New York Jets: Sam Darnold and RPOs
Some have said that Sam Darnold won’t be ready Week 1, and he shouldn’t start, but there’s one way for the New York Jets to make it simpler for him to start — Run-Pass Options.
There’s a new offensive philosophy sweeping the NFL — the RPO (run-pass option). According to Michael Renner of Pro Football Focus, the New York Jets were one of the teams that utilized the run-pass option the most, but they weren’t that successful at it.
According to Renner, the Jets ran 102 RPOs — fifth most in the NFL — in 2017.
However, it led to only 4.3 yards per pass attempt, and that was fifth worst. They didn’t appear in the top or bottom five in terms of yards per carry.
The Jets deployed the 102 RPOs last season, ranking fifth in the NFLhttps://t.co/SiADwAykTt pic.twitter.com/eK1uyLyDiv
— PFF NY Jets (@PFF_Jets) June 29, 2018
The reasons the Jets weren’t as successful at running RPOs were two-fold: First, their offensive line was terrible. Secondly, they only had one true deep threat who could be a yards-after-catch threat.
We always talk about how quarterbacks who come from systems that aren’t conducive to the NFL. What if a player comes to the NFL, and an NFL system made it easier to adapt? That’s what RPOs do.
In college at USC, Darnold was great on short throws (0-9 yards in the air) and deep throws (20-plus yards). He was good — but not great — on the intermediate throws (10-19 yards). The RPO is actually a one-read setup, but not in the traditional college one-read-and-go type of manner.
The RPO is about reading the pre-snap coverage and the linebackers post snap. There are two different ways to read, highlighted in the video below:
RPOs are done from the shotgun, which makes the defense easier to read pre-snap. Also, it puts the defense in a no-win situation. You can’t sell out against the run or pass, because it’s too easy to be successful on offense.
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Continuing to heavily utilize RPOs would take advantage of Darnold’s accuracy and intelligence. So, even thought they have a rookie quarterback, there can be things in place to make it a more seamless transition to the NFL for Darnold.