Last season, second-round pick Rashee Rice went to Kansas City where Andy Reid drew up plays that took advantage of his ability to run after the catch as he developed other parts of his game. Even though his skill set was limited, his fit in the Chiefs’ scheme was key to his production. Scheme and team fit matter in every rookie’s formative years. As talented as Caleb Williams is and as talented as this receiver class is, where each prospect has landed will determine their short-term and long-term success.
Let’s look at my 10 favorite scheme/team fits from the 2024 draft.
Playstyle: Creator with advanced mechanics and the ability to make rare off-platform throws.
Scheme: Balanced run/pass ratio, outside zone, deep shot play action, boots.
Chicago has hardly been known as a QB-friendly environment but general manager Ryan Poles has built a Ferrari for Williams to step into. They’ve methodically rebuilt the offensive line, they have two highly productive receivers in D.J. Moore and Keenan Allen, two talented tight ends in Cole Kmet and Gerald Everett, and an explosive running back in D’Andre Swift. To top it off, they added receiver Rome Odunze with the ninth pick of the draft.
What I like most about the cast in Chicago is it includes have multiple targets who can win quickly and create after the catch. Williams developed some bad habits playing in USC’s offense holding on to the ball, attempting to win the game on every snap. With receivers he can throw the ball to on time and create yards after the catch on check-downs, Williams can play with more timing. Allen is one of the best route runners in the game — he’ll win on short and intermediate routes and give Williams a target he can trust whom he can get to at the top of his drop. Moore is a deep threat and a YAC monster. Swift is a mismatch running routes out of the backfield.
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How the Caleb Williams-Rome Odunze workout was a glimpse into the Bears’ future
Odunze can do a little bit of everything but he gives the Bears a downfield threat who can contribute immediately. New offensive coordinator Shane Waldron will use a lot more 11 personnel (one back, one tight end, three receivers) than he did in Seattle.
Waldron’s offense was more vertical in Seattle because he had DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett at his disposal, but with the type of receivers he has in Chicago, I think it’ll look a little more like Sean McVay’s offense with more “choice” route concepts (Waldron coached under McVay with the Rams). Again, just getting Williams into the mindset of throwing the ball on time will be essential to his development. There are plenty of examples of him staying in the pocket and getting through his progression, so he’s certainly capable of it.
Of course, you don’t want to neuter the creator in Williams — that’s what will make him special. The Bears just want to nurture his ability to play within structure and they have assembled a great cast around him to do it.
Playstyle: Athletic offensive lineman with freaky length, recovery ability and surprising power run-blocking.
Scheme: Run heavy, play action.
Chargers fans are understandably disappointed that they didn’t draft a receiver with such a black hole at the position. But the pick was always going to be offensive line as soon as coach Jim Harbaugh was hired. Sure, some think right tackle Trey Pipkins is a league-average tackle and some think that’s fine, but that’s not good enough for Harbaugh. He wants to dominate the line of scrimmage and now has two potentially elite tackles. Left tackle Rashawn Slater was an All-Pro in his rookie season and Alt is one of the best offensive line prospects to come on in years.
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Chargers stick to their blueprint by drafting OL Joe Alt
“You’re gonna say, ‘What about a weapon?’” Harbaugh said after the draft. “Offensive linemen we look at as weapons.”
Alt is 6-8 but he bends and moves like he’s 6-5. He has a special recovery ability and because of his bend and abnormal length, he can move people in the run game. Harbaugh didn’t give a definitive answer about whether it’ll be Slater or Alt moving to the right. Both are athletic and technically sound enough to make the move but Slater was an All-Pro at left. It’s hard to imagine that they want to move him.
The Chargers drafted Alt to protect Justin Herbert but also to enforce their identity. Offensive coordinator Greg Roman wants to run the ball at a high clip but it’s hard to do without blue-chip talent on the offensive line. Alt significantly raises the ceiling of the Chargers offensive line.
Also, I wouldn’t be surprised if Alt, a former tight end, catches a pass or two.
Play style: Big play slot with elite YAC ability. Speedster with some size and strong hands.
Scheme: Spread offense that has to evolve into more of a dropback attack.
Giants offensive coordinator Mike Kafka is from the Andy Reid tree but he hasn’t necessarily been able to run the offense he wants because of the lack of talent in New York. At their best in 2022, they found success handing the ball off to Saquon Barkley and sprinkling in run option concepts with Daniel Jones. But Barkley left in free agency and Jones is coming off yet another season-ending injury. The Giants don’t have a choice but to move toward a more pass-centric attack. To that end, adding a receiver was necessary.
