Why Matt LaFleur Must Embrace 12 Personnel in 2026

The structural logic of this Green Bay roster is undeniable, but the question remains: is Matt LaFleur going to stop self-sabotaging himself and his team?

With Romeo Doubs locked in, and the surgical application of draft capital bringing in rookie Matthew Golden, the wide receiver room is set. But the real anchor to this offense is sitting right in front of LaFleur's face. Tucker Kraft is looking absolutely jacked and ready to go coming off his knee injury, and when paired with Luke Musgrave, Green Bay possesses a widely underrated tight end duo. Both Kraft and Musgrave were top-tier talents in their respective classes.

They NEED to start running more 12 personnel. Period.

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The Chaos of 12 Personnel

For those unfamiliar with the terminology, 12 personnel means one running back, two tight ends, and two wide receivers are on the field. Why is this structurally superior for Green Bay right now? It dictates terms to the defense.

When you put Kraft and Musgrave on the field together, you create serious mismatches against linebackers. Linebackers are forced to respect the run because of the heavier offensive front, but neither of these tight ends are strictly traditional inline blockers, they are dynamic pass-catchers who create absolute chaos in the middle of the field.

If a defense counters by bringing in extra defensive backs (Nickel or Dime packages) to cover the tight ends' speed, the Packers can just run the ball down their throats against a lighter box. You put the defense in a no-win scenario.

Utilizing the The 12 Personnel System

• The Musgrave Seam: Luke Musgrave isn't a traditional, lumbering inline tight end. He ran a 4.61 40-yard dash at 253 pounds. If the Packers run play-action and send Musgrave straight down the seam, a standard linebacker simply cannot run with him.
• The Perimeter Matchup: Because Musgrave running the seam forces that single-high safety to stay anchored in the middle of the field to help the outmatched linebacker, your outside receivers are left in pure one-on-one coverage with no safety help. Whether it's Christian Watson's 4.36 speed or Matthew Golden's route running, you have an isolated deep shot.
• The Voided Middle: If the defense gets burned and tries to retreat into two-high safeties (Cover 2 or Quarters) to protect against the deep ball, they surrender the numbers advantage in the box. Now you just run the ball or let Kraft feast on intermediate crossing routes underneath.
• The YAC Monster: Kraft does not just catch the ball and fall down; he is a violent, 255-pound problem in the open field. By actively seeking out contact and refusing to go down on the first hit, he consistently turns simple checkdowns and short crossing routes into explosive, chain-moving chunk plays.
• Surgical Utilization of Hands and Toughness: To maximize his impact, LaFleur must deploy Kraft as the ultimate dual-threat anchor in the middle of the field. His brute-force blocking forces linebackers to respect the run, while his exceptionally reliable hands and physical toughness allow him to absorb hits in traffic, making him the perfect safety valve when Jordan Love is under pressure.

Opening Up the Perimeter

This heavier alignment naturally allows the passing game to open up even more. When the middle of the field is occupied by two massive, athletic tight ends, it isolates your receivers on the outside. This is exactly how you get your second-year pro, Matthew Golden, more involved.

Add in a 100% healthy Christian Watson stretching the field vertically, and Jayden Reed operating underneath, and you have a multidimensional threat. The Packers need to stop relying purely on their traditional West Coast offense and transition to a 12 personnel base with West Coast principles sprinkled in. They can still utilize the RPO (Run-Pass Option) with Reed and those end-arounds, but LaFleur's timing on these calls has been atrocious. He calls them at the wrong times, the offense gets backed against the wall, they run out of options, and it kills the drive.

Protecting Love from the Blitz

Here is the most crucial reason 12 personnel is an absolute necessity: Jordan Love's processing under pressure.

We all remember Love's first career start against the Kansas City Chiefs. Steve Spagnuolo blitzed him on virtually every single 3rd down. Not once did the Packers adjust. It was sickening to watch them lose a game they fundamentally should have won because they couldn't handle the pressure packages.

When the league knows a quarterback struggles with the blitz, they are going to bring the house until he proves he can beat it. Too often, Love is forced to audible or keep his running back or single tight end inline blocking just to survive the down, which completely ruins the intended route concept.

By operating out of 12 personnel, the Packers inherently have an extra blocker already built into the formation. You can keep one tight end in for max protection to neutralize the extra rusher, while still having three lethal receiving options (the other TE and two WRs) running routes. Or, you can release both tight ends quickly on "hot" routes to punish the vacated areas the blitzers left behind.

The blueprint to win a championship is sitting right there. If LaFleur doesn't adapt and inject this structural logic into his scheme, he will continue to self-sabotage. He has the pieces. Now he needs to play the right hand.