The Ravens Draft Suggests A Major Change In TE Usage In 2026

There is no greater innovator in the modern NFL passing game than Rams coach Sean McVay. Even the great Andy Reid, at this stage of his career, probably wouldn’t quibble with that.

In 2026 McVay went from running an offense that lived in 11 personnel for damn near every snap they played since he took over (three receivers, one back, one tight end) to an offense that morphed into a 13 personnel (three tight ends) juggernaut that utilized the rare personnel grouping more than any team has in quite some time and had ridiculous success doing so (20 TDs to 0 INTs in it to fuel quarterback Matthew Stafford’s MVP season.

McVay and Sean Payton have discussed this phenomenon this offseason, we know from talking to both of them in depth on “The Daily Flock Show” and from other casual conversations with them. And Payton is the mentor to Ravens rookie offensive coordinator Declan Doyle, and Doyle is studying McVay’s offense, too, because everyone does.

Which begs the question of why it was so successful for the Rams and what that could mean for the Ravens in 2026?

We’ve explained the concept of “Joker” players - positionless guys on either side of the ball. We’ve chronicled how central they are to Payton’s offense for hybrid FB/RB/TE/WR, and the role that Kyle Hamilton will play in Jesse Minter’s defense and what that unlocks for the play caller on that side of the ball.

I strongly believe McVay leaned into 13 so heavily as a response to this Minter/Mike Macdonald defense employing that joker defender as part of Big Nickel (three safety) package to stop the run with fewer linemen on the field and still be able to put a two-man shell over the top to negate chunk plays with air yards. McVay has long interchanged WR/TE with their routes and responsibilities (another form of the Joker, whether it be Cooper Kupp or Puka Nacua), and flooding the field with big tight ends and using more than one as a move player downfield to shock defenses.

Is using heavy personnel on early downs (traditional run downs) and taking deep play action shots out of them a perfect way to shock opposing defenses and try to dictate personnel?

“There's no question,” McVay said. “It really is the same thing that being able to have those guys that we talked about on defense (Jokers) enables you to do. You’ve got good guys, good bodies against the pass, but you're not necessarily lighter against the run.

“You know, you can change the way that you gap it up. So it's really about, ‘How do you change the math?’ Who's got the pen? And the guys that can do a lot of different things can create that multiplicity or that unpredictability. And that's the key and critical factor.

“That's what those guys are doing on the defensive side of the ball. That's what some of these tight ends enable us to do. And without getting too granular, you know, it's a players’ game and I think the good coaches put their players in favorable spots to have successful outcomes as consistently as possible.”

Will Doyle Borrow From This?

Last year, when Doyle was with Ben Johnson in Chicago, the Bears grabbed a move tight end with their first pick and ranked 5th in the NFL in usage of two or more tight ends on the field (8.5%; McVay led the NFL at 30.5%). The Bears tied for third in the NFL in most pass attempts of 11+ air yards out of 13 personnel. Hmm.

The Ravens only attempted two passes of that length out of 13 with Lamar Jackson at QB all of last season (back-up QBs did it three times combined), but the selection of two larger receivers in the midrounds of the draft (Ja’Kobi Lane, 6-foot-4 and Elijah Sarratt, 6-2) and two tight ends a little later certainly makes me wonder. We don't see Mark Andrews as more than an underneath option at this stage of his career.

Even with some departures, they signed an old-school blocker in the mold of Nick Boyle with Durham Smythe and also added a big body in the fifth round in WR-turned-RB Adam Randall, an ideal Joker in this offense, who could contribute to some of these heavy concepts by selling run and latching on to deep shots.

Rookie tight end Matthew Hibner’s skillset would make him an ideal target of sorts out of these packages and diminutive receiver Zay Flowers has long benefitted most in Baltimore from being the only smaller guy on the field in some of these packages; forcing all those big bodies on the field naturally helps Flowers with his matchups.

Over the last three years with Todd Monken calling plays, Flowers leads the Ravens with 81 catches for 1146 yards out of 12 and 13 personnel, twice as many yards as anyone else on the team (Andrews was second with 55 catches for 585 yards). These packages could benefit him as the lone wide receiver on the field.

The difference between hitting an explosive play once a week or every other week out of these packages could be the difference in playoff seeding, and ultimately, the season. I’d be shocked if Doyle doesn’t lean into this and if the draft wasn’t a major indicator of such.

Subscribe On YouTube For The Best Ravens Coverage:

Add us as a preferred source on Google