Year after year, some NFL teams play above their talent level because of incredible coaching, while star-studded casts fall short due to poor game planning and improper adjustments. Individual excellence can overcome coaching, and freelancing out of structure can bring a sound scheme to its breaking point. One can survive in spurts without the other, but good players and good schemes need one another to sustain success.
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The top 100 picks in the 2022 NFL Draft were littered with strong matches between scheme and personnel, especially on defense. There’s been plenty of talk about receivers and offensive linemen drafted early, but the best prospects available this spring were the ones who chase the football, not catch or carry it.
Just as it went for my all-fit team, let’s pick a player at each defensive position and examine what about their game and their coach’s approach make for a perfect marriage.
Kyle Hamilton, Safety, Baltimore Ravens
Scheme fit: Strong safety in a two-high coverage structure
Hamilton’s draft position does his talent level a disservice — and he was the 14th overall pick. Positional value and a 40-yard dash in the high 4.5 range dropped Hamilton out of top 10 consideration, but his 6-4, 220-pound frame and incredible instincts make him a perfect fit as a versatile chess piece for defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald, who returns to the Ravens after proving his chops as a play caller at the University of Michigan. Macdonald is a branch off the Nick Saban-Bill Belichick coaching tree, having previously served as an assistant under Todd Grantham at Georgia and Dean Pees with the Ravens.
What we know of Belichick’s and Saban’s defenses: No coaches install more defensive looks or are better equipped to maximize the skill sets of their players, especially in the secondary. Hamilton can help fit a gap between the tackles or show up on the edge in run support. Macdonald liked to use odd fronts when he needed to stop the run in 2021, even against 11 personnel looks (one back, one tight end). Expect to see a healthy amount of Hamilton near the line of scrimmage and Marcus Williams in the middle of the field.
In the diagram below, Hamilton would be playing the strong safety position, coming over the tight end and providing run support or dropping into the curl/flat area if it’s pass.
On third downs — or against more pass-happy teams — Macdonald and the other defensive coordinators from the 3-4 world get into nickel or dime sets (five or six DBs) and play with two high safeties to protect the seams and intermediate throwing windows long enough for the pass rush to affect the quarterback. Baltimore’s cadre of cornerbacks makes it possible to play man or match coverages underneath and use the deep safeties to bracket the slots or play over the top. That’s where Hamilton can transition from being a hammer in the box to using his elite recognition skills in space. If Baltimore wants to play a softer version of quarters — a four deep, three under zone coverage concept — Hamilton can be used as a big nickel, fitting the run if it hits the perimeter and defending slot receivers in the passing game.
In this example, the defense is playing a bracket concept over the X and H receivers. Hamilton, as the strong safety, would stay deep and protect the seams against the deepest routes, with the nickel and corner playing man-to-man underneath.
Kaiir Elam, Cornerback, Buffalo Bills
Scheme fit: Press cornerback in a zone match/man match coverage scheme
Elam takes pride in studying himself and his opponent, a major component of success in press coverage. With all the different body types and play styles at wide receiver, there’s no blanket approach to success at the line of scrimmage, and Elam saw it all in his career at Florida — whether it came in practice against Kadarius Toney and Kyle Pitts, or against the likes of Jameson Williams, Devonta Smith and John Metchie in SEC competition. Elam has found success with physicality, proficient footwork, recovery speed and ball skills to deny completions and force turnovers.
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Bills head coach Sean McDermott and defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier will put every bit of Elam’s physical traits to use in the Buffalo defense, which has as many quality starters as any unit in the NFL. McDermott developed his defensive identity under Jim Johnson, Steve Spagnuolo and Ron Rivera, for whom tight coverage rules the day.
Once Tre’Davious White returns from an ACL tear, Buffalo has two corners who can live comfortably on an island, and that opens up all types of possibilities for the Bills’ other nine defenders. Buffalo has a deep lineup of edge rushers, playmaking safeties to protect the seams in Jordan Poyer and Micah Hyde and a linebacker in Tremaine Edmunds who’s at his best when he can play off of the quarterback’s intentions instead of covering players straight up.
Buffalo already had the NFL’s best defense by DVOA in 2021, and this offseason’s defensive additions only increase star quarterback Josh Allen’s margin for error.
Logan Hall, Defensive Tackle, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Scheme fit: Pass rushing three-technique in a multiple front defense
Succession plans have been the theme of Tampa Bay’s last two drafts. Last year’s 32nd overall pick, Joe Tryon-Shoyinka, came in to fill the shoes of Jason Pierre-Paul, and Hall was taken in almost the exact same position (pick No. 33) to take over for Ndamukong Suh.
Todd Bowles, who belongs to the Bill Parcells coaching tree, is a firm believer in building his defense from front to back, and the Buccaneers were already the most feared team between the tackles, seeing the least rushing attempts in the NFL last season. Hall might not be the most stout interior run defender in this class, but his 6-6, 280-pound frame holds up well enough to avoid being a liability. Playing alongside defensive linemen Vita Vea and William Gholston and in front of linebackers Devin White and Lavonte David will make it easy for Hall to turn average execution against the run into a net positive.
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But Hall is my favorite fit on the interior because of what he gives the Bucs on passing downs. Tampa Bay is multiple up front, toggling among odd, even and exotic looks, and Hall is exactly the kind of defensive tackle a coordinator can use to pick on weak guards and centers.
