The best offenses in the NFL can keep defenses on their toes. Generally speaking, they achieve that by having a balanced run/pass attack, employing pre-snap motion to create favorable matchups, and having diverse personnel groupings to also create favorable matchups.
The Minnesota Vikings offense sometimes got predictable, thanks to a rather anemic rushing attack in 2023. The team made several moves in the off-season to rectify this problem, but will that lead to more personnel groupings in the Vikings offense for 2024? One Vikings beat writer seems to think it may.
The Vikings signed former Green Bay Packers running back Aaron Jones to improve the running game. But the pass protection skills of an in-house back have The Athletic’s Alec Lewis envisioning more 21 personnel.
In his article outlining quick thoughts on each of the 90 players currently on the Vikings roster, Lewis highlighted C.J. Ham’s consistent ability to pass protect and pondered at the idea of him and Jones being on the field together in 21 personnel:
Sneaky solid third-down pass protector. Vikings used 21 personnel 7.3 percent of the time last year, and that number could jump in 2024.
As Lewis points out, the Vikings were in 21 personnel—that is, two running backs and one tight end—less than 10 percent of the time in 2023. Adding diversity to their personnel groupings should help the team be more unpredictable next season. Whether or not that results in a better offense remains to be seen, but more options in an offense are rarely a bad thing.
