Picture a New Orleans Saints linebacker staring across the line at Michael Mayer. The Raiders’ tight end plants his cleats beside the offensive tackle, ready to put his shoulder into somebody. A few yards away, Brock Bowers widens toward the slot. Suddenly, that linebacker has another problem.
12 personnel on early downs forces defenders to make that calculation before they even see the football move. Two tight ends. One running back. Two wide receivers. The formation looks heavy enough to pound the ball between the tackles, but Bowers can run routes that belong in a receiver’s playbook.
During Las Vegas’ September 2026 victory over New Orleans, Bowers caught 10 passes for 116 yards and a touchdown. Raiders analyst Bucky Brooks documented how head coach Klint Kubiak moved him across multiple personnel groupings, including two-tight-end sets. That’s the appeal of modern 12 personnel. The extra blocker can become a receiving threat without anyone leaving the field.
Pro Football Focus recorded an increase in league-average 12 personnel usage from 20.43% in 2023 to 24.26% in 2025. Coordinators aren’t merely asking whether an offense plans to run. They’re wondering how many different ways those same 11 players can deceive them.
The NFL Has Grown Tired of Three-Receiver Predictability
For years, offensive coordinators treated 11 personnel as their preferred language. One running back, one tight end, and three receivers gave quarterbacks room to work. Defenses responded by putting five defensive backs on the field. Nickel became normal.
According to Pro Football Focus, 11 personnel accounted for 63.36% of average offensive usage in 2023. That figure dropped to 58.11% in 2025. Meanwhile, offenses brought back bigger bodies without necessarily returning to old-fashioned football.
Ten years ago, a second tight end usually suggested a physical afternoon. Today, that assumption can become a trap. A tight end can attach himself to the tackle, split into the slot, or shift into the backfield. The offense changes its shape while retaining the same personnel.
Opta Analyst reported in May 2026 that combined usage of two- and three-tight-end formations increased by more than 2.4 percentage points between 2024 and 2025. The average offensive success rate on those plays rose by 1.9 percentage points. Those numbers reflect a growing appetite for heavier packages, although they don’t establish that extra tight ends caused the improvement.
The attraction runs deeper than raw efficiency. 12 personnel on early downs gives play-callers a way to attack defenses built around speed. Smaller defenders must handle additional blocking surfaces, while linebackers face tighter coverage windows. For an offense with two legitimate receiving tight ends, the defense cannot simply substitute bigger players and call the problem solved.
First Down Has Become a Personnel Ambush
First-and-10 gives the offense its widest menu. Inside zone, outside zone, duo, bootleg, and traditional dropback passes can all appear without raising suspicion. Now put two tight ends next to the offensive tackles.
The defensive end crouches lower. A nickel corner inches toward the formation, wondering whether the next snap will send a blocker directly into his chest. Across the line, the quarterback counts defenders.
Keep five defensive backs on the field, and the offense can challenge the lighter front. Replace a defensive back with a linebacker, and the offense can test that player’s coverage ability. Neither choice feels comfortable.
Pro Football Focus tracked a substantial defensive response from 2023 through 2025. Base defensive usage climbed from 21.22% to 29.64%, while nickel usage dropped from 67.16% to 59.04%. The rushing results explain the concern. In 2025, base defenses allowed 3.71 yards per carry, compared with 4.82 against nickel.
Averages only tell half the story. Somebody still has to beat the block and tackle the runner. Against a heavy front, the quarterback might find a linebacker isolated on a tight end. Against nickel, the offense can make an undersized defender absorb repeated contact.
That’s the cruelty of 12 personnel on early downs. Defenses must make their personnel choice before discovering what the offense intends to do with its extra tight end. The formation doesn’t guarantee an advantage. It makes the defense reveal which disadvantage it prefers.
The Second Tight End Makes the Running Game Meaner
A second tight end changes where an offense can deliver contact. Place him beside the right tackle, and the running game gains another potential blocker at the point of attack. Move him behind the formation, and he can cross the line to seal a defender approaching from the opposite side. The defense must track both possibilities.
Wide Zone and Duo Create Different Problems
In a wide-zone run, offensive linemen step laterally and work to stretch the defense. The running back presses toward the edge, watching defenders commit before making his cut. An additional tight end can help seal the backside or reach a linebacker.
On duo, the offense takes a different approach. Linemen create vertical movement through double-team blocks, while the running back reads the linebacker’s reaction. A tight end who handles both assignments gives the coordinator more freedom.
The edge defender cannot simply race upfield. One careless step might expose the inside lane. Meanwhile, a linebacker chasing lateral movement risks leaving space behind him. This physical burden matters against defenses that prioritize pursuit speed over size.
A 250-pound tight end doesn’t need to flatten somebody on every snap. Sometimes, occupying a defender for another second gives the running back enough space. The extra tight end operates like a debt collector who knows which door the defense left unlocked.
