CLEVELAND, Ohio — You’ve heard the terms thrown around during broadcasts — 11 personnel, 12 personnel, nickel package, dime defense — but what do they actually mean, and why are they so crucial to understanding what happens on Sundays?
On a recent Orange and Brown Talk podcast, Browns film analyst Lance Reisland broke down these concepts in a masterclass that revealed how these seemingly mundane numbers might actually hold the key to the Browns’ offensive success in 2025.
Let’s start with the basics. As Reisland explained, offensive personnel groupings follow a simple formula:
“It’s running backs, tight ends, everybody left. You got to get to five,” Reisland said. “So it’s really, really easy. Think about how many running backs are in the game, how many tight ends are in the game. The rest are receivers, and it’s got to equal five.”
So “11 personnel” means one running back, one tight end, and three receivers. “12 personnel” indicates one back, two tight ends, and two receivers. Simple enough, right?
But here’s where it gets fascinating. These aren’t just random configurations — they’re strategic weapons designed to dictate defensive responses and create mismatches.
“I’m in 12 personnel, I’m dictating what you do on defense and then I’m going to adjust what I do, which is one of the keys,” Reisland explained.
This is the chess match that plays out dozens of times every game. When an offense shows 12 personnel (one RB, two TEs), the defense must make a critical decision: do they stay in their base defense with three linebackers to defend against a potential run, or shift to a nickel package with an extra defensive back to better cover the pass?
Each choice creates vulnerability. Stay in base defense, and those linebackers might have to cover athletic tight ends like David Njoku or Harold Fannin Jr. Switch to nickel, and suddenly those smaller defensive backs must hold up against the run.
“Those are defensive backs who don’t want to stop the run,” Reisland noted. “Now I’m going to get into that tight set…and I’m going to run the ball and I’m going to make…those DBs tackle in nickel or dime.”
For the 2025 Browns, this chess match could be particularly advantageous. With David Njoku established as a dynamic threat, Harold Fannin Jr. showing promise, and receivers like Jerry Jeudy and Cedric Tillman on the outside, 12 personnel creates dilemmas for defenses.
“That’s why I think because the Browns don’t have that third tight end yet, I think 12 personnel with Harold Fannin, with David Njoku, with Jerry Jeudy, with Cedric Tillman and with (running back Quinshon) Judkins will be the base set that you see this year,” Reisland predicted.
The beauty of this approach is its flexibility. The same personnel grouping can present entirely different looks. Those two tight ends can line up inline for a power run formation, split out wide to test coverage, or anywhere in between. This forces defenses to tip their hand.
“You can move the tight ends to the outside, right? And that tells you if it’s man coverage because if it’s a tight end that the linebackers will go cover,” Reisland explained.
This information allows the offense to exploit vulnerabilities. If linebackers follow tight ends outside, that might create a mismatch: “That’s not where he’s comfortable. And he’s especially not comfortable against Harold Fannin, who is really good route runner and David Njoku, who’s really good run after catch.”
As you watch the Browns this season, pay attention to these personnel groupings. They’re not just random formations — they’re calculated decisions designed to create advantages, dictate defensive responses, and ultimately control the game on Cleveland’s terms.
Here’s the podcast for this week:
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Note: Artificial intelligence was used to help generate this story from the Cleveland Orange and Brown Talk Podcast by cleveland.com. Visitors to cleveland.com have asked for more text stories based on website podcast discussions.
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