When I think of NFL scheme-team fits for rookies, I often think of a conversation I had with Russell Wilson in his rookie year, when he had taken the starting job from Matt Flynn and had started to establish himself as Seattle’s franchise quarterback. Wilson had worked in a two-back power system at Wisconsin, and then in a West Coast offense game at North Carolina State. I asked Wilson about the systemic similarities — at the time, the Seahawks were running a lot of two-back power with a West Coast passing attack over the top — and how that eased his transition. Wilson laughed and said that not only were the concepts similar, but the terminology was often the same. Thus, Wilson was able to hit the ground running, and the rest was history.
When we talk about scheme fits for rookies, that’s what we’re talking about. How adept are NFL teams at focusing on what a new player can do and maximizing his attributes, as opposed to what he can’t do, and having his liabilities trip him up? Some teams are smart enough to adapt to the skills of their players and select players who fit what they do; other teams insist on throwing darts while blindfolded and insisting that their rookies adapt to what it is that they do. Most often, this is the difference between winning and losing — certainly in the draft, but especially on the field.
So here are some players who look like exceptionally good fits with their new teams right away, in part because of what they bring to the game and in part because of how their NFL teams will use those skill sets for optimal success.
QB Kyler Murray, Arizona Cardinals
Let’s throw two new Cardinals wide receivers in this class — Iowa State’s Hakeem Butler and Massachusetts’ Andy Isabella — in here as well, since Butler and Isabella were two of the most prolific deep receivers in the NCAA last year, and Murray, the first overall pick, was incredible as a deep thrower in 2018. The Cardinals are about to resuscitate Bruce Arians’ “no risk it, no biscuit” philosophy in the Valley of the Sun, and they’ve got the guys to do it.
Moreover, new Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury will not be making the same mistakes Arizona’s former coaching staff did with first-round quarterback Josh Rosen last season by shoehorning him into a system that can’t possibly work. Kingsbury, who has wanted to work with Murray since Murray was in high school, told NBC Sports’ Peter King after the pick that everything possible will be done to replicate the aspects of Lincoln Riley’s offense at Oklahoma that turned Murray and Baker Mayfield into first overall picks in consecutive years.
“When you spread people out, he’s a weapon in a bunch of different ways,” Kingsbury said of his new top quarterback. That’s tough on defenses because if you want to rush him upfield and he takes off, good luck catching him. And if you sit back, he can still pick you apart. The way we spread people out, the tempo in which we play, he’s the guy who can really thrive in [our] system.
“We’re going to play the game at times wider than probably most people do in the league. We’re going to use the entire field and make them cover five-wides and the quarterback, and that’s tough on defenses.”
The “five-wides” thing is very good news for David Johnson, one of the NFL’s best receiving backs, who was criminally misused as an inside-the-guards power runner last season.
Murray has the scheme and personnel to put his skills on display in the best possible ways. His only problem is that his new offensive line in Arizona is probably worse than the one he had in Oklahoma.
DL Ed Oliver, Buffalo Bills
There are those who will tell you that Oliver’s potential production was impossible to ascertain when he was at Houston because for every dynamic play he made, there were two in which he was washed out by double teams. The intelligent response to this might be, there’s no way to know how well a 6-foot-2, 287-pound tackle will do when he’s playing nose tackle on 65% of his snaps, as Oliver did last season, and he’s the primary focus of every offensive line he faces. Oliver had three sacks, three quarterback hits and 20 quarterback hurries last season despite usage that was frustrating at best and coaching malpractice at worst.
Smartly, Bills general manager Brandon Beane and head coach Sean McDermott weren’t stat-grabbing and underestimating Oliver as a result — they clearly watched Houston tape and know precisely how they want to deploy the man they took with the ninth overall pick.
“Here we play a penetrating, attack-style defense, playing really on the other side of the line of scrimmage as opposed to staying along the line of scrimmage or moving laterally,” McDermott said. “We’re a penetration, attack-style defense and we’ll use him in that area, in that regard,”
Added Beane: “They used him in Houston a little different than how we’ll use him. I think this fell pretty good for us.”
Indeed it did. If the Bills use Oliver in the three-tech tackle role he was genetically engineered to dominate, they could be rewarded by the most impactful interior disruptor in this draft class.
LB Devin Bush, Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh’s defense was substandard against the pass in 2018, finishing 17th in Football Outsiders’ opponent-adjusted metrics after ranking seventh the year before. One of the primary reasons for this was the loss of linebacker Ryan Shazier to a serious injury, and the team’s inability to replace him on the fly. What Pittsburgh needed in this draft was a guided missile of a linebacker who could do everything from stopping the run to blitzing, but would especially bring a sense of short-to-intermediate coverage.