Find the smaller body. Attack his leverage. Make him survive another block. Of course, bad blocking ruins the entire arrangement. A tight end who misses his assignment merely provides another defender with a clean path into the backfield.
The best play-callers understand that distinction. 12 personnel on early downs only gains its physical advantage when the players can deliver the contact their formation promises.
The Most Dangerous Part of a Heavy Formation Is the Lie
The quarterback fakes the handoff. The offensive line sells the run. A linebacker takes one false step toward the line. That’s enough. Behind him, a tight end slips into the space he just abandoned. Suddenly, the offense has a throwing window that didn’t exist before the fake.
Play-action passing becomes particularly uncomfortable to defend when both tight ends can block or release into routes. One can cross behind the linebackers. The other can work toward the flat, stretching the defense horizontally while a wide receiver threatens deeper coverage. The quarterback doesn’t need a spectacular throw. He needs the defender to hesitate.
Pro Football Focus found that NFL play-action passes averaged 7.76 yards per attempt in 2025, compared with 6.72 without play-action. Those figures cover the entire league, not exclusively 12 personnel. Still, they establish why coordinators devote so much attention to disguising passing concepts behind credible running looks.
A successful play-action pass doesn’t even require a dominant rushing performance beforehand. Route timing, protection, and defensive recognition all influence the result. Consider a bootleg off wide-zone action.
The offensive line moves one direction, while the quarterback fakes the handoff and rolls the other way. A tight end crosses into the flat as another receiver works deeper behind the coverage. The edge defender faces a miserable assignment. Chase the running back, and the quarterback escapes. Stay with the quarterback, and the run can develop away from him.
That conflict creates easy throws when the offense executes correctly. At the same time, 12 personnel on early downs can disguise conventional passing concepts. The offense might spread both tight ends away from the formation and make a base defense cover more grass than its linebackers want to handle.
Some of the league’s most stubborn offensive thinking still treats the run as a prerequisite for everything else. That’s backward. The real prize comes when the defense cannot tell which threat deserves its attention.
Las Vegas Is Showing What Two Receiving Tight Ends Can Do
The Raiders provide one of the clearest examples of the modern approach. SūmerSports data updated November 9, 2026, shows Las Vegas using 12 personnel on 48.29% of its offensive plays, compared with a league average of 22.33%. Even more revealing, the Raiders passed on 74.35% of their plays from that grouping.
Those percentages cover all downs rather than early downs alone. Nevertheless, they expose how far Las Vegas has moved beyond the old two-tight-end stereotype.
Under Kubiak, with Andrew Janocko serving as offensive coordinator, Bowers and Mayer give the offense different ways to challenge coverage. Bowers can detach from the line and function as a big receiver. Mayer offers an in-line presence while remaining capable of running receiving routes himself. That distinction forces defenders to account for both players.
Brock Bowers Can Turn a Heavy Formation Into a Spread Offense
The September 27 game against New Orleans provided a particularly useful example. According to Brooks’ September 30 Raiders film analysis, Kubiak moved Bowers between attached and detached alignments. The offense used him in 11, 12, 13, and 22 personnel.
Against the Saints, Bowers repeatedly lined up away from the traditional tight end position. That allowed Las Vegas to isolate him against defensive backs or linebackers. His final line included 10 receptions on 13 targets, 116 yards, and one touchdown.
The specific play design matters. When Bowers moves into the slot, the defense must decide whether a linebacker can follow him or whether a defensive back should take the assignment. Meanwhile, an attached tight end can preserve the blocking surface beside the tackle. No substitution necessary.
Next Gen Stats provided another striking example after the Raiders’ November 1 victory over the Jets. Bowers caught six passes for 87 yards and two touchdowns while aligned as an outside receiver. According to the league’s tracking service, no tight end had recorded more receptions from an outside alignment in a single game since at least 2016.
That’s not a conventional tight end receiving a few bonus targets. That’s a legitimate perimeter weapon wearing a tight end’s uniform. Against Kansas City in October, the Chiefs responded by covering Bowers primarily with a cornerback, according to Raiders columnist Paul Gutierrez.
The adjustment showed how seriously opponents must treat his receiving ability. Yet that creates another difficulty. A cornerback can contest routes, but the offense may challenge his willingness to handle blocking assignments when Bowers aligns closer to the formation.
For coordinators looking to exploit 12 personnel on early downs, that versatility represents the real advantage.
Cincinnati Has Found a Different Way to Punish Defenses
Las Vegas isn’t alone. The Cincinnati Bengals have also featured two-tight-end packages extensively during the 2026 season. SūmerSports recorded Cincinnati using 12 personnel on 40.98% of its offensive plays through its November 9 update.
The more interesting numbers concern what happened after the snap. Cincinnati generated +0.46 expected points added per pass play from 12 personnel, while its rushing plays produced -0.10 EPA per play.
EPA measures how each play changes a team’s expected scoring position. Positive figures indicate that the offense improved its situation. The contrast makes an uncomfortable point for defenders. An offense can feature two tight ends frequently and still generate substantially better results through the air.
