Play-action can be a very effective tool for a successful NFL offense. Today’s goal is to see the frequency and success Russell Wilson and Justin Fields had on play-action last season, along with no play-action and Kenny Pickett’s results for comparative context.
Using Pro Football Focus’ (PFF) grades for each, I will take a look at how the group stacked up among their peers in 2023 during the regular season.
Let’s see how the quarterbacks with a minimum of 200 total drop backs fared:
Right away, we see that all three quarterbacks we’re focused on had below average no play-action grades. The best play-action grade in the 2023 season might come as a surprise, Kenny Pickett being that man. He had a well above-average 83.1 play-action passing grade, ranked 10th out of the 39 qualifying NFL quarterbacks, compared to a notably lower 63.9 no play-action grade (25th).
That aligns with some good play-action moments for Pittsburgh’s offense last season, which benefited quarterback play as expected. Unfortunately, for whatever reason, the Steelers have elected to run it far less than many would like to see (including myself).
This point stands out on the visual, with the dot sizes representing play-action attempts. Pickett had just 53 of them, which ranked 34th (seventh-least among qualifiers), despite having success doing so.
Yes, part of that equation is games played, appearing in 12 contests but injuries and remaining on the sidelines as Mason Rudolph was playing well to close last year. Even so, there were several other QBs with similar or lesser opportunities that deployed play-action more often.
In an article earlier this offseason, I made a conclusion that new Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith’s biggest impact might be increasing play-action. As head coach of the Atlanta Falcons, they tied for seventh-most in the NFL, compared to Pittsburgh being dead last.
That is encouraging to see, along with his Atlanta Falcons having respectable success doing so last season. So, it seems we will see play-action more in the Steelers offense in 2023, thankfully.
The next layer is seeing how Pittsburgh’s new quarterback room fared in play-action. Wilson also had an above average play-action passing grade, 80.7 to be exact, which ranked 15th. This came on 120 dropbacks, more than doubling Pickett’s number.
Wilson played more in 2023 (15 games), which contributes to that of course. But, even if we extrapolate Pickett’s play-action attempts to 15 games, that total would only reach 66 compared to Wilson’s 120, giving us greater context of the low play-action usage in Pittsburgh. It also makes Wilson’s play-action passing grade more impressive considering the higher frequency.
As I alluded to earlier, the no play-action grades were all below average for the three quarterbacks, with Wilson coming in at 67.0 (22nd). This was the best mark of the players we’re focused on, but hopefully we see that trend positively in 2024, along with remaining above average on play-action for the black and gold.
Unfortunately, when moving to Fields’ grades, we see he was below-average in both compared to his peers. The better of the two was play-action, with a 72.1 grade that ranked 25th, while his 63.5 no play-action grade was 26th. Neither ranking was ideal, but was a bit closer to the mean of quarterbacks last year in play-action.
Once again, each of the focused quarterbacks benefited from play-action situations compared to no-play-action opportunities. Pairing this with the acquisition of Smith, who has utilized play-action with more quality and quantity than Pittsburgh (particularly the latter), I am very optimistic what this could look like for the black and gold in 2024.
Here’s to hoping a more consistent run game can motor things, with more play-action being one of the many changes in scheme and personnel we’ll have to watch play out for the offense in 2024.
