Week 1 of the 2026 season saw NFL teams take snaps from under center at the highest rate since 2012, a development that reflected plans made in the offseason to move more quarterbacks out of the shotgun, according to the report.
Several organizations that previously favored shotgun or pistol looks targeted coordinators and schemes built around under-center play. The Commanders, Eagles and Ravens added offensive coordinators David Blough, Sean Mannion and Declan Doyle, respectively, all of whom come from offensive trees centered on taking snaps under center.
The Vikings signed Kyler Murray and spent training camp working on drops and reads from under center, though Murray suffered a first-quarter concussion in Week 1 that interrupted those plans. Teams varied in how aggressively they committed to the shift in Week 1.
The move marks a notable reversal of a trend that accelerated after the 2007 season. That year, Tom Brady took more than 74% of his dropbacks from the shotgun while the rest of the league operated out of the shotgun roughly 26% of the time. On first-and-10 in 2007, NFL offenses were in shotgun only about 15% of the time versus 40% for New England.
By 2012 the league was under center just 54% of the time, and in 2013 teams began taking more snaps from shotgun or pistol than under center. Shotgun usage peaked in 2023, when teams ran 71% of offensive snaps from shotgun or pistol and only 29% from under center. Offensive efficiency had declined alongside those shifts, with teams averaging just under 22 points per game, about three points fewer than in 2020, according to the analysis.
Coaches will continue to explain philosophies in the offseason, but the Week 1 snap distributions made the return to under-center play one of the more conspicuous tactical changes across NFL offenses this year.
