NFL trends that could explode in 2026: Rams' 13 personnel, Seahawks' chess piece on defense provide blueprint

The NFL is a copycat league. Just take the last 15 years for example. The zone-read option blew up across the league after Robert Griffin III's rookie year in 2012. Two-high safety coverage has swept through the NFL in the last few years limiting big passing plays. Kyle Shanahan and Sean McVay ushered in a new era of pre-snap motion. The Eagles' Tush Push repopularized the QB sneak. Teams are going for it on fourth down more than ever before and last year kickers were making kicks from longer range than ever. 

Rule changes, generational players and brilliant minds continue to push the game forward resulting in new trends that explode across the league. The 2026 season will be no different as teams will be lining up to copy scheme lords Mike Macdonald and Sean McVay after the Seahawks and Rams were the two most dominant teams last season.

Here's three trends that could blow up this season:

13 personnel (the blueprint: Rams)

Leave it to McVay to reinvent himself again. The Rams used 13 personnel (1 RB, 1 WR, 3 TE) at by far the highest rate in the league (30.5%; next-highest was 13.2%) last season to unlock an MVP season from Matthew Stafford. Just five years ago, the Rams used 11 personnel (1 RB, 3 WR, 1 TE) more than any team in 2021 when they won the Super Bowl.

It all started in Week 6 when Puka Nacua was hurt. The Rams used this look over 40% of the time for the remainder of the year. This personnel worked because it forced defenses into a bind. If you play nickel (or dime) defense vs. 13 personnel then the offense will have the advantage in the run game against lighter boxes. If you play base defense then the tight ends (the Rams used Colby Parkinson, Tyler Higbee and Terrance Ferguson) will be matchup problems for linebackers and safeties. 

Highest 13 personnel usage last season

These groupings worked wonders for Stafford and the Rams' passing game. Stafford's success rate in 13 personnel (63.0%) was significantly higher than all other groupings (50.7%) last year, mostly because he faced base defense 78% of the time in 13 looks vs. 9% in all other looks. Stafford ended up with 20 touchdown passes and zero interceptions in these spots as they leaned on it heavily near the goal line, too. No other QB had more than three touchdowns in 13 personnel.

Matthew Stafford by personnel package last season

This was a catalyst for Stafford's first MVP season and it probably would have won the Rams another title if not for a defense that collapsed in the second half of the year. 

• The Rams are doubling down on this strategy in 2026 after drafting TE Max Klare in the second round. But, they aren't alone. There were 21 tight ends drafted in 2026, the most since 2002, meaning last season's leaguewide rate of 13 personnel usage of 5.1% (highest on record) should skyrocket with these potential teams and their TE trios following in McVay's footsteps:
• Bears: Colston Loveland, Cole Kmet, Sam Roush (2026 third-round pick)
• Jets: Kenyon Sadiq (2026 second-round pick), Mason Taylor, Jeremy Ruckert
• Texans: Dalton Schultz, Marlin Klein (2026 second-round pick), Foster Moreau
• Saints: Juwan Johnson, Noah Fant, Oscar Delp (2026 second-round pick)
• Eagles: Dallas Goedert, Eli Stowers (2026 second-round pick), Johnny Mundt
• Steelers: Darnell Washington, Pat Freiermuth, Robert Tonyan

Chess piece on defense (the blueprint: Seahawks/Nick Emmanwori)

McVay is leading the innovation on offense but his adversary Macdonald is ahead of the curve on defense. 

While the numbers for safeties being used as a chess piece all over the field have remained level over the last decade, I would expect teams to be lining up to copy Macdonald and what he has done with Kyle Hamilton in Baltimore and now Nick Emmanwori in Seattle (similar to how teams will copy the Rams' 13 personnel).

Rookie second-round safety Nick Emmanwori helped transform the Seahawks' defense into a No. 1 unit in a Super Bowl season. He was one of four safeties with 300+ snaps at both slot corner and linebacker last season along with Hamilton, Derwin James Jr. and Tre'von Moehrig. 

