NFL Best Ball Strategy: Personnel Groupings & Fantasy Impact

Make it Personnel: NFL 12 and 13 Personnel Usage

Every so often, personnel groupings get brought back to the forefront of fantasy football discourse. I remember years ago when people were falling over themselves because of Sean McVay's 11-personnel usage early on in his Rams coaching tenure. Now the discussion has shifted to teams using more and more multi-tight end looks, and McVay is at the epicenter of that discourse as well.

Last year, McVay's Rams beefed it up. They went from never running 13 (three tight end) looks to leading the league in that grouping by a wide margin. And they were awesome at it. McVay has done it again, and now everyone is looking to follow in his footsteps.

This article is going to be all about different personnel groupings, usage and efficiency, and how we can use that to our advantage in fantasy this year. Simply put, I want to identify which teams are going to use more two- and three-tight-end looks and determine who that helps or hurts for fantasy purposes.

We'll start right there with a look at 13 personnel before moving on to 12. 

13 Personnel: Rams Blazing A New Trail

nflverse play-by-play data. Retrieved from nflverse.github.io

I alluded to it in the intro, but seeing the league-wide context behind the Rams' 13 usage last year is pretty astounding. They went from running it seven times in 2024 to 388 times (30.8%) in 2025. That was nearly triple the rate of the Steelers, who ranked second at 13.1 percent. What stands out to me about that is how pragmatic of a choice that was. 

Think about the Rams' depth chart for a second. Of course, there was Puka Nacua and Davante Adams at receiver. But after them it was awfully thin with a mix of Xavier Smith, Jordan Whittington and Konata Mumpfield. The tight end group was objectively better, and therefore it made sense to go heavier on multi-tight-end looks rather than waste a third rep on a marginal receiver.

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This is both good and bad for us in fantasy. We can feel confident that both Nacua and Adams will have top-shelf target shares and won't come off the field much at all. And we can feel good about the run game as well because more tight ends = more useful blockers = easier runs. The Rams ranked 5th in Run EPA/Play when using multi-tight-sets last year. But when it comes to getting the tight end right for fantasy...buddy...

The market currently has Terrance Ferguson on the rise from this group and is now inside the top 200 according to the latest best ball ADP. Veteran Colby Parkinson goes in the last round on Underdog and so does rookie Max Klare. Tyler Higbee and Davis Allen are still on the roster as we get towards training camp.

I see it as three tight ends (Parkinson, Ferguson and Klare) all mixing in pretty routinely as the primary tight ends in an offense that leans into that. The Rams' receiving corps is just as thin in 2026 so it stands to reason that the tight ends will be featured yet again. 

I think the market is right to be most excited about Ferguson. It was a small sample last year, and the catch rate was abysmal, but seven of his 11 catches going for 20+ yards is pretty interesting. As are the three touchdowns. He's the guy who profiles as the Spike Week target late in drafts. You can't just wait until the last round to get him anymore.

Klare is the other player I'd keep an eye on, especially for rounding out any team with Matthew Stafford. He was a great pass-catching tight end in college, especially at Purdue in 2024. He was a little overshadowed by the insane receiving talent at Ohio State last year but was still productive. His blocking might be a roadblock to him seeing snaps early on, but it wouldn't be surprising if he starts drawing targets as the season wears on.

I'm not the originator of this sentiment, but the Rams' third target this year is likely to be a tight end. And the beauty is you don't have to pay a hefty price to see who it is. Mixing in Ferguson, Parkinson or Klare is easily done in either the 17th or 18th round. 

nflverse play-by-play data. Retrieved from nflverse.github.io

Now, three tight ends is not something that most teams can just flip a switch and implement effectively. Even if teams want to copy the Rams, they were such an outlier last year that it's extremely unlikely any team is able to pull off a half-decent impression. Or at least, I'm skeptical.

I think looking at 2-9 in 13-personnel usage is probably a little more useful. The Steelers might not have as much 13 usage this year with the Smiths (Arthur and Jonnu) gone, but they have every reason to go with plenty of two tight ends looks featuring Pat Freiermuth and Darnell Washington.

The Cardinals definitely qualify as a team who could run plenty of 13 again. McBride is a staple, Tip Reiman is a great blocker, and Elijah Higgins is sort of a WR/TE tweener with some pass-catching chops. Not to draw a direct comparison to the Rams, but the Cardinals have a somewhat similar setup at receiver in that the top two are set, and it's a pretty bleak depth chart after that. Arizona was the league leader in 13 personnel in 2023 and 2024. The new coaching staff would be wise to keep that ethos from the previous regime. It's one of the better looks this offense can muster. And it'll help the run game get back on track.

12 Personnel: 2 TEs

nflverse play-by-play data. Retrieved from nflverse.github.io

There's an interesting nugget from this 2025 leaderboard. The top 5 in 12 personnel usage last year are all teams that will have new offensive coordinators, head coaches, or both.

Crucially, quantity is not quality. Of that top 5, three of them ranked outside the top 20 in EPA/Play on 12-personnel plays. 

Let's take a closer look at last year's top 5 in 12 usage and see how things look going into 2026.

Cleveland Browns

• New Coach: Todd Monken
• Previous Role: Ravens OC (2023-2025)

The Browns led the league in 12-personnel last year with David Njoku established and Harold Fannin establishing himself as one of the breakout stars of the year. In comes Todd Monken to run the show, and he had established a pattern of featuring multiple tight ends not only in Baltimore but at Georgia as well.

There's a tension here, though. The coaching move to bring in a coach like Monken who uses a lot of 12 vs an offseason that saw the Browns not only draft two receivers in the first 40 picks, but also let Njoku walk. 

