The Wildcat offense has conquered the league. When executed correctly, it’s so effective that most teams try to fit 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. In addition, there is often a receiver/running back moving from the slot that gives the offense the ability to run down 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 line up 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 from the Wildcat versus 3.9 from 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 out of the Wildcat, however he is only averaging 5 yards per carry versus 4.4 yards per carry for traditional offensive teams.
It seems that the combination of the right staff and training leadership experience contributes to Wildcat’s success. For that reason, aside from the Dolphins and Eagles, the Wildcat will remain a tricky formation for most NFL teams and will have little impact on individual player stats. Table 1 is a list we’ve 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 the Wildcat teams 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 utilizing the Wildcat pack. 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 gear doesn’t use the pack that often. Teams in the Moderate category run approximately 5% of their snapshots with the Wildcat, while teams 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 in the wildcat may see a slight increase in value due to the extra rushing yards they likely wouldn’t get from traditional offensive sets. Players like DeSean Jackson, Devin Hester and Anquan Boldin are the real names to watch. Most racers will see only a slight benefit at best from running the wildcat. As noted above, since the Dolphins use the scheme 13% of the time at most and more than 5% of the time the average NFL team, Wildcat running backs should see only a small increase in value. Likewise, quarterbacks involved in Wildcat systems shouldn’t see a significant drop in value. Since the offense is only used on average for about 5% of a team’s snaps, the issue of the quarterback coming 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 him down? Only time will tell. For now, one thing is for sure: formation should NOT have a big impact on the rating of fantasy football players.
Heavy
miami
Moderate
Philadelphia
buffalo
chicago
dallas
Oakland
denver
Light
Arizona
atlanta
Baltimore
San Diego
San Francisco
Saint Louis
