The Kansas City Chiefs recently brought back tight end Blake Bell, who spent the 2020 NFL season with the Dallas Cowboys. His return to Kansas City likely signals a change in the frequency in which the team will use a certain personnel grouping in 2021.
Looking back on the 2019 season, you wouldn’t think much of Bell’s year. He appeared in 18 games, including the playoffs, starting a total of seven games. Bell caught 11-of-18 passes for 91 yards, scoring his first career touchdown during the come-from-behind win over the Houston Texans in the playoffs. Four of his 11 receptions on the season went for first down conversions. It was solid production in the passing game for a No. 2 tight end, but not exactly something you’d write home about.
Where Bell really helped the Chiefs was in their ability to run 12 personnel packages, which are personnel groupings with one running back and two tight ends. During the 2019 season, when Bell was in Kansas City, the team ran 12 personnel on 30.7% of their offensive snaps. That was good for the fourth-most in the league. In 2020, when Bell was with the Cowboys, the Chiefs’ 12 personnel usage declined to 18% on the season. That came in below the league average of 20% usage.
So why would Andy Reid and Eric Bieniemy be looking to increase the 12 personnel usage in 2021? First, it’s a great way to attack defenses that want to stay in their base defense or even sub-packages, especially when you have a No. 1 tight end like Travis Kelce who is such a threat as a receiver. You can go from a run-heavy look on one down, to spreading things out and throwing the ball on another down without switching out your personnel. It puts defensive coordinators in an impossible position and few of them will have the matchups to be able to counter it.
Beyond how 12 personnel creates mismatches for opposing defenses, it’ll also have the ability to help the Chiefs out at two positions that will undergo changes in 2021. That’s at the left and right tackle spot, which are now without starters Eric Fisher and Mitchell Schwartz. If you have a rookie or even just a lesser player starting at one spot or the other, it pays to have a tight end that excels in pass-blocking lining up next to them.
Bell allowed just four total pressures and one sack in 2019 in 90 pass-blocking snaps per Pro Football Focus. The following season with the Cowboys, he had 43 pass-blocking snaps and didn’t allow a single pressure. He’s not quite as dominant blocking in the run game, but he’s more than serviceable there.
If you’re among those unenthused with Bell re-signing with the Chiefs, make no mistake, this will help the team on offense in a big way during the 2021 NFL season.
