2020 NFL Draft Guide: Coaching Systems -- NFC West

Let’s continue our coverage of each team’s coaching scheme.

If you didn’t catch the divisions already covered, just click the links below:

AFC East (this page also includes a glossary of offensive and defensive schemes)

AFC North

AFC South

AFC West

NFC East

NFC North

NFC South

Time to wrap up this series with our last division to cover.

NFC West

Arizona Cardinals

Offensive Breakdown: Despite the poor record, Kliff Kingsbury’s first season as an NFL head coach should be considered a success. The Cardinals’ record stunk and, statistically, the team sat in the middle of the league in passing, rushing and receiving. Nothing special and about as much success as one would expect from a first-year head coach with an offense few people thought would work. So then why the positive grade for last year? Simple – Kingsbury listened and he learned.

Before we get to who or what he was listening to, let’s outline his base offense, the Air Raid. The system is notable for its heavy focus on passing and, if implemented in full, could result in 65-75% passing plays throughout the season. This is an up-tempo, no-huddle scheme where the quarterback has the freedom to audible to any play based on what the defense is showing at the line of scrimmage. One interesting aspect you will see here as well is that the offensive linemen are not bunched together like you see in a conventional offense. They are split about a half-yard apart which is supposed to cause defensive linemen to run further to get to the quarterback and allow for short, quick passing to neutralize blitzes. It is also used to open up wider passing lanes which should prevent passes from being knocked down or intercepted at the line of scrimmage.

That was what we saw, at least for the first 11 games. Then Kingsbury did the smart thing and listen to Tom Clements, his passing game coordinator, over the bye week. It was Clements who requested he back off the aerial assault and start putting the ball into Kenyan Drake’s hands more and lo and behold, it worked.

This year, we’ll still see the Air Raid offense and all its personnel packages, but expect a much more balanced attack with an improved ground game. The addition of DeAndre Hopkins will keep defenses playing against the pass which will open things up more for he ground attack and Kingsbury should have plenty of options. Throw in some more RPO as Kyler Murray continues to grow and defenses won’t have any idea where to put their heavy coverage.

Players Who Fit the System Best: Kyler Murray, Kenyan Draft, DeAndre Hopkins, Christian Kirk

Defensive System: 3-4 base with a mix of man and zone coverage

Defensive Breakdown: The Arizona defense had a lot of problems last year as they struggled mightily against the run and, until Patrick Peterson returned from his suspension, were suspect against the pass as well. The base was 3-4 last year as well, but Vance Joseph continually used a fourth lineman and the wide-nine formation which always has a tough time stopping the run. He thought he was doing the right thing, but he just didn’t have the run-stuffers to clog the middle.

This year, expect Joseph to stick with the 3-4 base more given the work the team did to improve the line with Jordan Phillips and the linebackers with Isaiah Simmons and Devon Kennard. Phillips should plug the middle gap and Simmons will be all over the place disrupting offenses from all angles. Having strong edge-rushers and versatile players allows you to maintain the formation and only adjust when the offense shows you something new.

Players Who Fit the System Best: Jordan Phillips, Isaiah Simmons, Devon Kennard, Patrick Peterson

Los Angeles Rams

Offensive Breakdown: Once the wunderkind of the NFL, things have changed dramatically for Sean McVay over his first three years with the Rams. From Day 1, he was all about the west coast offense and the 11-personnel formation which spreads out the defense and improves the running lanes in a power-blocking scheme. He found tremendous success back then, but in Year 2, defenses started to learn that it was Mcvay, not Jared Goff, reading the defenses and once Todd Gurley’s arthritic knee became a problem and he couldn’t lean on him, things started to suffer. Defenses often waited until there were just 15 seconds on the play-clock to make their adjustments. The helmet speaker is shut off at that point and McVay could no longer relay the right information.

We saw more of that in Year 3, but with Gurley being handled with kid gloves, McVay made the change to more 12-personnel formations which utilizes two tight ends and doesn’t spread the offense out nearly as much. What we saw from that was more passing to Tyler Higbee and less work for Cooper Kupp due to no slot receiver in the formation.

This season, McVay actually brought in an OC, something he hasn’t done during his tenure with the Rams. But while he brought in Kevin O’Connell from Washington, this is still McVay’s offense and he will still be calling the plays. O’Connell is here more to run practices, advise on potential game scripts and mentor Goff. As a former QB, he should be able to help Goff with reading defenses better.

As for the gameplan, we can probably expect a mix of the last two years as McVay now has a collection of healthy running backs and with no Brandin Cooks anymore, Kupp will see ample opportunities on the outside. The one thing fantasy owners should take notice is that in the 12-personnel, we now have a healthy Gerald Everett who is a better pass-catcher than Higbee who also happens to be a better pass-blocker than Higbee. Just some food for thought.

