Headlined by record-setting Travis Kelce, Andy Reid’s ‘Tiger Personnel’ poses problems
Travis Kelce is knocking on history’s door.
The Kansas City Chiefs star needs just 11 receiving yards to do something no tight end in NFL history has accomplished before: record four consecutive 1,000-yard seasons.
The two-time All-Pro and four-time Pro Bowler has enjoyed an accomplished seven-year career since joining the Chiefs in 2013 as a third-round draft pick out of Cincinnati.
He has appeared in 93 career games with 86 starts, totaling 485 catches for 6,225 yards and 36 touchdowns, and currently shares the NFL record of three straight 1000-yard receiving seasons by a tight end with Carolina’s Greg Olsen.
Kelce established another NFL record in September by becoming the fastest tight end in league history to record 425 receptions and 5,500 receiving yards in the Super Bowl era, doing so in 83 games.
In a league where the crossroads of talent and opportunity takes center stage, there’s little doubt Kelce landed in the perfect spot to showcase his skill-set.
From Chad Lewis, L.J. Smith and Brent Celek in Philadelphia, and now Kelce in Kansas City, Andy Reid has always shown an appreciation for tight ends in his version of the West Coast offense.
‘Tiger personnel’
The Chiefs rank among the league’s leaders this season in utilization of “12 personnel” packages: one running back and two tight ends on the field at the same time.
“We call it ‘Tiger Personnel,’” Reid said. “It’s been around from the Paul Brown era, the Bill Walsh era. It’s great for the run and pass game — you get a lot of flexibility with tight ends. They can play at the line of scrimmage, they can play outside.”
The Chiefs enter Sunday’s showdown in Kansas City against the Denver Broncos having run 12 personnel on 30 percent of their plays, tied for fourth-most in the league with the Tennessee Titans, according to Sharp Football Stats, a website run by NFL analytics expert Warren Sharp. Of the Chiefs’ 800 total plays in 2019, 240 have come out of the 12 personnel package. Variations feature Kelce and either Blake Bell or Deon Yelder, Kelce’s two backups, on the field at the same time.
The Philadelphia Eagles, where former Chiefs offensive coordinator Doug Pederson presides as head coach, have run the most 12 personnel packages in the league, utilizing the grouping on 45 percent of their plays (356).
In 2018, the Chiefs ran 12 personnel packages on 309 plays, third only behind the Eagles (411) and Texans (389).
Chiefs running back LeSean McCoy, who also played for Reid in Philadelphia from 2009 to 2012, isn’t surprised the Eagles rank so high. He know that as a player, Pederson spent time around Reid as a backup quarterback with the Green Bay Packers (1995-98) and Eagles (1999) before joining Reid’s coaching staffs in Philadelphia (2009-12) and Kansas City (2013-15).
“They come from the same tree,” McCoy said of Reid and Pederson. “I think Coach (Reid) likes drawing up plays in 12 personnel. Run, pass, whatever it is, they all look the same. That’s how you psyche teams out: by having everything look the same.”
Kelce agreed.
“If you get a guy who can run some routes both inside and outside, like a full route tree, like a (Zach) Ertz, a (Dallas) Goedert or a guy like Deon Yelder or Blake Bell,” Kelce said, “it just puts so much strain on the defense and who they’re going to put personnel-wise to match their scheme ...”
The Chiefs have befuddled many opposing defenses in recent years, ranking among the league’s leaders in numerous offensive statistical categories, including total offense and scoring.
Kansas City enters Sunday’s matchup against the Broncos ranked fourth in scoring (28.5 points per game), second in yards per play (6.1) and sixth in total offense (381.7 yards per game). The Chiefs are also tied for fifth with 61 “big plays” — defined as 20 or more yards — with the Baltimore Ravens.
While the Chiefs’ “11 personnel” grouping — one running back, one tight end — remains their bread-and-butter, utilized by Reid 60 percent of the time, Patriots coach Bill Belichick appreciates what his Chiefs counterpart has accomplished.
