Broncos Camp Hints at How Nathaniel Hackett is Involving RBs & TEs in Passing Game
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Throughout the offseason, a lot has been said about what the Denver Broncos' tight end usage will look like in 2022. The Broncos have made moves to suggest that the tight ends will be heavily involved, but is there a basis for the concern?
There's also the running back involvement beyond the tight end position. When training camp first started, head coach Nathaniel Hackett dished on his desire to get the running backs involved.
“If you look at the past, the experience that I’ve had with any running back—when you want to run the ball, that’s important because it helps so many different things across the board to attack a defense," Hackett said. "But when you add them into the pass game, they’re so integral. A lot of people don’t know how integral they are because they open up holes for other people and when holes close, they’re the ones that get the ball. When you get the ball to a back in space, we’re all very excited for that."
Wilson's TE Track Record
Let's look at quarterback Russell Wilson's history of targeting tight ends and running backs. Of course, the scheme plays a factor here, but we will get to that later.
For tight ends, Wilson's Seattle Seahawks targeted the tight ends at below the NFL average in all but three seasons. Those three seasons saw the Seahawks use Jimmy Graham at a high rate.
Since 2018, 28 individual players have had more targets than the Seahawks' tight end rooms spread over those seasons, and 22 had more receptions. That's an individual player against a collective of five or six Seahawks' tight ends. During Wilson's Seattle tenure, tight ends weren't heavily utilized and the three seasons that they were was due to the Seahawks having a fading star at the position.
Injuries Could = More TE Usage
Denver hopes to have emerging stars at tight end in Albert Okwuegbunam and Greg Dulcich, but time will tell. One possibility with the injury to Tim Patrick is seeing more usage of tight end sets.
Both Okwuegbunam and Dulcich could work in the slot, which will still give the Broncos' offense two bigger-body options to complement Courtland Sutton and Jerry Jeudy. That could also be beneficial for the running backs, both in the rushing and passing game.
Wilson's RB Track Record
As for running backs, the Seahawks were consistently on par with the NFL throughout the years with Wilson at the helm. Seattle was close to the league average, which makes sense as head coach Pete Carroll loves to have his running backs involved offensively.
Hackett's TE & RB Resume
Now, let's examine what Green Bay has done over the past few years while Hackett was there. It was a little better environment for tight ends, but not by much.
The Packers' overall tight end usage was still below the NFL average, but not as much as it was in Seattle. Green Bay was closer to the average and didn't get outpaced by individual players as often as the tight end room in Seattle did.
This bodes well for the Broncos' tight ends. While Green Bay didn't have an individual player take the shinning spot, they did an excellent job of getting multiple tight ends involved in the offense.
Hackett's Green Bay tenure is even more encouraging for the Broncos' running backs. In 2021, Aaron Jones finished second in Green Bay in catches and targets, while A.J. Dillon was fourth in targets, sixth in catches, and outpaced every tight end on the roster.
The 2020 season saw Jones finish third in catches and targets, with a tight end outpacing him, barely, in targets, but he narrowly outpaced that tight end in receptions. The No. 2 running back had more catches and targets than the other tight ends and was sixth most in both.
What it Means for Broncos
It's a strong harbinger that the Broncos will heavily utilize their running backs in the passing game under Hackett, but the question is whether they can be as effective as the backs were in Green Bay. Javonte Williams and Melvin Gordon have their issues, and the former has to improve his play as a receiver after a not-so-hot showing as a rookie.
It's safe to assume that Williams and Gordon, who are clearly the top-two running backs in Denver, will combine for 70-plus targets, which is a slightly conservative projection.
Denver's plan for tight end usage remains a slight mystery. But, while Seattle, with Wilson at the helm, and Green Bay, with Hackett as the offensive coordinator (but not the play-caller), didn't turn to the tight ends as often, there is plenty of reason to think that will change.
Bottom Line
Hackett being the head coach and fulfilling his vision of the West Coast offense could be the biggest reason to expect different results for tight ends and running backs in the Broncos' passing game. Wilson has also helped to design the Broncos' offense around his strengths, and he could want to get more tight end involvement, especially if he has built a connection with one.
The early returns on training camp suggest Wilson has done just that as tight ends have been featured more prominently than ever in media practice notebooks.
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