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Daniel Jones getting one more chance, as Giants draft Malik Nabers after failing to trade up for QB
Sure, they would have liked to move up and drafted Drake Maye, who would have helped the passing game more than a receiver, but the Patriots weren’t going to trade down unless they got a historic offer. Getting Nabers isn’t a bad consolation prize at all. Because of his ability to separate and create after the catch, the natural comparison is Tyreek Hill, whom Kafka coached in Kansas City. I’m not saying Nabers will be as good as Hill, but there are some similarities in style.
Of the top three receivers in this draft class, Nabers will need the most development and he’s more scheme-dependent than Odunze and Marvin Harrison Jr. Nabers will have some trouble against press coverage early in his career and he’ll have to expand his route tree. He needs to be in a system with coaches who can design ways to get the ball in his hands and Kafka and head coach Brian Daboll have shown they can do that. Kafka will draw up creative screens for Nabers and utilize motion to keep defenders from being able to press Nabers too often.
Nabers will have a baptism-by-fire experience in New York with tight end Darren Waller mulling retirement and receiver Darius Slayton potentially holding out for a new contract. The target volume and snaps Nabers will see in his first season may not be of the highest quality with Jones throwing him the ball but the reps will be good for his long-term development.
Playstyle: Played in a play-action-heavy offense. Passer who attacks the middle of the field with the athleticism to create out-of-structure when necessary.
Scheme: Outside zone, play action scheme.
McCarthy is the Shanahan/McVay system quarterback prototype with a mini jet pack attached. He’s athletic enough to run boots, he has the arm and accuracy to hit tight window passes in the middle of the field and hit the deep shot when they are there. He takes care of the ball, he’s comfortable turning his back to the defense on play action and has a dash of playmaker to him.
If a play-caller can get the first read or two open, McCarthy will consistently hit them. He’s comfortable taking the check down rather than forcing it but is also elusive enough to get away from pressure. Head coach Kevin O’Connell is an excellent play caller, who found ways to score points with a revolving door at quarterback last season.
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Why J.J. McCarthy (and those close to him) saw the Vikings as a ‘dream scenario’
In my opinion, Minnesota is the most QB-friendly team in the league. It has a head coach who calls plays so there’s no threat of him leaving for another job, two bookend tackles, the best receiver in the league in Justin Jefferson, and good secondary pass catchers like Jordan Addison and T.J. Hockenson. Like his situation with Michigan, McCarthy will have plenty of help and he won’t be asked to do too much. He needs reps to become a better pure drop-back passer. He’ll get them with the Vikings and they’ll make life easier for him with good play-calling, strong protection and elite weapons. There is no better destination for McCarthy.
Mitchell’s playstyle: Off-man corner with elite recognition and click-and-close ability.
DeJean’s playstyle: Versatile defensive back who can line up anywhere.
Scheme: Two-high, soft zone system.
Mitchell played a lot of off-coverage at Toledo. Some of his best highlights are him reading a play and firing off like a missile to make a play on the ball or a big hit. Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio uses a lot of soft zone or off-man coverage to disguise his coverages. Mitchell fits like a glove in Fangio’s system. The Eagles’ pass defense trotted out one the oldest pair of starting corners last season — Darius Slay is 33 and James Bradberry is 30. Adding a young, athletic corner in Mitchell will bolster their secondary and give them some options.
DeJean, who general manager Howie Roseman traded up to get in the second round, can play corner, nickel or safety. The Eagles can evaluate their secondary in training camp and move DeJean where he can help most. He can thrive playing safety in Fangio’s system.
A staple of Fangio’s defense is starting in two deep and rotating into different coverages to repeatedly give quarterbacks the same pre-snap look and then changing the picture post-snap. DeJean’s versatility and ability to cover man-to-man would add a dynamic to Fangio’s defense that he hasn’t had.
The Eagles have aggressively addressed many issues that plagued them last season when they struggled down the stretch. Roseman gave the secondary a major shot in the arm with the draft.
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Cooper DeJean joins Quinyon Mitchell as new Eagles DBs hoping to shore up secondary
Playstyle: Big X receiver with vertical speed and jump-ball ability.
Scheme: Shotgun, spread attack that utilizes RPOs and straight dropbacks more than play action.
The Jaguars needed to draft a receiver after losing Calvin Ridley in free agency and Thomas may fit their offense better than Ridley did. As a rookie, Thomas might not be as productive as Ridley, who caught 76 passes for 1,016 yards last season, but he gives the Jaguars a true big-body X receiver who can stretch the field. Ridley was miscast in that role last season. He struggled to get off press coverage on the outside and win consistently on fade routes — two skills that Thomas specialized in at LSU.