“Andy and this Kansas City offense do a great job of utilizing really two groups, primarily 11 and 12,” said Belichick, whose team lost 23-16 to the Chiefs last weekend. “They do a great job of creating tough matchups in both of them, and they’re very effective in putting a lot of pressure on the defense in a number of different ways.
“That’s why they’ve been one of the most productive offenses and highest-scoring offenses in the league since he’s been there.”
Taking flight
Reid’s first NFL job was as an assistant to head coach Mike Holmgren in Green Bay. Reid coached the Packers’ tight ends and offensive line (1992-96) before taking over as quarterbacks coach and assistant head coach (1997-98).
Under Reid’s watchful eye, former Packers tight ends Jackie Harris and Mark Chmura thrived in Green Bay’s version of the West Coast offense. Chmura made three Pro Bowls (1995, 1997-98), and Harris experienced a spike in production after Reid’s arrival. He totaled 24 catches for 264 yards in 1991, 55 for 595 in 1992 and 42 for 604 in 1993.
Coaching the Eagles from 1999 to 2012, Reid built on that package with the likes of Lewis, Smith and Celek, among others.
Lewis enjoyed three straight Pro Bowl seasons under Reid from 2000-02; Smith totaled 61 catches in 2005, which tied for the team lead with running back Brian Westbrook; and Celek averaged 59 catches from 2009-12.
When Reid arrived in Kansas City in 2013, one of his first moves was drafting Kelce, who has since cemented his status as an elite tight end.
Over the years, Kelce has worked in tandem with such backups as Anthony Fasano, Demetrius Harris, James O’Shaughnessy, Brian Parker, Ross Travis and now Bell and Yelder. Kelce leads the Chiefs in receiving yards this season, with 75 catches for 989 yards and four touchdowns on a team-high 109 targets.
But the complementary tight end also has a pretty key role in the blocking and passing phases of the Chiefs’ offense. Bell, who missed one game this season due to an ankle injury, has appeared in 12 games, totaling 322 offensive snaps. He’s topped 30 or more snaps in six games.
“You have to give props to the coaching staff for coaching guys up,” Bell said. “I’ve always been a guy that whenever my number is called, I’m going to do my job and do it to the best of my ability. They do a great job of game-planning.”
Yelder, thrust into action when Bell sat out in Week 11, agreed.
“The scheme puts you in position to be successful, whether it’s 11 personnel or 12 personnel,” said Yelder, who totaled a career-high 30 snaps in Week 11. “The play-caller puts you in position to do your job with ease. It’s not easy, because the NFL isn’t easy, but there’s not too much pressure on you to try to figure out what you’ve got to do.”
Seamless transition among members of Reid’s tight end group is integral to his designs. Each player is an interchangeable piece of how Reid attacks a defense.
“In this offense, we’ve always got to have that,” Reid said of that interchangeability. “The 49ers always had that, where they had a couple of guys who were pretty good (tight ends) along with a fullback so you give a little different perspective to the defense.
“You can have a guy off of the ball or who blocks with the fullback, or you have the tight end who is more of a line of scrimmage guy with the flexibility to still come in the backfield if needed. You can off-balance the defense with big people, so you’ll see two tight ends to one side and it presents a different problem to the defense in gap responsibilities, run game.”
Applying pressure
The Chiefs have certainly kept opponents guessing with Reid’s “Tiger Personnel.” They have passed 55 percent of the time out of the package, averaging 7.9 yards per completion and 4.5 yards per carry.
Having a good quarterback-tight end relationship is essential to making Reid’s 12 personnel package work. More often than not, the tight end — and not a receiver — is Patrick Mahomes’ first read on passing plays.
“The tight end is the closest receiver, normally, to the quarterback,” Reid said. “He normally works between the numbers, and most of the time he’s working right in front of the quarterback in space.
