San Francisco 49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk is head coach Kyle Shanahan’s newest offensive weapon. How have Shanahan’s previous offenses schemed for the fullback position?
The San Francisco 49ers recently signed fullback Kyle Juszczyk to a four-year, $21 million contract, making him the league’s highest-paid fullback by a wide margin.
Given NFL fullbacks are a dying breed, the 49ers’ deal raised a few eyebrows, even after the details of the contract revealed it was team-friendly after the first year.
However, there is a silver lining to the Niners’ signing; Juszczyk is generally regarded as the best fullback in the league, with an 87.9 overall rating in 2016 by Pro Football Focus.
Juszczyk rarely rushes the ball — he has only seven carries in his career — but he is a skilled receiver. In 2016, he had twice as many receptions as the next fullback in the league.
Due to his receiving skills, and his proficiency as a pass blocker, he has been the Baltimore Ravens’ go-to running back in long-yardage shotgun situations.
Juszczyk is a type of offensive weapon — or “OW” if you ask general manager John Lynch — that is new to 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan. Shanahan’s offenses use a fullback more often than other teams, but primarily in running situations on base downs.
During his time with the Atlanta Falcons, Shanahan’s FB was Patrick DiMarco, who is one of the better fullbacks in the league; PFF rated him the fourth best FB in 2016. He also made the Pro Bowl in 2015, but he has his physical limitations, including a 40-yard dash time of 4.91 seconds.
It will be interesting to see how Shanahan, who loves throwing to his running backs, utilizes his new OW in San Francisco. Let’s take a look at how his previous offenses schemed for the fullback in the passing game.
I-Formation
Historically, Shanahan’s offenses have thrown to the fullback most often out of I-Formation, in running situations. Since his fullbacks weren’t the greatest athletes, Shanahan had to scheme them open by selling the run, and allowing the fullback to sneak out into open space.
Here, the Falcons are in an I-Form Twins formation with 21 personnel. DiMarco is lined up as the fullback in the formation.
Prior to the snap, the Falcons bring the outside receiver in motion for a potential reverse.
Quarterback Matt Ryan fakes the handoff to the running back as DiMarco heads to the B-Gap on the right side of the line.
Ryan then fakes the reverse handoff to the wide receiver, which causes the members of the secondary to freeze, as they’re caught staring into the backfield.
DiMarco squeezes through the hole, and comes out uncovered on the other side of the line.
Ryan finds him with the pass, and thanks to the receiver’s deep clear-out route, DiMarco has nothing but open field in front of him.
DiMarco makes it down to the 5-yard line before he’s caught by the Green Bay Packer defense.
On the Line of Scrimmage
At times, Shanahan sent 21 personnel onto the field, and then positioned his fullback on the line of scrimmage as if he were a tight end. Since his FBs were often sub-par receivers, defenders paid them limited attention, and sometimes lost the FBs in coverage.
This was certainly the case in the second example, where DiMarco lines up on the line of scrimmage, with one of the most dangerous receivers in the NFL — Julio Jones — next to him in a reduced split.
Also adding to the defense’s confusion, RB Tevin Coleman, a skilled receiver out of the backfield, lines up behind DiMarco.
After the snap, Ryan drops back, and Jones runs a drive route underneath DiMarco. The Indianapolis Colts linebacker is flat-footed as he waits to see whether Coleman will go out on a route.
As DiMarco makes contact with the cornerback, the free safety sees Jones streaking across the field.
The linebacker is still waiting for Coleman to make a move, but he appears to be staying in to block.
Both the safety and the corner are focused on Jones, which leaves DiMarco uncovered on the corner route.
At this point, there are no defenders between DiMarco and the end zone.
Ryan first steps up to avoid the rush.
Ryan then floats the ball towards the end zone, and DiMarco catches the easy touchdown pass.
Split Out Wide
The last example may be a familiar one, since Shanahan used it in the Super Bowl a few months ago. Just as he likes to split his running backs out wide, he sometimes does the same with his fullback.
The Falcons come to the line of scrimmage in a four-wide set, with DiMarco lined up off the line of scrimmage near the left sideline.
Ryan then motions his running back out of the backfield to the left side of the field, near the line of scrimmage.
After the snap, the receivers push deep, and DiMarco runs a hitch route just beyond the sticks.
Ryan fires the ball to him just before his pocket collapses.
DiMarco catches the ball and heads upfield. After fighting through a tackle, the Falcons have a new set of downs.
Next: 49ers' 2017 strengths, weaknesses and X-Factors
Utilizing a blocking fullback with limited receiving skills, Shanahan was able to scheme his player into big offensive plays. 49ers fans should be excited to see what Shanahan is able to accomplish with his new offensive weapon Kyle Juszczyk.