I love draft season, in part because it gets me to watch a ton of college film I might not otherwise watch. There’s a ton of fun, creative stuff happening at all levels of football, and the draft allows me to find some of that cool stuff while watching a prospect. I inevitably end up thinking about how the Green Bay Packers could steal some of those plays and incorporate them into their offense.
This happened recently while I was watching Harold Fannin Jr., a tight end out of Bowling Green. Fannin is a fascinating prospect who I could see fitting nicely into this Packers offense, but I’ll get into that at a later date. Today, we’re stealing a specific play from the 2024 season.
This play is from the Bowling Green Falcons Week 14 game against the Miami University (Ohio) RedHawks. It initially caught my attention because it features a post-snap RPO off a counter run. As someone who believes the Packers should work more post-snap RPOs into their offense, my ears were immediately up. But it’s how they get there that takes it up a notch.
The Falcons are in 22 personnel (2 RB, 2 TE, 1 WR) shotgun. Harold Fannin Jr. [0] is aligned wide to the left while a receiver and a running back are in a stack on the right. Before the snap, the inside man (RB Jamal Johnson [6]) in the stack fast-motions toward the formation, looking like he’s running jet motion. At the snap, he pulls up in front of the QB to get the ball, where the Falcons have a counter run back to the right. The right side of the line blocks down, while the left guard pulls to kick out the EMOL (End Man On Line). The in-line TE pulls and leads through the hole.
On the left side, Fannin is running a Glance route while the RB releases under to the flat. The QB – Connor Bazelak [7] – is reading the overhang/slot defender to that side. If he crashes hard to the flat, there’s a nice throwing lane to Fannin, so Bazelak will pull and throw the Glance. If that defender slow-plays it or stays in place, Bazelak will give the ball to Johnson.
The defender so plays it, so Bazelak gives the ball to Johnson.
This is a creative way to get to a core run. I watched the Packers run Counter out of a 2 RB set dozens of times this past season, so I immediately started thinking of the best way the Packers could incorporate this. I didn’t want to mirror the same personnel grouping, as the Packers didn’t run a single play out of 22 personnel in 2024. So we’re rolling with our Pony Package (21 personnel). That allows us to work this into the Packers regular offense.
The trickiest bit for me was settling on the Jet player. I needed someone who could threaten with speed on the jet motion, while also being someone who could read the line blocking up front. My initial thought was Jayden Reed [11], since he has taken his fair share of jet snaps and has also taken snaps in the backfield. But, for this play, I wanted an actual running back where possible.
Then it hit me: Marshawn Lloyd! Lloyd is a burner (running a 4.46 40 at the Combine) and an actual running back. He could work as a legitimate threat on a jet sweep, while also possessing the footwork and vision of a running back. (We would, of course, need to give the ball to Lloyd on a few jet sweeps to set up this tendency before rolling out this play.)
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That gives us Reed as our Glance RPO man, Dontayvion Wicks [13] – our best blocking WR – as the blocker on the frontside, Lloyd as our jet/handoff man and Tucker Kraft [85] as our lead blocker.
The main difference I made was with our pulling lineman. I was tempted to mirror the way the Falcons ran it in terms of blocking, but part of adapting these plays is working to the strength of the players you have. While the newly acquired Aaron Banks can move in space, I don’t always love him as a pulling lineman. He can struggle to line up blocks in space, so I like him more as a guy who can block in zone or in a phonebooth than on the move.
Elgton Jenkins at center doesn’t have that problem. He’s a good mover and frequently worked as the puller on runs and RPOs for the Packers last year. The Packers also had their former center, Josh Myers, work as a puller quite often, so we know it’s something they are more than willing to do. By keeping Banks in place and pulling Jenkins, we’re playing well to the strengths of both men.
If you want to run this with different players, I do think Reed could be more than capable of taking the handoff and taking what’s there. We also have an example of Mecole Hardman – the Packers’ newest wide receiver – taking a snap from shotgun and running counter, so if you want Hardman and his speed on the jet motion/handoff, you could try that as well. Personally, I think Lloyd – a RB with speed – gives you the best chance of success on the run, but there are a handful of ways you could look to run this.
So, there we have it. We’re getting the Packers into a core run concept in one of their main personnel groupings, but we’re getting there in a slightly funky way that should provide openings up front. And, while we’re here, we’re slightly expanding their Glance RPO package. A win-win.
Albums listened to: Japanese Breakfast – For Melancholy Brunettes (& sad women); My Morning Jacket – is
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