The coordinator cycle in the NFL can be never-ending sometimes. Each year, we notice new play-callers do well with a different team or fail to get things going. It can really influence a fantasy football season. Below, a football analyst will guide you on what to monitor in Week 1 with many new individuals calling plays in fresh systems.
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Bears offense: 12-personnel usage
Preseason projected lineups are often not useful — it’s hard to imagine the amount of conversation they’ve created on the internet this year. However, I find it a bit worthy of note that every depth chart the Bears have revealed includes two starting tight ends — Colston Loveland and Cole Kmet.
The Raiders were first in the league last year with around a 34% 12-personnel rate. I believe the Bears could contend for 40% or greater this year after keeping Kmet on a high-value contract and choosing Loveland 10th overall. Loveland provides enough lineup flexibility that he can play as a slot or as the backside ISO receiver.
Besides making both tight ends intriguing, not having a third receiver on the field will also assist the perimeter wideouts. Only having two receivers on the field usually sends targets to the outside wide receivers.
Texans offense: Pass protection rules
The Texans offense is worth watching for several reasons for fantasy important positions. We don’t know who will be the main or most effective running back with Joe Mixon unavailable for an indefinite time and the receiver lineup behind Nico Collins could be an evolving situation all year. There is possible value in the uncertainty both circumstances provide.
However, nothing will be relevant if the offensive line is a failure. The perceived skill is still not ideal but this team can still improve from last year despite that reality. C.J. Stroud lost more sack yardage due to defensive efforts last year compared to any other quarterback. If the offensive line has superior protection tactics and plans thanks to a coaching change to handle those efforts, that could be the critical element.
Seahawks offense: RB rotation
The Kubiak/Shanahan outside zone run game is a reliable element for both an offensive line and total rushing system. That’s good news for a Seahawks team that’s been close to the bottom of the league in both areas for several seasons.
I’m confident that Seattle’s run game will be a successful environment for production. However, I’m neutral on which back will gain the most. Kenneth Walker was a solid pick in Round 4 with a high maximum potential, but considering his injury issues, it makes sense to involve a consistent player like Zach Charbonnet. There’s a chance both backs offer independent value with possible upside to be a top-10 producer if the other is unavailable. That’s a positive range of outcomes, but we’ll gain some understanding if that potential exists in Week 1.
Jaguars offense: Overall dynamism
Doug Pederson guided the Jaguars offense to a workable, acceptable level after the Urban Meyer situation, but eventually his type of offense became outdated over three seasons. It resulted in a weak passing game and an ineffective run game.
We’ll observe if Liam Coen is an immediate boost to the total output of the Jaguars offense, but I’m almost certain he’ll utilize the wide receivers in a more energetic way. Coen displayed in preseason that he intends to use Travis Hunter as a primary slot and off-the-line player, which will allow him to achieve easy releases and move around.
As for Brian Thomas Jr., he should also receive those opportunities, although maybe less than Hunter. He also doesn’t require them as much, since he has a year of experience playing, and . However, with receiver depth with players such as Dyami Brown, Parker Washington, and now Tim Patrick, the Jaguars possess a group of varying body types to use and allow Thomas and Hunter to reposition.
Raiders offense: Receiver deployment
The Raiders participated in 11 personnel on all of their preseason pass plays with the primary offensive team. I will save this text and reference it if Chip Kelly’s offense resembles that in his first actual game as the Raiders’ offensive coordinator.
As stated earlier, the Raiders were the team with the most 12-personnel in the NFL last season. Kelly’s offense at Ohio State last year employed more players than his original wide concepts from the Oregon days. The team features a dynamic move tight end in Brock Bowers and an in-line option in Michael Mayer, who should still be a developing player. The fact that they rotated Mayer in as the primary tight end with Bowers in 11 personnel in the preseason is an indication that he’ll be an important part of the offense; that doesn’t have to be at the expense of Bowers, considering his lineup adaptability.