Players Who Fit the System Best: Cam Akers, Cooper Kupp, Robert Woods

Defensive System: 3-4 base with multi-front looks and Cover-2 base with man-coverage options

Defensive Breakdown: The Rams said goodbye to veteran DC Wade Phillips and are ushering in a new era of coordinator. Welcome Brandon Staley, the young acorn who fell from the Vic Fangio tree. Staley first worked with Fangio, a defensive guru, in Chicago as his linebackers coach and then went to Denver with him to serve in the same capacity. McVay is all too familiar with Fangio’s defensive schemes, but since the master is at the helm for the Broncos, he went with his net best option in the student. Can Staley become the master? We shall see, but he’s got a strong education and quality personnel with which to work.

The front seven will sit in a 3-4 base, but should offer multi-front looks depending on the opponent and how comfortable Staley is with his outside linebackers in both pass coverage and on the fine if they have their hand in the dirt. Staley wants to be aggressive, so look for the front seven to be in and out of formations to disguise where the rush is coming from.

As for coverage in the secondary, it will likely be Cover-2 for the most part, but given the corners, there is no reason to think Staley won’t slide them into man-coverage, depending on the speed and strength of the opposing receivers. Keep in mind, he will also likely use Jalen Ramsey in shadow coverage, so the mix of zone and man will likely throw off opposing quarterbacks.  

Players Who Fit the System Best: Aaron Donald, Leonard Floyd, Jalen Ramsey

San Francisco 49ers

Offensive Breakdown: Kyle Shanahan’s West Coast offense has been incredibly successful…so long as the personnel stays healthy. In 2018 he lost Jerick McKinnon to a torn ACL, followed by Jimmy Garoppolo with the knee and, later in the year, Raheem Mostert to a broken arm. Last year, he lost Tevin Coleman for a few games early on in the season. This year, Shanahan walks in with a healthy QB and healthy running backs, but loses Deebo Samuel to a broken foot. Obviously not insurmountable as Shanahan always has something up his sleeve.

Shanahan’s zone-blocking scheme is fantastic for running backs and his heavy usage of them in the passing game as well makes it great for fantasy too. Mostert is likely to take the lead but you will see a continuous rotation of backs, including the possibility of Jeff Wilson on short-yardage/goal-line situations. Through the air, it’s short, quick passes to move the ball downfield which, along with a strong rushing attack, will open up more for play-action downfield. Shanahan would like to also incorporate more RPO this season. The strong run, the quick passes and the RPO should help keep defenses guessing and give the Niners time to adjust and exploit on the fly.

Players Who Fit the System Best: Jimmy Garoppolo, George Kittle

Defensive System: 4-3 with both Cover-3 zone and man-coverage

Defensive Breakdown: Robert Saleh’s defense took things to the next level last season as they were finally able to generate the pass-rush Saleh has been hoping for since taking over the defense. Nick Bosa and Arik Armstead are beasts on the outside and while they traded away DeForest Buckner, rookie Javon Kinlaw profiles similarly enough to think they shouldn’t miss a beat.

The secondary might have some stumbles early on as Joe Woods has flown the coop to be the new DC in Cleveland. Saleh will maintain the same zone coverage with some potential switches to man-coverage just as Woods did in previous seasons. A lot is going to depend on how the safeties handle the middle of the field, but there are enough veteran corners to help out if needed.

Players Who Fit the System Best: Nick Bosa, Arik Armstead, Ankhello Witherspoon

Seattle Seahawks

Offensive Breakdown: Since the change from Darrell Bevell’s west coast scheme to Brian Schottenheimer’s more traditional Air Coryell scheme, the Seahawks have found tremendous success. In true Air Coryell fashion, Seattle spreads the offense out with three or four wide receivers (a lot of 10 and 11-personnel formations) and then run it right down their opponent’s throats. The base scheme may have changed, but they continue to use the zone-blocking scheme Tom Cable implemented back in 2011 and have found it works well, especially with the RPO Schottenheimer infused into the scheme.

What Schottenheimer did to really make the change was to improve the vertical passing game. He utilized the speed of Tyler Lockett and made a seamless transition from Doug Baldwin to D.K. Metcalf. What this does is force the linebackers back to help the secondary in coverage, leaving the middle of the field more open for the ground attack and underneath routes.

Expect to see more of the same this year.

Players Who Fit the System Best: Russell Wilson, Chris Carson, D.K. Metcalf, Tyler Lockett

Defensive System: 4-3 with a Cover-3 zone

Defensive Breakdown: This is basically the same system Carroll implemented when he arrived in Seattle more than a decade ago and DC Ken Norton Jr. simply manages the personnel. They stick with four lineman up front with the linebackers filling the gaps against the run. Bobby Wagner remains the field general and works well with the interior linemen in stopping the run. The personnel has seen  some turnover so they may hit a few bumps in the road early on, but the system is the system and if they don’t fit, Carroll will find someone who does.

In the secondary, it’s the standard Cover-3 that was implemented back in the Legion of Boom days and while the personnel has changed over the years, it still seems to work well. We’ll have to see how Quinton Dunbar’s legal issues affect his playing time, but the rest of the secondary looks like it should hold well.

Players Who Fit the System Best: Bobby Wagner, Shaquill Griffin, Quandre Diggs