Pittsburgh traded up from No. 20 to No. 10 in this draft to do it, but there’s little doubt they now have that guy. Bush gave up just one touchdown in 60 coverage targets in his time with the Wolverines, and that, as Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said, was just as important as anything else he’s done.
“I don’t want to underscore his blitzing capabilities,” Tomlin said. “I think that was as exciting to me as his coverage. I mean what I said, and I said he’s an exciting, all-situations linebacker. And to have that type of athleticism in the second level of defense I think is critical in today’s NFL.”
At 5-11 and 234 pounds, with 4.43 speed, Bush has shown the ability to cover curl/flat and run up the seam with linebacker and tight ends. He’ll be a perfect addition to what Tomlin and the Steelers want to do — that is to say, what they need to get back to doing.
TE Noah Fant, Denver Broncos
Remember how George Kittle blew up for the 49ers under Kyle Shanahan in 2018, catching 88 passes for 1,377 yards and five touchdowns in his second NFL season? You may see another Iowa tight end excelling in a similar system. The Broncos took Fant 20th overall after trading down with the Steelers, and there’s no question that Fant is the best receiving tight end in this class, with a complete route understanding and a peerless ability to get open in coverage.
New Broncos offensive coordinator Rich Scangarello worked with Shanahan in San Francisco and Atlanta, learning from one of the best deployers of tight ends, especially on play-action concepts in which the tight end slyly releases into his route after faking a run block. Fant isn’t a plus blocker, but he’s good enough to fake it, and if Scangarello can take those concepts to the Mile High City, it’ll help Joe Flacco tremendously.
“Obviously with the success that Kittle had in San Francisco and Rich being out there last year, speed tight ends can be very effective in this offense,” Broncos general manager John Elway said. “He was a good fit for us.”
Taking the best of their new offensive coordinator’s mindset and selecting the ideal player to fulfill that vision? That’s how you get a good fit.
DB Darnell Savage, Green Bay Packers
Few expected the Packers to trade up from No. 30 to No. 21, and fewer expected them to make Savage, a former Maryland safety, the first defensive back picked in the 2019 draft. But the selection was just one more piece in a paradigm that has had Green Bay radically overhauling its defense through free agency and the draft. The Packers added linemen Preston Smith and Za’Darius Smith, along with safety Adrian Amos, in free agency, and took Savage and Michigan pass rusher Rashan Gary with their two first-round picks.
What makes Savage not only a good fit for what defensive coordinator Mike Pettine wants to do, but a player worth a trade up? In a word, versatility. In the 2017 and 2018 seasons combined, Savage picked off seven passes and didn’t allow a single touchdown, and he did that everywhere from the deep third to linebacker depth to the slot — at every position from cornerback to slot defender to safety. Pettine demands two things of his defensive backs: Be aggressive tacklers and play their coverage responsibilities consistently. Savage, who has a kamikaze tackling style that brings Bob Sanders to mind, fits the bill on both counts.
“He’s obviously a premier athlete,” Green Bay general manager Brian Gutekunst said of Savage. “He’s been an impact player for Maryland for a number of years. He’s able to close the gap, from centerfield and the hash. He’s an aggressive, physical player who can take the ball away. He fits what we’re trying to do on the back end.”
The Packers tried in vain to figure out their defensive backfield in 2018. Having Savage on their roster in 2019 will make a major difference.
WR N’Keal Harry, New England Patriots
The Patriots didn’t select a single tight end with their 10 picks in this draft, and they then traded one of the tight ends they had — Jacob Hollister — for a conditional 2020 seventh-round pick. This, of course, confounded those who believed Bill Belichick would move heaven and earth either to move up to select one of two Iowa tight ends — T.J. Hockenson or Noah Fant — or take a flier on somebody else.
There is still a clear need for somebody on New England’s offensive roster to do what Gronk did in recent years as a peerless post-up receiver and contested-catch wizard, but as he often has, Belichick may have just put the responsibly for one required asset onto a different position. Selecting Arizona State receiver N’Keal Harry with the final pick in the first round actually sets the Pats up pretty to replicate Gronk as a receiver.
At 6-2 and 228 pounds, Harry isn’t a downfield burner, but he did catch nine passes on 18 targets of 20 or more air yards for 276 yards and four touchdowns. Those who question his ability to separate based on pure speed should watch his ability to move through coverage with route awareness, and body his way through contested catches. He’s a perfect match for New England’s quick passing game with his yards-after-catch ability, and his blocking fits perfectly into an offense that has become the NFL’s best when it comes to pure power running, especially in the red zone.
The only first-round receiver Belichick has ever taken during his time in Foxborough, Harry might be more of a hybrid player at the next level, and adeptly so. The point is, Patriots fans, don’t panic just because the obviously Gronk replacement wasn’t picked.