Generating consistent pressure up the middle of the pocket means there’s less need to blitz, and opposing offenses can’t afford to release all five receiving threats as often. For a defense that is a bit short on high-end talent in the secondary, the best way to protect against explosive passes is to drop deep into zone coverage and allow the pass rush to force checkdowns.
Quay Walker, Linebacker, Green Bay Packers
Scheme fit: Flexible linebacker in a two-high coverage structure
On measurables alone, Walker fits right into Green Bay’s mold of a front seven player. At 6-4 and 240 pounds, Walker can step into the Packers’ base package, the odd front in a 3-4 defense, and fit the run from the box.
In an odd front, linebackers must flow over the top and meet the ball where it’s intended to go. Walker was one of the best tacklers in college football last season — on a defense stacked with other incredible stoppers — and his lateral range makes it possible to get to the ball even when it’s out on the perimeter.
Past his ability to stand tall in the box, Georgia trusted Walker more than any other linebacker to step out of the box against spread offenses and execute its long menu of split-safety coverage schemes. Walker can expand into the flats, carry receiving threats up the seam or play man-to-man against tight ends. This gives Packers defensive coordinator Joe Barry a true coverage linebacker when he needs one while keeping De’Vondre Campbell in the box and matching up with running backs, which is the role that suits him best.
Jalen Pitre, Nickel, Houston Texans
Scheme fit: Hybrid slot defender in a zone match/man match coverage scheme
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Above, I reference the zone match and man match coverage schemes that exist in a split-safety world. For a deep safety like Hamilton, his job is to protect the seams and/or double the most dangerous receiver. Corners, like Elam in Buffalo, must spend most of the game with his eyes fixated on outside receivers, matching them wherever they go. These jobs aren’t easy, but the responsibilities are straightforward. To better understand the nuances and intricacies of zone match and man match coverages, it’s necessary to focus on the underneath defenders in the slot, and Pitre makes for a perfect example.
Zone match coverage ask for coverage defenders to drop toward an area of the field, but they are keying the releases and routes of the wide receiver first, before focusing on the quarterback’s intentions. If no receiver threatens a defender’s assigned area, he will settle and play a more typical zone responsibility. If a receiver does run a route into the defender’s zone, he will play tight in coverage and deny the throwing window until the route moves into the next area.
In the example below, a concept known as smash-drive, defensive backs in zone match quarters give up the hitch and drag routes to take more dangerous patterns as they distribute down the field. Linebackers have to play between intermediate and shallow routes, forcing the quarterback to take the shortest option and hope for yards after the catch.
To execute in the underneath areas, linebackers and slot defenders must possess a good feel for the most probable route combinations, based on what the nearest receiver is doing. Pitre excelled at Baylor by jumping into passing windows just as they opened, squeezing away air space and confusing the timing between quarterback and receiver.
In man match coverage, the goal is to deny the offense an opportunity to complete easy passes, so corners play straight man-to-man coverage, and the underneath defenders adjust their leverage to deny routes with their body positioning, working in tandem with safeties to bracket receivers and dissuade quarterbacks from throwing into intermediate windows. Taking the same route concept from above, the corners stick to drags and hitches now, and with the corner route doubled, the only potential hope that remains is to hold the ball long enough for the dig to get away from the linebacker. This opens the door for a coverage sack.
Last season at Baylor, Pitre transitioned from playing more like a true strong side linebacker to filling the role of a pure nickel, meaning more man coverage for Pitre on early downs. He can size up any slot physically, and he has the athleticism to handle the shiftier route runners. Baylor head coach Dave Aranda and defensive coordinator Ron Roberts trusted him with a job he hadn’t been asked to execute prior to their regime at the school, but Pitre had no problem flashing man coverage skills against the best competition in the Big 12.
Pitre can be the perfect player for Texans coach Lovie Smith’s two-high system, if Smith allows Pitre to fit into that big nickel role and execute both match coverage concepts. With corner Derek Stingley Jr. playing alongside Pitre and locking onto the top wide receiver every time he’s on the field, Houston can make a quick defensive turnaround.
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Drake Jackson, Edge Defender, San Francisco 49ers
Scheme fit: Speed rushing nine-technique
Jackson’s best skill, his speed rush off the edge, was severely underutilized at USC. But the 49ers still saw enough of it to select him with the 61st overall pick. San Francisco is committed to playing with wide nine techniques, meaning the defensive end aligns outside of tackles and tight ends to tear up the field and put vertical stress on offensive tackles.
Playing so wide, especially in an era of shotgun offenses, requires edge defenders to bend around tight corners to finish pressures with contact on the quarterback. Jackson has the best bend in the 2022 rookie class, and when speed isn’t enough, he can keep tackles at bay with 34-inch arms and other counter moves.
From alignment alone, a wide nine technique is at a disadvantage in the run game because there’s space to run into between the tackle and tight end. And to make things more difficult, San Francisco has found success by playing with two high safeties, which leaves one less player near the line of scrimmage to fit the run. Defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans addresses these vulnerabilities by training his defensive line and linebackers to play with better effort and physicality than any other unit in the NFL, with each player in a full-on sprint to the football. Dropping Jackson into this ecosystem will get the best out of him, improving his ability as a run defender and rounding out his game. His vertical leap and broad jump numbers suggest he has enough explosiveness to convert speed into power and produce in the backfield.
For all the hemming and hawing about Travon Walker, Aidan Hutchinson, and Kayvon Thibodeaux during pre-draft process, don’t be surprised if the 2022 season ends with Jackson as the most effective rookie edge rusher.
(Top photo of Quay Walker: Morry Gash / Associated Press)