It would make sense for the Browns to lean into the new personnel and not rely as much on two-tight-end looks. They have 4-5 solid receivers and the depth behind Fannin at tight end features household names like Jack Stoll and rookie Joe Royer.

I think we'll see Cleveland move to more three-wide sets this year while Fannin plays plenty as the lone tight end.

Baltimore Ravens

• New OC: Declan Doyle
• Previous Role: Bears OC (2025) Broncos TE Coach (2023-24)

If you're familiar with me at all, you know I'm a huge Ravens fan. And even I don't really know what to make of how this offense will function this year. The team brings in a relative unknown as the offensive coordinator, and though Doyle has gotten rave reviews from Lamar Jackson and co., we just can't really know what this offense will be. 

Doyle's Bears ranked 7th in 12 personnel usage last year and 6th in EPA/play. Doyle does have background in coaching TEs, but the general sense is that the Bears' offense was Ben Johnson's brainchild more than anything last year. 

The Ravens also had an interesting offseason in terms of personnel. Isaiah Likely and Charlie Kolar both left in free agency. The team spent a pair of Day 3 draft picks to replace them with Matthew Hibner and Josh Cuevas. Interesting though they may be, I'm skeptical that they both carve out big roles or truly dictate Doyle's personnel choices. 

Maybe more important is that the Ravens drafted receivers Ja'Kobi Lane and Elijah Sarratt in the third and fourth rounds. The Ravens have way more incentive this year to go with three-wide looks than they have in recent years. Now, is the receiver depth good behind Zay Flowers? No. Or at least, we don't know yet. But on paper, it's better than what's behind Mark Andrews. 

Seattle Seahawks

• New OC: Brian Fleury
• Previous Role: 49ers TE Coach (2022-25)

Klint Kubiak's stint in Seattle was as brilliant as it was short. In one year, he turned the Seahawks from a bottom-third offense to a top 10 offense and helped Seattle capture the Lombardi trophy.

In comes Fleury. Similar to Doyle in Baltimore, it's hard to know how much of the 49ers' success to attribute to Fleury when he was working under Kyle Shanahan. The Seahawks do seem like a team that should keep pressing on with an emphasis on using multiple tight ends. AJ Barner is establishing himself as a legitimate starting tight end and Elijah Arroyo was a buzzy prospect in the 2025 draft who now has a year of experience under his belt. 

The Seahawks also don't have a ton of receiver depth. Behind Jaxon Smith-Njigba there's 33-year-old Cooper Kupp and Rashid Shaheed, who is fun but not a target earner. 

JSN obviously eats up a huge slice of the target pie in Seattle, but there should be enough tight end snaps available for Barner to return value on his ADP and Arroyo to keep on your watch lists for managed leagues.

Atlanta Falcons

• New coach: Kevin Stefanski
• Previous Role: Browns Head Coach (2020-25)

Stefanski went with a lot of 12 in Cleveland last year as we discussed. The problem was... the Browns weren't really good at it, ranking 30th in EPA/play. Atlanta might be set up really well for that type of philosophy to thrive this year, though.

Stefanski is already plenty experienced with this type of offense. And the Falcons not only ranked fourth in 12 personnel play count, but also EPA/play. They leaned into what was working. I look for more of the same this year.

The Falcons offense runs through Bijan Robinson and Drake London, and now Kyle Pitts is finally starting to look like the player he was supposed to be as a top 5 pick in 2021. The team brought in Austin Hooper, who played two solid seasons for Stefanski in Cleveland, and retains dogged blocker Charlie Woerner as its TE group. 

You could also argue that the Falcons have the worst receiver depth in the league. Or, at worst, bottom three. After Drake London, we have Zachariah Branch going around ~180, constituting a 160-pick gap. Then there's whatever's left of Jahan Dotson or Olamide Zacchaeus. 

The Falcons would be wise to stick with a lot of heavy sets that keep Pitts on the field while also deploying a capable blocker via Hooper or Woerner. The team knows how to do it and so does Stefanski. It's a good marriage, on paper.

Teams to Watch

The Raiders, Giants and Steelers all catch my eye as teams who can and should lean into 12-personnel this year.

In Vegas, you have TE1 Brock Bowers and an overqualified second tight end in Michael Mayer. There's also a shaky-looking receiving corps on paper. We discussed Kubiak's effectiveness with 12P in Seattle earlier. Tight end is an objectively stronger position group than receiver in Vegas.

The Giants are a bit of a mystery. Nobody is all that excited by the prospect of Matt Nagy running the offense. But you look at this group of pass-catchers and you see Malik Nabers coming off a serious knee injury and not much else at receiver. Tight end is a slightly different story, though. The team gave Isaiah Likely a nice contract this offseason to reunite him with John Harbaugh. I also think Theo Johnson can be some version of solid. If the Giants want to lean into a smashmouth identity, they have the pieces to do it.

The Steelers call might get some pushback. They have expensive receivers between DK Metcalf and Michael Pittman. They just drafted Germie Bernard. Mike McCarthy's Cowboys ranked 23rd and 30th in 12 personnel usage in 2023 and 2024. Yada yada yada. The Steelers are also paying ~$20m to their top two tight ends in Darnell Washington and Pat Freiermuth. 

They ranked 8th in 12 usage last year, though it was admittedly pretty futile (27th in EPA/play). It takes a bit of a leap considering McCarthy's background and Pittsburgh's ineffectiveness in 12 last year, but as someone who believes in both Freiermuth and Washington, 12 should be a staple in this offense this year. It gives them more heft for the run game, and on pass plays, it gives two additional short-area targets. That meshes well with Aaron Rodgers' hot potato style of playing quarterback these days.