game in a row, but because Josh Gordon had found his way into the starting lineup after the coach had said all week that he wouldn’t start against the Steelers. But when Cleveland lined up for its first offensive snap, against his head coach’s wishes, Gordon was out on the field.

Why? Well, offensive coordinator Todd Haley’s first play-call required a personnel grouping that featured the troubled receiver. Jackson was upset that he had been publically undermined by an assistant but said he understood how it happened.

Via Cleveland.com:

“The personnel group got him out there on the first play,” Jackson said after the game. “I saw it just like you did. Not what I wanted, but we will get through that, too.” “As I said last night, again I don’t want to keep elaborating on it — the personnel, obviously as you guys saw, Josh wasn’t in quite a few play after that,” he said. “The personnel that we were using obviously called for him to be in the game (on the first play). We could’ve switched that up. That’s all. That’s all it was.”

The point is, aside from being a method to punish a player, starting lineups don’t really matter in today’s NFL. Play-calling supersedes the official team depth chart in every case. Back in the day, when teams would invariably line up with two receivers, two backs and a tight end, it made sense to focus on the 11 starters. Now, teams sub players in and out with regularity.

As a result, teams no longer have one set starting lineup. They have multiple lineups, and they use a numbering system to label them all. It’s a simple two-digit system: The first digit represents how many running backs are on the field. The second number represents how many tight ends are on the field. So if a team is in 12 personnel, there is one running back on the field and two tight ends. With five skill players on the field at once — the other six spots are filled by the QB and five offensive linemen — that leaves two spots for wide receivers.

12 Personnel = 1 Running back / 2 Tight Ends

The combinations an offense can utilize are numerous, but there are a handful of personnel groupings that are used by almost every team. We’re here to break down the strength of each of those groupings and highlight the team that currently executes each one best. We’ll start with the most popular personnel grouping in today’s NFL…

(To be clear, we’re looking strictly at *which* players are on the field here, not *where* they’re lined up.)

With the game being spread out more and more, 11 personnel has become the dominant package across the league. With four receivers (three wideouts and one tight end) on the line of scrimmage, the defense has to account for four immediate vertical threats while also having to defend seven run gaps. The tight end can also stay in to block, creating a seven-man pass protection. 11 personnel allows the offense to get creative with formations: Offenses can line up in a three-by-one formation in order to isolate their best receiver to one side; they can line up in a two-by-two to keep things balanced; or they can split the back out wide and go empty.

League-wide usage: 66%

1. Rams, 87%

2. Packers, 78%

3. Bengals, 77%

4. Steelers, 74%

5. Colts, 74%

Who does it best? Los Angeles Rams

I don’t know if the Rams have the most talented 11 personnel grouping in the league (more on that tomorrow), but they execute out of the set better than anybody thanks to Sean McVay’s scheme and the “illusion of complexity” it presents. Having two burners in Robert Woods and Brandin Cooks on the outside helps to keep the run box light for Todd Gurley. But McVay’s condensed formations provide his receivers with good blocking angles that make their run-blocking look better than it actually is. Getting Cooper Kupp back healthy in 2019 should give the Rams offense the boost it needed down the stretch last season. He’s a good run blocker who can also be relied on to get open against man coverage. After his injury, the Rams had to turn to more 12 personnel sets.

This isn’t the most popular personnel grouping in the league, but I’d guess that if most NFL teams could base out of 12 personnel, they would. The formational versatility that having two viable tight ends on the field provides would entice any play-caller. A team can line up in a condensed, run-first look one down and then spread things out the next down — and doing so without huddling doesn’t give the defense a chance to sub. If a team wants to operate out of a no-huddle, 12 personnel is the best way to do it in the NFL. The two tight ends create eight run gaps to defend while still maintaining four immediate vertical threats in the passing game. That makes the decision to drop a safety into the box to defend the run a difficult one.

League-wide usage: 16%

1. Texans, 36%

2. Eagles, 35%

3. Chiefs, 31%

4. Titans, 26%

5. Ravens, 24%

Who does it best? Philadelphia Eagles

The Eagles are one of a few teams in the NFL with the personnel to run out of two-tight end sets consistently. With Zach Ertz and Dallas Goedert, who surprised analysts with his blocking ability as a rookie, Philly could (and should) use 12 personnel more often than they already do. Ertz may not be much of a blocker, but if teams don’t treat him like a third receiver and stick in base defense (four defensive backs), the Eagles can just kick him outside and let him go to work on an overmatched linebacker or safety. If he’s attached to the formation, and the defense drops a safety into the box to account for all eight run gaps, DeSean Jackson and Alshon Jeffery will have a one-on-one matchups on the outside. Good luck with that, defensive coordinators.

Before the NFL’s passing boon, 21 personnel was the base personnel grouping in the league. Teams are putting more speed and receiving talent on the field, which has essentially killed off the fullback position at the top level of the sport. But 21 personnel is making a bit of a comeback at the lower levels — only instead of using a traditional full back, offenses are using a FB/TE hybrid. Having an extra blocker in the backfield allows the offense to get more creative in the run and play-action pass game. That blocking back creates a “movable” gap. Defenses don’t know where he’s going to insert into the line of scrimmage as a blocker, which makes it difficult to deploy numbers to the strong side of the formation. Having two backs also allows the offense to attack downhill in the run game, which forces linebackers to do the same, opening up large swaths of grass on play fakes.

