5 Players Who Will Benefit in Chip Kelly’s Offense
By Jerod Brown
The San Francisco 49ers will begin the 2016 season with head coach Chip Kelly and his highly-regarded offense under inspection. Which 49ers will benefit from the offensive design that Kelly employs?
Much has been made of the San Francisco 49ers’ new head coach Chip Kelly and his not-so-pleasant removal as the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles. The 49ers are Kelly’s next landing spot and he’ll bring along an offensive system that has seen success at the NFL level.
Although much of what Kelly does was originally considered revolutionary, the reality is that the concepts involved are nothing new at any level of organized football. Kelly emphasizes speed and pace but the design of his offense is rooted in concepts that have been exploited for decades.
The 49ers have moved on from former head coach Jim Tomsula and his abysmal offensive coordinator Geep Chryst in hopes that Kelly will be able to field an offense that ranks higher than last in the NFL. Kelly won’t have much work to do but the goals are surely more than “just be better than we were last year”.
Quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s name immediately drew attention after Kelly’s hire was announced. Many people assume that what Kelly looks for in a quarterback are the things that Kaepernick has proven to do well in his tumultuous time as the 49ers signal-caller.
Kaepernick will be put in a position to succeed if he becomes Kelly’s quarterback for the 2016 season. However, that relationship may never even get a shot if Kap has his way.
Watch the following clip as Chip Kelly, the head football coach at the University of Oregon at the time, briefly discusses his offense with Urban Meyer.
Kelly himself ended the clip saying that if the team’s personnel calls for a certain style of offense, the team will look to create success for players. Although Kelly brings along his preferred system, the 49ers will succeed because of the players’ ability to perform in the offense. Not simply because of what Kelly designs.
With that in mind, let’s look at players that should benefit from playing in Chip Kelly’s offense in 2016.
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