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The Wildcat offense has conquered the league. When executed correctly, it’s so effective that most teams try to work it into their weekly game plans. This article will explore what the Wildcat is, which teams run it, and the potential impact of its use on individual player performance from a fantasy football perspective.
If you’ve been living on a different planet and aren’t familiar with exactly what the Wildcat is, it’s essentially a formation where the ball is thrown directly to the running back instead of the quarterback. Since the quarterback does not normally have blocking responsibilities, the formation allows the offense to use an additional blocker. Also, there is often a receiver/running back moving out of the slot that gives the offense the ability to run up the middle or out. Defenses must now take into account not only the additional blocker, but also whether the play will go inside or outside. To make things even more difficult for the defense, there are flavors of the wildcat that field a quarterback on the outside, opening up the potential for a Wildcat passing game.
All of that sounds great, but does it work? The answer is yes. In 2008, the Dolphins (who have the Wildcat offense more than any other team) used the Wildcat on 11% of their snaps. They averaged an impressive 6.5 yards per carry for the Wildcat versus 3.9 for traditional formations. This season, the Eagles have incorporated the Wildcat into their offense and are averaging 5.04 yards per carry versus 3.9 yards per carry for traditional offensive formations. Other teams have not been as successful. The Raiders have tried to get Darren McFadden off the Wildcat, however, he only averages 5 yards per carry versus 4.4 yards per carry for traditional offensive teams.
It appears that the combination of the right personnel and training management experience contributes to Wildcat’s success. For that reason, aside from the Dolphins and Eagles, the Wildcat will continue to be a trick formation for most NFL teams and have little impact on individual player stats. Table 1 is a list we have put together of the NFL teams that run the Wildcat offense. This list may have changed to date as more and more trainers integrate Wildcat schemes into their game plans. In any case, we have divided Wildcat equipment into three categories, Heavy, Moderate and Light. The categories differentiate the teams by the use of the Wildcat. The table also highlights which players could see a potential impact on fantasy football from their teams’ utilization of the Wildcat package. Miami is the only team that falls into the Heavy category. This year they are using the Wildcat about 13% of the time versus 11% last year. So as you can see, even the gold standard Wildcat team doesn’t use the pack that often. Computers in the Moderate category run about 5% of their snapshots with the Wildcat, while computers in the Light category use it sparingly.
So what does the Wildcat mean for fantasy football? Essentially, unless his player is on the Dolphins, he doesn’t expect to change the way he values his players. However, given the correct weekly matchup, against a team with poor run defense, the use of Wildcat can be used to differentiate between two similarly ranked players. Wide receivers running at the wildcat may see a slight increase in value due to the extra rushing yards they probably wouldn’t get from traditional offensive teams. Players like DeSean Jackson, Devin Hester and Anquan Boldin are the real names to watch. Most runners will see only a slight benefit at best from running the wildcat. As noted above, with the scheme being used by the Dolphins 13% of the time at most and more than 5% of the time by the average NFL teams, Wildcat running backs should see only a small increase in value. Likewise, quarterbacks involved in Wildcat systems shouldn’t see a significant decrease in value. Since the offense is only used on average for about 5% of a team’s snaps, the issue of the quarterback going off the field should be of little concern.
So there you have it. Hopefully this provided an in-depth look at what the Wildcat is and why it provides an advantage to teams running it. Is the Wildcat a fad? Will the defensive coordinators find a way to shut it down? Only time will tell. For now, one thing is certain: formation should NOT have a huge impact on fantasy football player ratings.
Heavy
miami
Moderate
Philadelphia
buffalo
chicago
dallas
Oakland
denver
Light
Arizona
atlanta
baltimore
San Diego
San Francisco
st louis