League-wide usage: 8%

1. 49ers, 42%

2. Patriots, 28%

3. Saints, 15%

4. Bears, 14%

5. Broncos, 13%

Who does it best? San Francisco 49ers

The Patriots’ use of 21 personnel during their Super Bowl run was celebrated as a win for football purists who yearn for a return to the days of two-back offense. The truth is, New England wasn’t very efficient on those plays despite their high usage; the 49ers, however, were very efficient out of 21p — both in the run and pass games. The key man is Kyle Juszczyk, who blocks like a fullback but can also line up in the slot and run a good route. Emerging superstar George Kittle is also a good blocker, allowing Kyle Shanahan to get creative with his run designs. He’s known for his wide zone running game, but the 49ers can turn to other concepts when defenses sell out to stop those zone runs. With Shanahan reuniting with Tevin Coleman, one of the better receiving backs in the league, the 49ers coach can get as creative with formations as his imagination will allow.

When teams want to really pound the ball on the ground, they turn to 22 personnel. It provides all of the benefits of 21 personnel in terms of run game diversity AND adds an extra run gap — four to each side of the center! — while maintaining three immediate vertical threats in the passing game. If an offense has two viable receiving threats at tight end and a running back who can run routes, 22 personnel can terrorize a defense. Offenses can easily spread the defense out and create a mismatch against a slow-footed run defender. That’s what the Patriots did on the game-winning drive in Super Bowl 53. They even ran the same play three times in a row, and the Rams had no answer.

League-wide usage: 3%

1. Patriots, 8%

2. 49ers, 8%

3. Saints, 7%

4. Panthers, 7%

5. Chargers, 7%

Who does it best? New Orleans Saints

The Saints may not have led the league in 22 personnel usage, but they were, by far, the most explosive team when lined up in those sets. Drew Brees led the league with 16 attempts out of 22p and he threw a touchdown on nearly 25% of those throws. The addition of TE Jared Cook should make these sets more efficient and versatile. He can line out wide and join the un-guardable Michael Thomas as a second “wide receiver.” The same goes for Alvin Kamara. If a defense matches the run-heavy set with base defense, Sean Payton can spread things out and pick which mismatch he’d like to exploit, as there will be several all over the field.

While 10 personnel has become immensely popular at the lower levels of the sport, the craze has yet to hit the NFL. That could soon change with Kliff Kingsbury and other spread acolytes infiltrating the league. Having all that speed on the field puts stress on an opponent’s defensive depth chart, which wasn’t built with defending four receivers at once in mind. And if the QB is a run threat, the defense still has to worry about maintaining a numbers advantage in the box. The spread-out look also provides the quarterback with a clearer picture before the snap, as it’s harder to disguise defensive calls if defenders have to cover a lot of ground to get to their actual assignments. The biggest downside to 10 personnel is the limitation on pass protection, as there are no tight ends on the line to pick up blitzing defenders off the edge.

League-wide usage: 1%

1. Seahawks, 9%

2. Browns, 5%

3. Broncos, 3%

4. Colts, 3%

5. Buccaneers, 3%

Who does it best? Arizona Cardinals

The Cardinals rarely ran out of 10 personnel in 2018 but that will change now that Kliff Kingsbury is running the team. Washington State was the only Power 5 team that lined up in 10 personnel more often than Kingsbury’s Texas Tech squad did in 2018. And the Red Raiders didn’t use the grouping exclusively for passing. They ran out of 10p 199 times last season. The NFL combined for only 79 runs from 10p sets in 2018. And with Larry Fitzgerald on the field, the Cardinals have a receiver capable of blocking like a tight end, making it harder for defenses to match personnel. Kyler Murray’s presence in the backfield will make it harder for defenses to take a run defender out of the box to defend the spread set. And after the Cardinals spent three draft picks on wide receivers, they’ll have the depth to run out of 10 personnel as frequently as they want.

Here’s another little-used grouping that is far more popular at lower levels. But it does become more viable for an NFL team if they have a good receiving back or a hybrid FB/TE type. The former allows teams to spread things out in a pinch. The latter provides the offense with an expanded menu of run calls. Any team operating at a faster pace should consider adding a 20 personnel package to its offensive playbook. Teams averaged 0.175 Expected Points Added per play out of 20 personnel in 2018. For context, the Chargers finished third in the league with an average of 0.165 EPA per play.

League-wide usage: 1%

1. Lions, 6%

2. Broncos, 4%

3. Bills, 2%

4. Saints, 2%

5. Seahawks, 2%

Who does it best? Detroit Lions

The Lions were the only team in NFL the came out in 20 personnel on more than 5% of offensive snaps. And Detroit’s offense was particularly productive out of those sets. The key to the Lions’ 20 personnel success was running back Theo Riddick, who could line up as a second slot receiver and beat linebackers and safeties in the passing game. If a team matched with dime personnel, Matthew Stafford could hand the ball off to Kerryon Johnson, who had no problem running against lighter run boxes. The Lions could get the best of both worlds, lining Riddick up in a receiving position and getting him the ball with a shovel pass. Stafford led the league with 36 attempts out of 20 personnel sets. He completed 69.4% of those throws and for a passer rating of 99.3.