“He’s a guy that brings a skill set that we haven’t necessarily had … to the level that he brings,” Jaguars general manager Trent Baalke said. “He’s 6-foot-027. He’s 209 pounds. And he runs sub-4.4.”
The Jaguars already have Christian Kirk, whom they pay handsomely to win underneath. Ridley is a nifty route runner who needed more snaps in the slot and to be put in motion more. He made some plays at times but it wasn’t his best usage. After losing Ridley, the Jaguars signed Gabe Davis to take the top off defenses but obviously, Thomas offers a much higher ceiling as an outside receiver. As a rookie, he’ll at least be a field stretcher and expand his role as he develops.
Verse playstyle: Edge rusher who wins with speed or power, average bend.
Fiske playstyle: Single-gap interior penetrator.
Scheme: Odd front, pattern match team.
Losing one of the greatest interior pass rushers ever is tough. No one can replace Aaron Donald. But the Rams have to do something to mitigate the gaping hole left by his absence. Asking one rookie to try to fill his shoes is an impossible task, so the Rams are asking two Seminoles to try.
Verse and Fiske played on the same defensive line for Florida State. The Rams had plans to bring the synergy between them to LA. After drafting Verse in the first round, they spent Day 2 working the phones to trade up in the second round to get Fiske. In Dane Brugler’s “The Beast,” he compared Verse to Dante Fowler, who had a career year playing in the Rams’ system in 2019. The Rams use odd fronts with two stand-up edge rushers and Verse has experience rushing standing up or with his hand in the ground. Verse fits what they typically look for in an edge linebacker more than incumbent starter Michael Hoecht, who is a converted nose tackle. Verse has some experience dropping back, which he’ll be asked to do.
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How FSU teammates Jared Verse, Braden Fiske ended up together with Rams
Fiske has one of the quickest get-offs in the draft. He was one of the best testers at the combine and that athleticism pops off the film. Fiske is an explosive, violent and unrelenting defender but he’s undersized at 292 pounds and has short arms. In the Rams’ odd fronts, he can kick out and line up at four-technique (head up on tackles) so he doesn’t have to hold his ground in the A and B gaps too often.
It’ll remain to be seen how Fiske will hold up against the run, but the Rams hope the pair will be able to contribute to their pass rush immediately. Verse and Fiske were a nightmare to handle running their defensive line games (stunts) for Florida State.
“We don’t say ‘games‘ to each other anymore,” Verse said. “We just kind of look at each other, ‘Oh, you want to run this? I got you.’ … We talked about it, ‘Imagine if we go to the same team? That would be so cool.’ And now it happened!”
Defensive line games or stunts are line movements in which one player spikes in one direction to draw attention while the other loops around. Based on Verse’s comments, it seemed like the Florida State coaching staff gave Verse and Fiske the freedom to call their own line games. They may not have that sort of autonomy in the NFL but the Rams hope the chemistry between the two will be a feature of their defense for years to come.
Again, it’s impossible to replace the impact of Donald but I like the interesting way the Rams invested their first two picks in their pass rush.
Who’s cutting onions? 🥹 pic.twitter.com/fj3RZaH63Z
— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) April 27, 2024
Playstyle: Mauler with good feet who finishes with attitude.
Scheme: Outside zone scheme.
The Raiders will transition to an outside zone scheme under new offensive coordinator Luke Getsy. They came into the draft looking for a tackle but because of the run on the position in the first round, the best player left on the board was Powers-Johnson, who was widely seen as a late first-round pick. Powers-Johnson is an O-line coach’s dream because of his athletic ability and desire to bury defenders on every snap. He’s still raw and needs to refine his technique but he has the tools to become a high-level guard.
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Raiders land steal in Jackson Powers-Johnson, beef up offensive line
Head coach Antonio Pierce wants the Raiders to have a physical identity on offense and Powers-Johnson adds some much-needed physicality to the offensive line. Because they didn’t find an upgrade at quarterback, the ability to run the ball next season will be even more of a priority. As mentioned, though Powers-Johnson is a mauler, he has quick feet and the quickness to hook defensive linemen and get to linebackers on the second level in an outside zone scheme.
(Photo of Brian Thomas Jr., Caleb Williams and Joe Alt: Jonathan Bachman, Brian Rothmuller and Justin Casterline / Getty Images)