If that’s truly how the offense appears in Week 1, it indicates that this Raiders wide receiver roster could be a large rotation. If Bowers is playing the slot, will that remove inside looks from Jakobi Meyers? If Amari Cooper is rotated in, the concept that’s been developing since training camp that rookie Dont’e Thornton Jr. would be an every-down X-receiver and hidden fantasy performer will be questioned. I’m still uncertain about how effective I believe this Raiders offense will be in 2025, but I’m interested to observe the arrangement in Week 1.
Patriots offense: TreVeyon Henderson’s deployment
There’s really a good amount that I’m interested in understanding about the Patriots offense in Week 1. The core concept of this season for New England will be Drake Maye’s improvement. Much of that will be determined by whether at least one — or possibly both — of the offensive line or wide receiver roster can improve from bad to average. As Maye is a potential sleeper quarterback this year, we are significantly interested in the answer to those inquiries.
It’s just unlikely that we’ll receive a specific answer to either in a single game sample. What might be more informative and significant immediately for fantasy managers is what rookie running back TreVeyon Henderson’s role is in Week 1. Henderson’s ADP climbed to a point where most are relying on him to be a fantasy starter, possibly even in the opening week. It’s a minor gamble, since we don’t know how much he’ll play compared to Rhamondre Stevenson on base run plays. However, I’d be surprised if we don’t observe Henderson in a notable passing-down role in addition to obtaining some degree of early-down work in Week 1.
Jets offense: Justin Fields
A significant part of the theory of the Jets offense being competitive this year while they rebuild is that they’d constantly run the ball with a three-player backfield and provide Justin Fields with the best pass protection of his career. Obviously, it’s not ideal that they lost starting guard Alijah Vera-Tucker to a season-ending triceps injury during practice this week. We’re already looking into the concept of the play, and the games haven’t even commenced.
While I’m still somewhat confident that the run game can be competent, although perhaps not exceptional, Fields has been first in the NFL in sack rate since he was drafted. The Jets offensive line needed to be strong to prevent him from his worst behaviors, and now Vera-Tucker is unavailable, and rookie Armand Membou won’t possess a consistent veteran presence beside him on the right side. Fields was drafted to be a QB1 in fantasy and is supposed to support Garrett Wilson as a top-15 option at receiver. I’ll be uncertain of both if Fields is taking sacks and playing in his typical mechanical style against a Steelers defense that understands him well in Week 1.
Saints offense: Concentration
Nearly every source suggests that the Saints will be a bottom-five offense, if not the worst, in the NFL. Considering their quarterback situation, it’s understandable. However, there are established players in this group, such as Alvin Kamara, Chris Olave, and Rashid Shaheed. You can cause players like this to be valuable in fantasy football, even if the offense is bad, as long as the usage distribution is concentrated. Kellen Moore’s offenses have generally been centered around a small number of star players. As long as he believes that this group is of that quality, and isn’t actively designing plays to feature fringe wideouts or the mediocre tight end roster, drafters who obtained discounts on these Saints players should be fine.
Lions, Eagles, Cowboys, Buccaneers offense: Any changes?
We can maintain simplicity for these teams, as each of them selected a familiar person — the Lions welcomed John Morton back after spending time with the team earlier in the Dan Campbell era, while the other three promoted from within — to take over as their play-caller. All four of these groups were some of the best offensive systems in the league in recent seasons; yes, even Dallas, which had a top-10 offense and an MVP-contending quarterback in 2023.
The output for any of these four might cause some Week 1 overreactions, but I’ll be more focused on the actions of these new play-callers. To me, it makes no sense for John Morton in Detroit, Kevin Patullo in Philadelphia, or Josh Grizzard in Tampa Bay to alter much of anything structurally. Yet, we’ve witnessed stranger things occur during coaching changes. Brian Schottenheimer in Dallas might be an exception, because there is some freshening up that the Cowboys offense could utilize, but I still anticipate him to mostly depend on what Dak Prescott prefers after working together for several years.
