off the top of my head.
scheme-wise I’m looking to see if offenses evolve, adapt, or vary their protections up more to account for defenses currently being so advanced in knowing how to break traditional rules.
I think the league-wide ADOT for QBs starts to creep up slightly as offenses understand they need to push the ball more. Defenses are playing so top-down and also doing things like dropping 8 more frequently, so more traditional dropback stuff (5 and 7 step concepts), especially from under center, continue to make a comeback. Especially on early downs. Defenses might be getting faster and putting more DBs on the field, running is one way to beat it but also continuing to threaten over the top is the other way to create space.
I’m also curious to see if offenses find ways to weaponize underneath throws. Lead blockers on swings, glorified middle screens on deeper concepts.
what do you think could be the biggest evolution or shift in the meta next year?