The NFL has never liked unusual players — unless those players break the mold and offer a new blueprint that the league deems valuable. Coaches and management often look for traditional skill sets, hoping to replicate the prototype of the position with a new player.
That's part of the reason why a player draft template is always mentioned during the draft. Aaron Donald is the league's best rusher, so who's next? A good little sprinter sparked a wave of league-wide searches for a small dash passer, until the advent of a mobile quarterback swept the league, and then every team was looking for the next mobile quarterback.
That's how the league goes, but all of a sudden, the league is looking for players with unique styles of play.
"Tweener" used to be a term used to describe a player stuck between two positions — too small to be an outside passer, too slow to pull back. Today these boundaries are blurred, and what was once a shortcoming is now seen as a feature.
Micah Parsons
Cowboy Wild Card Battle Hate out, but Harvest Parsons is definitely a huge consolation prize this season. There were reports that the Cowboys originally targeted one of the two top cornerbacks, Jesse Horn and Patrick Sultan II, but they were cut off with the eighth and ninth picks respectively, and the Cowboys had to trade downwards, and finally selected Parsons. Now his unique talent is showing destructive power everywhere, which can be said to be the driving force of the defensive group.
Parsons has the league's highest PFF cross-pass score of 93.0 this season, slightly higher than Donald and Miles Garrett. His rush pass win rate is as high as 25.2% third in the league, while his pressure rate in the third gear is the highest in the league at 23.0%.
He is eighth in the league with 67 total pressures, but is also the only two players in the league who have applied more than 50 pressures and passed more than 100 drawdown passes (the other being Harold Landry III). Parsons has pulled back in 284 defensive crosses, but he still creates staggering pressure because he is both a true linebacker and a rushing passer. Max Crosby is the league's number one pressure, but it is stacked on 800 blocks of defense. Crosby has only had two retractable passes this season, both to fill the shallow gaps left by raiders. Parsons, on the other hand, not only has an amazing number of passes to prevent, but also can do some excellent people-watching work.
When the defensive team faces injuries, Parsons can make up for the timely and move around in the game, which is a major design feature of Dan Quinn's defense this season, which can even help Parsons attack DPOY.
Isaiah Simmons
In 2020, the Cardinals chose Isaiah Simmons with the eighth pick, and it is not difficult to guess why, the talent is explosive and versatile. During clemson University, although he applied for the position of linebacker, he was also able to complete the security guard defense performance. He gave the Cardinals considerable tactical variability.
The Cardinals allow Simmons to make surprise attacks in the position of the outfield rusher, and can also be listed in the slot alone to guard Against Dibo Samuel, or even directly on the outer cornerbacks, single-handedly defending against those who deliberately line up the outside of the near-end and running backs.
His unique athleticism gives him flexibility and versatility, the ability to not only match any offensive player, but also not to be afraid of any misplaced challenge.
Cordarell Patterson
Patterson has been the league's most famous "no-position athlete" for years. He had been selected by the Vikings as an outsider, but he had never really mastered the subtleties of route running, which made him incompetent to take over. But his excellent vertical speed was enough to make him wander in the league offensive group, and perhaps even the greatest kick-off tackle in history (don't get excited, the greatest throwback tackle is still Devin Heist).
The Patriots and Bears had a pleasant experience, but coming to the Falcons this season was a turning point in Patterson's career, bursting with all his potential.
Patterson played 454 offensive slots this season, but he played as a runback for 61.7 percent of his slots. If you think of him as a running back, he's been able to line up on the outside, slots, mid-range and even play a Wildcat quarterback. Today Patterson's threat comes not only from punches and catches in the backcourt, but also from playing flowers in other positions.
Packing the punch and catch, Patterson has 199 offensive touches this season, meaning he's in the 45.1 percent of the slot. His pass rate of 27.1% is the highest of all running backs, while the average push is 5.8 yards per touch, of which 3.3 yards are after encountering tackle contact.
"Unicorn"
The Falcons' unique offense is entirely built on the shoulders of unicorn players. Patterson was a lucky find, but this year's pick's number four pick, the near-end striker Kyle Pitts, was deliberately chosen. On the surface, Pitts is a close-range striker, but he can not only line up on the outside, but also complete a head-to-head task that is not inferior to that of an outsider.
Pitts has size, speed, excellent wingspan and receiving radius, as well as outstanding ball skills, and is a misplaced attack wherever he is lined up. From a staffing perspective, the Falcon treats him as a near-end, but he can get in trouble after gathering and can open the way as a true near-end.
The 49ers have a full offensive group, and they also tend to use players with unique skills. Dibo Samuel, George Kitter, Kyle Yuszczek and Brandon Ayyuk are all unorthodox styles, and they have a rare skill pack compared to their respective counterparts.
Samuel, who advanced average of 9.9 yards after receiving the ball, ranked third in the league, was one of only four outside receivers in the top 20 and the only player in the top 10 who averaged more than 2.1 yards of passing depth (8.6 yards). He's also the only player in the top 20 to catch at least three five-fives, with the outside receiver and running back seamlessly connected, and no one is more unique than Samuel.
Even regardless of his catches, Samuel has tried 51 slots this season, with at least 10 slots lined up at the backcourt in three games. He broke through 19 tackles on 51 slots and 19 after receiving the ball. Once Samuel got the ball, it was difficult to put it down even if the opponent tried his best.
NFL coaches usually have a system in place, and they try to find players who fit in. Today's coaches try to modify the system to suit the players you have and get special talents, whether they are fully adapted to the desired role, but coaches can modify tactics according to the players, and eventually achieve the unity of unique talents and systems.
For players, wandering between different positions or roles used to be a negative effect, but suddenly, these players became the most coveted and valuable product on the field.