Baggy jeans, vinyl records, and heavy personnel packages -- if you wait long enough, everything old becomes cool again. Sometimes you just gotta give it time.
Last year, the league fell in love with 13 personnel (one running back and three tight ends). But trends are always changing. What’s in today is old news tomorrow, and the football gods might already be ready to move on to something way more awesome and, quite frankly, tailor-made for New York Giants head coach John Harbaugh.
In his 100 Bold Predictions for the 2026 season article for Sports Illustrated, prominent NFL reporter Conor Orr declared that 32 personnel is officially the new 13 personnel. For the non-X’s and O’s people, it's fascinating and terrifying.
On offense, a team puts three running backs, two tight ends, and exactly zero wide receivers on the field. Orr reasons that a big chunk of the league lacks a true, dynamic downfield passing game. Teams will lean into a modernized, hyper-physical version of the old-school Wing-T. This scheme acts as the perfect equalizer for teams loaded with versatile backs, physical blockers, and no deep threats.
Giants fans should be absolutely losing their minds over how much fun this could be, while the rest of the league figures out how to build a roster capable of handling such a formation themselves. Big Blue is uniquely built for this trend.
Giants roster might already be ahead of NFL’s next offensive evolution
Taking every single wide receiver off the field sounds about as close to a death sentence for a modern passing attack as you're going to find. But the guys Harbs and offensive coordinator Matt Nagy have at their disposal suggest a very different story.
There might not be a better tight end duo to handle 32 personnel than Isaiah Likely and Theo Johnson. They're two of the most dangerous targets, and while no one's mistaking them for in-line tight ends, they're both willing blockers.
Throw those two out there with running backs Cam Skattebo and Tyrone Tracy Jr., and you have the perfect recipe for a defensive coordinator's worst nightmare. Both backs can run and catch at an elite level. Skatt also plays with a not-so-subtle psycho energy. He's an unhinged, human-sized fire hydrant with Tasmanian Devil energy who loves mashing defenders into other universes.
But what about the third running back, Matt? I'm glad you asked.
That leaves us with the ultimate wildcard in Patrick "Pancake Pat" Ricard. The 6-foot-3, 300-pound human wrecking ball operates as a total shape-shifter in a 32 formation.
His career numbers over nine seasons won't jump off the page -- 11 rushes for 22 yards and 49 catches for 323 yards and seven touchdowns. But those numbers don't factor in how much panic and chaos he causes out of the backfield. He functions as an extra tackle, a lead blocker, a short-yardage back, or a sneaky receiver all at once.
It gets even more unfair when you add quarterback Jaxson Dart's athletic ability, creating an offense that's wildly unpredictable, terrifyingly violent, and a total blast to watch.
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