SB Nation’s huge NFL season preview, where everything old is new again

September 5, 2024

Everything Old is New in the NFL, by James Deiter

Football is cyclical. This shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone who's followed the NFL for any length of time. There are only so many ways to reinvent the wheel, and we're long past the point where someone could bring a new idea to the league and have success, because we've seen pretty much everything before.

There has been one big change in the league since this time last year: the return of big-boy football.

It's a trend we predicted a year ago, but now it's in full swing — a return to halcyon times when the ground game mattered, running backs defined the league, and a balanced attack was the first step to competitiveness. This time around, things are a little different. Gone are the days of big-money, three-down running backs, replaced by a constant rotation of talent. Teams have embraced the idea that in modern run concepts, just about anyone can succeed as long as the plan works.

At first glance it may seem silly. Anyone How many guys can run in the NFL is a completely ridiculous concept, but teams are embracing it more than ever. Of the 32 running backs who started for their teams in 2022, only 14 will be at the top of the same team's depth in 2024. That's 56% turnover leaguewide, higher than any other position. It's a sign that teams are comfortable letting go of running backs on the spot.

What's interesting is that interior linemen are more valued than ever before, as teams are content to rotate running backs and want to consistently maintain elite play from guards and centers, positions traditionally considered unnecessary.

In the 2024 free agency class, the top 10 guards and centers were worth a staggering $417.75 million in contract totals, while the top 10 offensive tackles were worth $84.47 million in contract totals. Admittedly, it was a weak class at OT, but there are now five guards under contract for more than $75 million, the most in NFL history, up from just one three years ago.

It's cool again to play inside to outside. There's no question that throwing the ball is still important, but we've seen a dramatic return of elite inside linemen, disruptive DTs, and collapsing the pocket through the middle. As quarterbacks have become better at recognizing pressure from the edge, teams have adapted, learning that dominating the middle is the key to success.

this is, Kansas City Chiefs They won back-to-back Super Bowls with Chris Jones as their lead man and the whole league is watching and hoping to emulate that. An elite pocket-collapsing DT requires interior linemen to step up to counter it. This is the new way of doing things in the NFL.

Meanwhile, teams are attacking the A-gap again. Ideally, they run downhill between the center and the guard, allowing the running back to exploit holes for hard yards and also be a threat as a receiver when needed. As offenses stacked receivers and employed mesh concepts with four receivers, defenses countered by running more dimes. This weakened the box, so now it's important to attack the middle to punish those dimes. This is a natural progression that will change the entire league.

This makes football fun again. Offenses have become less homogenized and the apocalyptic future of pass-only football has been averted, but the push and pull of defensive adjustments has resulted in just three quarterbacks passing for 4,500+ yards in 2023, four in 2022 and six in 2021. Attrition is happening, and that's a good thing.

Teams may have different approaches to building a team around big-boy football, but the results are the same: young coaches are adopting old-school concepts, everything that was once thought to be outdated is coming back, and the league is better for it.

Welcome to the 2024 NFL season. Football is in good shape and the future is bright. — JD

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This crazy what-if group could work out. The defense gives the offense a lot of room to make mistakes. This group could be at the top of the league with all of its stars returning. Defensive tackle Quinnen Williams is a trending DPOY pick right now and his game-ruining abilities are the centerpiece of this defense. Corner Sauce Gardner could take his game to another level and with the defensive brain trust still intact, they could be even better.

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