“He’s normally one of the quarterback’s best friends, and that’s just how it works. ... He’s right there and probably the easiest throw the quarterback has to make. So you want (a tight end) that can work in space; you want one that has a good relationship with the quarterback on the field and that your quarterback trusts.”
Kelce fits the bill on all counts. From Alex Smith to Mahomes, Reid’s signal-callers in Kansas City have shown tremendous faith in their tight ends, but especially in No. 87.
“If you’re putting people (tight ends) out there that don’t cause the defense a lot of problems, then it’s going to be hard to find those matchups,” Belichick said of Reid’s play designs. “Twelve personnel gives you different numbers, formations in the box, and creates some blocking angles in the running game that you don’t have as much with 11 personnel.”
Oakland Raiders coach Jon Gruden, who served alongside Reid on Holmgren’s staff in Green Bay, marvels at what Reid’s been able to do with the 12 personnel package.
“It makes the defense make a tough decision. I mean, are you going to stay in your base defense?” Gruden said. “If you stay in your base defense, then they spread you out and they just kill you. And then as soon as you get in the nickel defense, they pack you in and they beat you up. They just have great versatility with their system.”
Gruden, whose Raiders lost 40-9 in Kansas City recently, said the Chiefs’ versatility shows up whenever they line up in a single-back set, a two-back set or an empty backfield with two tight ends on the field. The athleticism of the Chiefs’ tight ends, combined with Mahomes’ skills and Reid’s reputation as a creative mastermind, keeps opponents awake at night before a game.
“They can all run and catch while lining up in multiple positions to create pre-snap man-zone reads for the quarterback,” Gruden said. “Man, do they take advantage of the information they gather in the pre-snap. I think it’s a real coaching clinic. You probably need to go and try and find Andy in the offseason and see what the hell he’s doing, because he’s doing a lot of good stuff.”
The Chiefs’ offense is built on more than just tight ends, of course. They have formidable weapons across the board, including wide receivers Tyreek Hill and Sammy Watkins. But Watkins appreciates the particular matchup problems their tight ends present to defenses.
He said most find it difficult to run zone-coverage schemes against a fully healthy Chiefs offense.
“It’s so hard to run zone,” Watkins said. “They’ve got to run man and they’re doing a lot of pick routes, so I feel like it’s very complicated for any defense to stop 12 personnel. ... It’s great. My job is so much easier and I can literally be out there free.”
Hill, the Chiefs’ speedy deep threat, agreed emphatically.
“It definitely adds a bunch of speed, and it’s fun,” Hill said. “We have a lot of speed on this offense and a lot of weapons, so it gives Pat a chance to utilize the best weapons on the offense.”
Blessed to be here
Reid has beaten teams using his beloved 12 personnel for decades.
But it’s fitting that Kelce set the table for Week 15 to establish his next NFL record at a spot where the Patriots helped establish the modern standard for utilizing an explosive two-tight end package. With Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez, the Patriots unleashed a matchup nightmare for opponents from 2010 to 2012.
“That was arguably the most dynamic duo in terms of a tight ends group that I’ve ever seen,” Kelce said. “Gronk and Hernandez, I mean, those two guys, you could literally put them anywhere on the field and give them the ball.”
Many teams have attempted to replicate New England’s formula, but most haven’t come close. It takes the right combination of tight ends to pull it off.
Reid’s scheme, anchored by his 12 personnel approach, continues to shine with Kelce carrying the torch.
“If you can mix up personnel, scheme, and you’re able to put your players in a successful position or (give them) an opportunity to be successful by using their strengths?” Kelce asked rhetorically. “I mean, what else can you ask for?
“I think it’s always been a big thing that Coach Reid has: ‘If I can get you in a one-on-one position and maximize your strengths, I’m doing my job as a coach, and you go out there and just perform from there.’ So, I’ve been blessed to be here, that’s for sure.”
This story was originally published December 8, 2019 at 5:00 AM.
