Scheme Changes That Will Impact Fantasy Football: Klint Kubiak

From Ben Johnson's arrival in Chicago to Kellen Moore's departure from Philadelphia, this series will examine how coaching and scheme changes will impact fantasy football in 2025 and beyond.

In the NFL, talent can only get a team so far. Some of the best-constructed rosters have faltered due to poor coaching, simplistic offensive schemes, and a failure to utilize personnel appropriately. Fantasy managers feel those failures, with disappointing draft picks anchoring a team to the floor of their league. Similarly, early recognition is critical (just ask the American Red Cross… CPR-trained folks will appreciate this — I’m sorry to everyone else). Fantasy managers who identify how coaching changes will impact fantasy upside early are most prepared to capitalize on value.

This offseason saw several coaching changes, with over a third of the league having some fallout. Let’s examine how these changes will impact your fantasy rosters. Next up: Klint Kubiak heading to Seattle.

Klint Kubiak ▶ Seattle Seahawks

Seattle Seahawks

The 2024 Seahawks weren’t a bad offense. They ranked 12th in yards per play, 15th in yards per game, and 17th in points per game. Those results don’t usually net an offensive coordinator change, but head coach Mike Macdonald and former offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb never saw eye to eye. Grubb wanted a pass-heavy attack, taking advantage of the skill position talent, including Geno Smith, who was coming off a disappointing year after his 2022 breakout. Grubb extracted a career-high in yards from Smith. Still, the rushing attack wasn’t prominent enough for Macdonald, Smith was sent packing, and the entire offense experienced an overhaul this offseason. DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett have found homes elsewhere, and Cooper Kupp is in to replace them. Three new quarterbacks are employed: Sam Darnold, Jalen Milroe, and Drew Lock. The running back room remains relatively constant, though the team added Damien Martinez on day three of the 2025 NFL Draft. Either way, the team Kubiak thought he was inheriting looks vastly different, and it will be interesting to see how he adapts his coaching style and play-calling to match the new personnel.

On that front, the 2024 New Orleans Saints were a tale of two teams, with Derek Carr and Rashid Shaheed’s injuries forcing the team into a more conservative passing attack. Still, when Carr was healthy, he threw deep balls at a 14.0% rate, which tied for the 6th-highest in the league. Explosives were a priority, and Carr executed the deep-passing attack well. Here’s how the two teams differed in key statistics last year.

The early-season film with Carr is full of creativity, both in the run and pass games, and those first eight weeks likely contributed to Kubiak’s hiring in Seattle.

Pre-Snap Motion

Kubiak loves to get his players moving before the snap. He often uses pre-snap motion as a means of misdirection, creating running lanes off of unbalanced linebackers and defensive backs. With a slew of wideouts who should be effective out of motion, including Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Cooper Kupp, but also newcomers Tory Horton and Ricky White, NFL defenses should expect a ton of plays like this.

He then builds the passing attack off it, utilizing similar motions and play action to create space behind linebackers.

Dear Readers,

We’re an independent site thriving thanks to the support of our valued members. By signing up for our Substack or Patreon, you’re directly contributing to keeping our business running. Subscribing to Patreon grants you access to Substack content and our exclusive material. Your support is crucial, and we sincerely appreciate your commitment.

Thank you for helping us continue our work.