It's no secret that Kevin Stefanski has an affinity for the tight end position. And thankfully, the NFL is shifting toward a trend that is perfectly catered to his skillset.
Employing multiple TEs on the field at once is becoming all the rage in the NFL nowadays. The league saw a 2.4% increase in plays featuring two tight ends (12 personnel) and three tight ends (13 personnel) from 2024 to 2025. And the average offensive success rate on those plays rose by 1.9%.
That perfectly fits the vision Stefanski is hoping to bring to the Atlanta Falcons. He's hoping to hang his hat more on the play-action game, which works since Tua Tagovailoa hyper-targets his TEs, and the personnel of Kyle Pitts, Charlie Woerner, and Austin Hooper will help him utilize this new trend.
The Atlanta Falcons are going to run a lot of 12 and 13-personnel in 2026
Stefanski's Browns ran 12-personnel (1 RB, 2 TE, 2 WR) for the most snaps in the NFL in 2025, as Harold Fannin Jr. and David Njoku were two of Cleveland's top receiving threats. They ran 12 personnel for a staggering 409 plays, where they recorded 1,947 total yards and 11 touchdowns.
Those numbers are fairly effective for an offense that was near the bottom of the NFL in most efficiency metrics. But of those 409 snaps, 182 of them were rushing attempts while 227 were pass attempts, so these packages should help Bijan Robinson get going along with the play-action game.
But this doesn't end with the Stefanski hire, as the Falcons thrived in 12 personnel too. On 400 snaps in the formation in 2025, Atlanta's 50.16 EPA was the second-highest in the NFL, as they logged an NFL-best 2,455 yards and 49 total explosive plays in 12 personnel due to their alignment versatility.
If those were the numbers they put up with Zac Robinson calling plays, there's no telling what Kevin Stefanski and Tommy Rees can accomplish. This is a two-time Coach of the Year we're talking about, no wonder Pitts is due for a career year in this offense, especially after the lucrative extension he got. He's a matchup nightmare, and now there's more reason to line him up out wide.
However, Pitts will hardly be the only tight end on the field. Last year, Charlie Woerner was the second TE on the field in 12 personnel, and his blocking prowess certainly made life easier for Atlanta. But they signed Austin Hooper for a reason, and he's a considerably better receiving threat than Woerner.
Yes, Atlanta thrived in 12-personnel last year, but Stefanski should want to get all three of them on the field. That means 13 personnel (1 RB, 1 WR, 3 TE) should see more run in 2026, especially due to how weak the receiver room is behind Drake London and how the Rams revolutionized this formation.
Between hiring a tight end-friendly head coach in Kevin Stefanski, having three quality tight ends to deploy, and a QB who thrives out of play-action in Michael Penix Jr., it sure looks like the Atlanta Falcons are tailor-made to continue the NFL's growing trend of multi-TE sets in 2026.
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