Back to the future: Schematic shifts defining first quarter of 2025 NFL season reminiscent of early 2000s

The first quarter of the NFL season is here, and there's really quite a bit to unpack. Daniel Jones and the Colts: probably good? The Baltimore Ravens: probably bad?

Yet, the biggest things that are really helping define the first part of the season are the schematic changes and shifts helping NFL teams gain an edge on the field. There's nothing truly new under the sun, the cyclical nature of NFL schematics always bringing what we thought was old news back to the forefront as ideas get passed around the league. 2025 is no different, with old becoming new again in the NFL. With that being said, here are some schematic shifts that are defining the first portion of the 2025 season.

Under center dropback is back

Welcome back to 2004 folks. I was four years old that year, Wendy's still had yellow cups and the NFL was establishing the run at will. Passers would drop back straight from under center and throw quickly like nobody's business. 

This year, the NFL is embracing its roots and getting back into the under center dropback game. According to TruMedia, five of the top seven under center dropback passing rates come from this season, with the Los Angeles Rams, Seattle Seahawks and Buffalo Bills leading the way as the top three units in this metric in 2025. If you combine this with the under center rate constantly going up in the NFL over the last three years, you get a notable trend of teams beginning to turn back the clock to move the game forward.

Under center dropbacks are becoming more common because teams became siloed in the past when being under center. The only passing concepts were play-action using deep pockets and shot plays downfield. As defenses began to adjust, the answer became to send pressure through the A-gaps as the QB has his back turned, torpedoing the passing concept because there's an unaccounted for blitzer in the QBs face.

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So, to keep defenses on their toes and prevent the offense from becoming predictable, under center dropbacks started to make their return. Being under center but going straight dropback allows for the QB to constantly keep their eyes on the defense, being able to diagnose pressures and rotating coverages, a theme in a modern NFL defense. Most of the leaders in under center dropbacks are members of the Shanahan tree, using it as another build into an offense that wants to use the rotations of the defense against them.

The Seahawks under offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak have run a lot of really cool stuff from under center in their straight dropback game, including this explosive against the Saints, where they're able to get five out in the passing game and still be under center. Using under center passing with no play action, Sam Darnold is averaging 9.5 Yards per Attempt and an Average Throw Depth of 12.4 yards. The Seahawks go for chunk plays from under center, and can get to it in different ways. This five step sail concept is really cool because you get the running back out into the flat, and Darnold rips this pass over the linebacker.

They also ran a three step drop from under center against Arizona, and you can tell how the motion and condensed formation help create more spacing. Under center passing game is here to stay folks!

The Los Angeles Rams lead the NFL in under center dropbacks, and with a QB in Matthew Stafford who has seen every coverage in the NFL, these plays are lethal. Stafford is laser efficient on dropbacks from under center, posting a 56.3% success rate. Where the Rams differ from a team like the Seahawks who motion their RB out to get spacing for these under center concepts, they use a lot of condensed formations and 11 personnel in their under center diet. Because WRs like Puka Nacua and Jordan Whittington are effective blockers, they have the ability to present run looks but go straight dropback, just like they do on this explosive pass.

With the efficiency of under center passing rising exponentially, more teams are embracing the non-play action dropback game, for good reason too. What's old is new again in the NFL, and straight dropbacks from under center are no exception.

Five and six man fronts while being in nickel

We're flipping it riverside for this trend, where defenses are trying to load up and defend the run while not sacrificing their coverage personnel. Something that the Eagles did last year with LB Zack Baun is walk the LB down to the edge to create a five man front, but using their 4-2-5 personnel. While so many teams still run wide zone and outside zone on offense, walking a linebacker down helps create a five man surface to put every player in a gap. What this does is it closes off lanes to the play side and gives the second and third level a chance to fill into the cutback lanes. However, when you get into five man fronts, you normally associate those with having an extra defensive lineman on the field and pulling a corner or linebacker off the field. 

Modern defenses have to be able to defend the run with lighter personnel on the field, and with that comes needing to line up in different fronts with your linebacker types. We use the word "versatile" a lot to describe linebackers when they enter the draft, but this year it truly feels like the versatility of having a guy who can play off the ball and walk down on the edge is going to help separate the good teams from the great ones. 

The Atlanta Falcons are surging on defense this year, and a large reason why is because DC Jeff Ulbrich has gotten Atlanta to be multiple in their defensive personnel while keeping their coverage guys on the field. 

The Eagles added LB Jihaad Campbell in the 2025 NFL Draft, and he's been used not only to help the Eagles get into five man fronts, but when they do go heavy personnel he can walk onto the edge and create a six man surface. The 6-1 front is something that's picked up much more popularity recently, and Campbell gives the Eagles a guy with the play strength to set the edge but also the ability to play in coverage.

The ability to change the picture up front is just as important as changing the picture in the secondary. Forcing the offensive line to adjust on the fly means putting them on the back foot and the defense dictating what the offense's protection plan is. As NFL defenses continue their lifetime struggle against offenses

A trips formation with a twist

Everyone gets into trips formation. It's the rule of threes, three is the magic number, the rule of thirds, you think of a balance in any school of thought and you come back to the number 3. NFL teams love passing out of formations with 3 receivers to one side and one receiver to another, but the downside is that you lose some blocking capability with nobody on the line of scrimmage attached.

In addition, defenses have gotten smarter at defending 3x1 looks, rotating coverage post snap to maintain balance in 2-high shells. Where offenses have attacked that balance is through one simple change: a "nub". What "nub" means is that there's a tight end on the line of scrimmage as the 1 in the 3x1 formation, with his hand in the dirt. What this does is cause a numbers problem for the defense. If they want to remain balanced and send more bodies to defend the pass, the offense has an advantage with a corner now potentially being in the run fit. Take Chargers' RB Omarion Hampton's big touchdown run on Sunday for example. 

The Chargers are in a 3x1 nub formation, with the fullback attached to the line of scrimmage. They motion WR Tre Harris in as a lead blocker on this play, but look at how the defense is aligned. Because CB Paulson Adebo has to acknowledge the threat of the nub TE as a receiver, he stays over there and the safety rotates over the bunch. That puts Adebo into the run fit, and corners don't get paid to take on blocks. You get nice angles here for the line and Hampton is off to the races.

This is another big run out of a 3x1 nub formation from the Denver Broncos and RB RJ Harvey. Because you want to maintain four defenders over three receivers in trips, the LB to the trips side is out of the tackle box, not being able to affect this play. Cincy tries to ease this by running a safety into the box to help defend the run, but this is where this formation comes in handy. You can still run counter because your tight end is able to handle blocks like this one by Adam Trautman. He gets up to the linebacker and allows for the guard to kick out the EDGE. This leaves the corner trying to take on a block from a pulling tackle, an area where he's way out of his element.

Having this formation in your offensive playbook is a great way of getting defensive tells and numbers advantages from the offensive perspective. Forcing the defense to account for an extra blocker on the line while also committing numbers to the trips side is an easy way to manipulate the tackle box count, making offense much easier.

As the NFL season rolls along, I'm going to be looking out for all of these schematic looks, and how teams continue to add on and innovate.