Like the Rams' 13 personnel, these unicorns put opponents in a bind. If you go to a heavy package on offense and try to run on a defense's nickel package, this chess piece safety is like a linebacker and there's no drop-off against the run. If an offense stays with 3+ WR, the safety can also cover in the slot and there's no drop-off there. This also helps defend against the trend of teams going to bigger receivers in the slot, aka the power slot. Nacua, CeeDee Lamb, Michael Pittman Jr., Drake London are among the prototypes there.

Macdonald described the dynamic last year. "Some of the things you're going to ask Nick to do are a little different than what you'd ask a linebacker to do. But, in terms of how you manage your roster, he's basically playing the linebacker position," Macdonald said this week. "We've essentially turned into a base 43 team with a crazy athletic SAM (linebacker), is what we are."

Incredibly, the Seahawks allowed the fewest yards per rush in the NFL last year (3.7) despite playing base defense less than anyone (6%). Clearly using safety Emmanwori in this hybrid role worked wonders in both facets as the Seahawks were the first team since the 2015 Broncos to rank top two in both yards per rush and yards per attempt allowed. Emmanwori's versatility allowed Seattle to stuff the run while also taking away big plays in the passing game.

These dynamic DBs might not spread quite as fast as 13 personnel, but look for these teams to employ similar chess pieces in 2026:

• Cowboys with first-round rookie Caleb Downs: He was the only DB with 250+ tackles, 15+ TFL and 5+ INT in the past three FBS seasons
• Commanders with first-round rookie Sonny Styles: The former safety turned linebacker plays a different position but he could have a similar impact thanks to similar traits (but more size) as Emmanwori.
• Colts with AJ Haulcy: The 2026 third-round pick provides Lou Anarumo flexibility as he could play deep safety or in the box.
• Bills with Jalon Kilgore: Consider Kilgore a sleeper. The 2026 fifth-round pick faces a tall task in getting play time behind C.J. Gardner-Johnson and Geno Stone but he was a former Emmanwori teammate at South Carolina.

Under center (the blueprint: Seahawks, Rams, Bears)

The NFL is a copycat league. It's also cyclical as coaches find old answers to ace new tests. Teams went under center on 34.8% of plays last season, the highest rate since 2020, and up from 28.7% in 2023 and 30.3% in 2024.

Expect those rates to climb in 2026 after the top 10 teams in under center usage all had winning records in 2025 and were among the best passing teams and most explosive offenses in the league.

Highest under-center-usage percentage in 2025

The Rams were of course at the forefront of this movement. The Patriots and Seahawks met in the Super Bowl after they had two of the three highest under center increases from 2024 to 2025. Plus, the Bears increased their usage from 29% to 48% in their first year under Ben Johnson.

Going under center accomplishes several things. It allows quarterbacks a better view of complex defenses that feature more exotic blitzes and complex coverage schemes year after year. It results in better play-action fakes and a better run game to counter the two-high safety and light box trends that have taken over the league.

The numbers don't lie. The average pass-success rate was 44% in shotgun and 49% under center last year. If you zero in on play action, the explosive-pass rate jumps from 17% to 20% going from shotgun to under center.

Leaguewide passing efficiency by pre-snap formation last season

Look for these teams to go under center more in 2026 as they look to take steps forward on offense.

• Bengals: Cincinnati could employ this look after ranking 31st in under center usage and last in play-action rate last season. Joe Burrow ranks 29th among 30 QBs with 750+ attempts in explosive pass rate over the past three seasons while the Bengals have failed to make the playoffs. 
• Ravens: New OC Declan Doyle was the Bears' offensive coordinator in 2025 under Ben Johnson when they went under center at the fifth-highest rate in the league (48%). Baltimore was 13th (36%).
• Eagles: New OC Sean Mannion is from the Matt LaFleur/Sean McVay coaching tree and will be implementing more motion and under center play action to a stale Eagles offense
• Raiders: New head coach Klint Kubiak will be bringing his Kyle Shanahan principles to Las Vegas after using under center at the second-highest rate in the league (55%) as Seattle's OC last year. The only downside is a bigger learning curve for No. 1 pick Fernando Mendoza, who was used solely in shotgun at Indiana last year.