CB Byron Murphy, Arizona Cardinals
A star receiver and a dominant cornerback in high school in Phoenix, Murphy returns to Arizona after the Cardinals selected him with the first pick in the second round. And he’ll be a great fit in Vance Joseph’s defense, where he’ll be asked to do what he did at Washington — play press man and tight zone, bait quarterbacks to throw the ball where they shouldn’t, and pick off those passes. Murphy played just 20 games in college, but he allowed a 51.2% catch rate on 84 targets, with four touchdowns allowed, seven interceptions, 19 pass breakups and an opponent quarterback rating of 49.2. Potentially an immediate bookend to Patrick Peterson in Joseph’s defense, Murphy has to work on his off-man coverage, but he’s savvy enough in coverage and aggressive enough as a tackler to make a sure impact without too many snags.
WR Deebo Samuel, San Francisco 49ers
Last season, tight end George Kittle was San Francisco’s most productive slot receiver, with 24 catches on 40 targets for 321 yards and two touchdowns. Ideally, in Kyle Shanahan’s offense, the 49ers will have multiple slot receivers who can threaten down the seam and make consistent gains after the catch. Samuel, who broke 21 tackles on 62 receptions last season and led the SEC in yards after catch, can work inside or as a WR2 in Shanahan’s offense, but ideally, he’ll be asked to test smaller cornerbacks inside the formation, where his toughness and running back build will allow him to extend the play.
WR D.K. Metcalf, Seattle Seahawks
Metcalf, the combine superstar who ran a 4.33 40-yard dash at 6-3 and 228 pounds, fell all the way to the final pick in the second round. This was most likely due to teams being concerned about the limited route palette he ran in college — mostly fades and other deep stuff. Metcalf does have the potential to win on slants and other intermediate stuff — he had a 100% Positive Play Rate against zone coverage last season — but the Seahawks drafted him to test defenders downfield. And that makes all the sense in the world in Seattle’s potentially explosive, run-based offense, in which most of the shot plays come off of play-action and scramble drills in which routes are adjusted and receivers must bend to Russell Wilson’s runs. Metcalf caught just six passes of 20 air yards or more for 304 yards last season; his NFL coaches would do well to make sure that’s at least doubled in 2019. In this offense, Wilson will give him multiple downfield opportunities, and Metcalf has the physicality to turn those opportunities into production.
RB Darrell Henderson, Los Angeles Rams
The Rams selected the former Memphis speedster with the sixth pick in the third round, which made a lot of people wonder if general manager Les Snead and head coach Sean McVay are concerned about Todd Gurley’s future. That might be missing the point. Henderson, who gained 1,909 yards on the ground last season with a ridiculous 8.9 yards-per-catch average, isn’t an every-down power back — he’s more of a satellite back in the Alvin Kamara/Kareem Hunt mold. And in that system, the Rams can use Gurley and Henderson on the field at the same time. Both backs have the ability to catch the ball from all around the formation, and Henderson adds an element of pure speed and elusiveness this offense hasn’t had before.
RB Damien Harris, New England Patriots
While Josh Jacobs was the rock star of Alabama’s backfield last season, Harris — who had 1,000-yard seasons for the Crimson Tide in 2016 and 2017 — was the power back in that rotation, forcing 93 missed tackles and scoring 23 rushing touchdowns in four seasons. He’s an ideal complement to Sony Michel in New England’s run game, as the Patriots have become the NFL’s premier power-rushing team all over the field, and Harris has the ideal rushing style to make impact gains behind the most diverse and effective run-blocking line at the pro level.
S Nasir Adderley, Los Angeles Chargers
Last season, the Chargers got a steal in Florida State safety Derwin James, the 17th overall pick who became a cornerstone of L.A.’s defense everywhere from the deep third in coverage to his work as a highly effective blitzer. Adding Adderley with the 28th pick in the second round out of Delaware seems like a similar theft. The Chargers ran as many as seven defensive backs onto the field as the 2018 season went on, but they didn’t have the deep cover safety required in today’s NFL. Adderley, who allowed a preposterous opposing quarterback rating of 1.3 (no, that’s not a typo: one-point-three), with seven catches for 74 yards, no touchdowns and four interceptions, changes that right away, and especially as he learns to counter the complexities of the NFL’s route concepts and combinations.
DB Amani Hooker, Tennessee Titans
That Hooker fell to the fourth round of the 2019 draft was one of the bigger surprises I saw, but putting the Iowa alum in Tennessee’s safety rotation is an ideal fit for what he does. A lurk/robber defender who can also flex out to the slot, Hooker combines his talents with Kevin Byard (the deep interceptor) and Kenny Vaccaro (the Swiss army knife) to put himself in an optimal position to fill out what has become a very dangerous safety trio.
