Eric Bieniemy To Washington: How the Offseason Plan Changes

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February 22, 2023

by David Earl

Welcome Eric Bieniemy

Let’s cut to the chase here: this was a coup of a signing for Ron Rivera, especially entering a potentially tumultuous year with the prospects of a team sale. I won’t go into detail about how Bieniemy got to this point and the controversy around it as Steve Thomas already discussed it. Instead, I will look into the direction I feel the offseason, including free agency and the draft, may go, what scheme Eric is likely to bring, and what it could mean for Sam Howell and the wide receiver room. There is going to be no doubt that while Eric won’t have the final say in the players drafted and possibly acquired through free agency, his vision will surely be executed offensively by Ron and his staff. Set aside all the rhetoric about Eric Bieniemy and just envision the possibilities of an offensive scheme built off utilizing its players’ talents and misdirection schemes that actually make sense. Yes, it must all come to fruition, but the last time this team had any semblance of a consistent and competent offensive play caller was RG3‘s rookie year under Kyle Shanahan (sorry Jay Gruden). Enough with the intro: let’s get right into this column, shall we?

The Scheme

 

       Pass vs Run Ratio

                     League Rank

Year

% Times Thrown

League Rank

Points Scored

Total Yards

Pass Yards

2018

61.5%

10th

1

1

3

2019

61.5%

10th

5

6

5

2020

62.5%

5th

6

1

1

2021

62.3%

6th

4

3

4

2022

61.5%

5th

1

1

1

It is no secret that Kansas City has been a more pass-heavy offense under Bieniemy the last 5 years, throwing the ball 61.8% of the time on average over that stretch. When you have Patrick Mahomes can you blame them? Head coach Ron Rivera has stressed a more balanced attack, but Kansas City not only uses the screen game as an extension of the run but it’s how they stretch the intermediate part of the field sideline to sideline. As an example, PFF did an analysis of the 2020 Chiefs offense under Eric Bieniemy including how they utilized Travis Kelce in particular. Multiple trip formations isolating Kelce on the back side force the defense to “pick our poison” when they had one of the game’s top wide receivers in this formation Tyreek Hill. This accompanied by motion and redirection allows their tight end, Kelce, to freely roam in the intermediate levels of the defense.  This this becomes effectively part of the run game when the RPO is utilized post-snap. We saw this in the Super Bowl against Philadelphia and their man-zone defensive scheme. Where this becomes highly effective is when the defenses adjust to this play design and attempt to take away Kelce.  This opens up the dagger play downfield to Hill that we saw all too often for so many years. Granted, Washington does not have a Travis Kelce but the wide receiver room is more than capable of this role. While Patrick Mahomes is not walking in the door, Sam Howell as an intermediate passer feeding off the RPO is not a liability either. In 2020 at North Carolina and surrounded by NFL-caliber talent (details here), Sam flourished in a system that had two 1,000-yard rushers in Javonte Williams and Michael Carter plus a wide receiver in Dyami Brown who led the nation in yards per catch. North Carolina utilized the RPO and attacked between the hash marks within the intermediate part of the field to form one the more explosive offenses in the country. At a 68.1% completion rate and an overall rating of 179.1, Sam Howell has shown what he can do with the right talent.

While a legitimate tight end is vital for this scheme, the offensive line will be the crucial cog. The Chiefs’ offensive line has surely been a mixed bag the last few years but having Patrick Mahomes behind center goes a long way to help offset any of that unit deficiencies. Rivera cannot just expect Howell to handle pre and post-snap reads at the level of Mahomes, so the urgency to correct this unit is certainly at a code red level. Washington’s offensive line was ranked in the bottom third of nearly every statistical category, especially the interior. Now, in week 17 against the Dallas pass rush, Sam did a good job navigating the pocket and eluding the pressure but just how hard was Dallas’ defensive front truly attempting to apply pressure when their playoff ticket was already punched? Regardless, let’s not take all credit away from Howell either so there is something to work with there but Washington cannot sit idly by too. With all this said, what may this offseason look like?

The Draft and Free Agency

Sitting at 16 seeing with both tight ends Micheal Mayer (ND) and Dalton Kincaid (Utah) still on the board, I utilized the draft value chart to trade back with Cincinnati to acquire additional 3rd and 4th round picks. Knowing I’d either have one of these 2 top-rated tightends available or, as a fallback plan, Darnell Washington (Georgia) there it was: an ideal move to help address the offensive line through this draft. Mayer provides the highly touted skill set to play the Travis Kelce role, but the drop off to Kincaid and, in some respects, Washington was not significant enough to worry about risking losing Mayer. In all this scenario played out well, in that I landed the draft’s top-rated Center in John Michael Schmitz (Minn) and North Dakota State tackle Cody Mauch, who projects as an ideal interior lineman. Signing a guard like Isaac Seumalo (Philadelphia UFA) to accompany draftees like Schmitz and Mauch would be a huge win for Washington heading into training camp. That doesn’t completely address Washington tackle needs but names like Orlando Brown (KC UFA) and George Fant (NYJ UFA) are high-end targets, plus a second-level tackle like Andre Dillard (Philadelphia UFA) are names to watch. Obviously, the draft will have the players that drop unexpectedly which will alter the direction or plan of Washington but the overall arching point here is made I believe. They must get the tight end for this offense and address the offensive line while not ignoring a critical need at linebacker (our linebacker draft preview is coming soon) too. However they approach this draft I think many will agree Washington must come away with either Michael Mayer, Dalton Kincaid, or Darnell Washington if they hope to execute Eric Bieniemy’s offense to the fullest.

Closing

The improvement of the offensive line and development of Sam Howell, provided there is no surprise quarterback move, is such an absolutely critical need for Washington. Howell will not be Mahomes but he’s proven to be successful with the talent around him and Terry, Jahan, and Curtis are certainly a great start for the young quarterback. His mobility and athleticism are weapons that Bieniemy will surely utilize, especially with his multiple formations and misdirection feeding off his use of the RPO. This offense, schematically, cannot be any more inconsistent and unproductive as it was these last two seasons which is certainly going to be a plus. Of course this is all contingent on the fact Eric Bieniemy wasn’t simply riding in Andy Reid‘s shadow as an offensive coordinator as some imply was the case. To be honest, there is no rational argument that Bieniemy remains the Chiefs’ offensive coordinator for 5 years if all he was doing carrying a clipboard for Andy Reid. I mean the man didn’t spend 5 years just getting Reid a cup of coffee and emptying his trash. So, be cautious about the level of excitement but don’t refuse to have some reasonable expectation for an offense that could see a vast improvement. Rivera has some work to do in setting up Bieniemy to succeed, because a status quo offseason, especially on offense, would be gross negligence on his part.