Cincinnati’s figures don’t establish that every team should copy its approach. Opponents, game situations, and individual plays influence efficiency. However, they expose the danger of assigning a formation one fixed identity.
A defense expecting power football can find itself chasing tight ends through the middle of the field. The play-caller doesn’t need to abandon physical football. He can use its appearance to create passing opportunities.
Seattle Proved That Execution Matters More Than Fashion
Kubiak’s 2025 Seattle offense provides the useful counterpoint to the Raiders’ current approach. The Seahawks featured tight ends AJ Barner, Elijah Arroyo, and Eric Saubert in a system that demanded contributions as blockers and receivers.
Rather than relying on one alignment, Seattle used its tight ends to support the running game while preserving opportunities through play-action. The payoff showed up in the numbers. RotoWire’s July 2026 analysis of nflverse data placed Seattle third in 2025 usage of 12 personnel, at 39.3%.
More importantly, the Seahawks produced +0.123 EPA per play from that grouping. Cleveland offers a much harsher comparison. The Browns led the NFL with 47.2% usage of 12 personnel during the same season. Their efficiency collapsed to -0.193 EPA per play.
Those numbers expose the weakness in copying formations without matching their personnel and execution. Seattle paired its usage with positive efficiency. Cleveland called the grouping more frequently but failed to produce the same results.
Some coordinators confuse repetition with identity. That’s a costly mistake in a league where defensive assistants spend their weeks hunting for predictable tendencies. The extra tight end only earns his place if he can contribute to the deception. Otherwise, the defense sees through the formation before the quarterback finishes his cadence.
Defenses Are Learning to Fight Back
The return of heavier offensive personnel hasn’t left defensive coordinators helpless. Some opponents counter with bigger fronts. Others retain nickel packages and demand more physical play from their defensive backs.
That second response creates another tactical battle. A strong safety can help support the run, then retreat into coverage after the snap. An athletic linebacker can carry a tight end downfield without automatically surrendering the middle.
Kansas City’s decision to use a cornerback against Bowers offered another answer. Rather than accepting an unfavorable linebacker matchup, the Chiefs put a specialist in coverage. But every adjustment comes with a price.
Deploy a cornerback against a tight end, and the offense can challenge that defender’s physicality near the line. Crowd the box with a safety, and a receiver might find space behind him.
Pre-snap motion makes those choices even harder to conceal. PFF reported that NFL offenses used shifts and motion on 63.92% of plays in 2025, up from 56.44% in 2023.
A tight end shifting across the formation can force defenders to communicate. A linebacker follows him, a safety adjusts his depth, or the defensive front slides toward the new strength. Those movements give the quarterback information.
The smartest coordinators don’t use motion merely to make the offense look complicated. They use it to identify the defender they want to put under pressure. Once again, 12 personnel on early downs makes that possible without changing the players on the field.
Two Tight Ends Cannot Hide a Bad Offense
There remains a hard limit to the strategy. If the second tight end cannot block, defenses stop respecting him near the line. If he cannot threaten a route, linebackers can attack the running game without worrying about his release. The formation becomes painfully predictable.
A three-receiver package may provide better spacing against certain coverages. Some defenses also possess linebackers capable of covering tight ends while maintaining their run responsibilities.
The NFL hasn’t suddenly discovered that bigger players always beat smaller ones. It has rediscovered the value of making defenders solve two problems at once.
For years, offenses spread the field and forced defenders to run. Now, some are bringing back the extra tight end and demanding that those defenders absorb contact, too. That’s a brutal assignment for a lightweight nickel package built primarily to chase receivers.
Yet the advantage disappears when a coordinator mistakes a personnel trend for an actual offensive plan.
First Down Belongs to the Offense That Can Hide Its Intentions
The NFL copies successful ideas quickly. Two-tight-end football will attract imitators, but not every roster possesses a Bowers or Mayer.
12 personnel on early downs rewards teams that can block like a power offense and throw like a spread attack. Everybody else faces a harder truth. If the defense knows what your second tight end means, you’ve already told it too much.
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FAQs
Q1. What does 12 personnel mean in the NFL?
It means an offense uses one running back, two tight ends and two wide receivers, giving it options to run or pass.
Q2. Why do NFL teams use 12 personnel on first down?
Two tight ends can help block against smaller defenses while still threatening pass routes. That makes defensive matchups harder to predict.
Q3. Is 12 personnel better for running or passing?
It depends on the players. Teams like the Raiders use two-tight-end formations to create receiving mismatches as well as running opportunities.
Q4. How do defenses stop two-tight-end formations?
Defenses can add bigger players, use physical defensive backs or move safeties toward the line. Each adjustment creates another potential weakness.
Q5. Why are the Raiders using Brock Bowers and Michael Mayer together?
Bowers can line up like a receiver, while Mayer also contributes closer to the offensive line. Together, they give Las Vegas more flexibility.
