Rams say they plan to run more 12 personnel after drafting Terrance Ferguson, but we’ve heard that before
We hear this message each offseason from the Los Angeles Rams and have rarely seen it backup up:
“We plan to deploy more 12 personnel this year.”
Once again that is the message from Sean McVay after his team selected Oregon TE Terrance Ferguson in the second round. Ferguson can be both the heir apparent to veteran Tyler Higbee and be deployed short-term on the field at the same time, at least according to their plan.
But we’ve seen this movie before, and that should give us pause about McVay’s plan for his rookie tight end:
2017 – Rams drafted Gerald Everett in second round
McVay cut his teeth coaching TE’s with the Washington Redskins. It made sense that his first pick with the Rams would be at the same position, but the plan went awry when Cooper Kupp—selected one round later—emerged as the third receiving option and was simply good to take off the field. LA ran 11 personnel (one TE) on 83% of their plays in 2017. Everett had his shining moments over the next four years but the fundamental structure of the offense never really changed to maximize both he and Higbee.
2024 – Signing Colby Parkinson only for him to become third-string TE
I understood why the Rams would make a splash at TE over last offseason with Tyler Higbee rehabbing a knee injury suffered in the team’s only playoff game. What I disagreed with was signing a third-string player from the Seattle Seahawks. Paying an individual like a starter doesn’t make him a starter, and the Rams watched Colby Parkinson quickly fall behind Higbee after his return and compete for playing time with Hunter Long and Davis Allen.
These are the 12 personnel percentages and rankings for the Rams over the last three seasons according to SumerSports:
2022 – 6.6%; 29th OVR
2023 – 4.8%; 32nd OVR
2024 – 13.9%; 28th OVR
While the Rams had a significant uptick from 2022 and 2023 to 2024 in how often they deploy 12 personnel, this mostly evidences how far behind they were compared to the rest of the NFL. By doubling their rate of this personnel grouping, they moved up only a couple of spots out of 32 teams.
Will we really see more 12 personnel this year?
Sean McVay will almost always take the path of least resistance, which is part of the reason he’s been so successful as a NFL head coach.
If Tutu Atwell is able to produce at a high level and create opportunities for Puka Nacua and Davante Adams, then we could realistically see the Rams keep with their heavy deployment of 11 personnel. Atwell has the biggest opportunity of his NFL career in front of him and can become a force multiplier by taking the top off the defense and allowing Adams and Nacua to work underneath.
But if Atwell struggles or the receiving corps isn’t performing up to their potential, this could possibly be the first season we see the Rams throw out the 11 personnel playbook and usher in a new era of Rams football. While you can hand waive Parkinson’s talents, you probably can’t deny that Higbee, Ferguson, Parkinson, and Allen is the Rams’ most talented TE room we’ve seen in recent history. More 12 personnel would help LA in the running game and would change their fundamental approach to offense.
It’s possible this is the most unique year of Rams offensive football we see in the Sean McVay era, though we’ve heard this idea multiple times in the past.
