Offensive-minded head coaches and coordinators have steadily increased their use of play action, shifts and motion over the past three seasons, while RPO usage has declined.
Offenses that frequently use play action and pre-snap movement tend to create more efficient opportunities for their skill-position players, boosting per-play fantasy production. Fantasy managers should prioritize players attached to playcallers who consistently leverage these concepts.
RPO-heavy offenses are generally less predictable from a fantasy perspective, though they can provide dual-threat quarterbacks with a modest boost in rushing efficiency.
Play action, shifts/motion and RPO rates from 2023-25
Concept 2025 2024 2023 Play Action 25.65% 24.94% 23.36% Shifts & Motion 63.92% 61.48% 56.44% Run-Pass Option 7.95% 8.96% 10.52%The impact of play action remains substantial. Across the NFL in 2025, the average expected points added (EPA) per play improved from -0.031 on non-play-action plays to 0.054 on play-action plays. Yards per pass attempt also climbed from 6.72 to 7.76 when offenses incorporated play action.
Shifts produced less favorable results league-wide. Average EPA per play declined from -0.014 without shifts to -0.070 with shifts. Motion, however, continued to provide a measurable benefit, improving average EPA per play from -0.042 without motion to 0.002 with motion.
RPOs generated mixed results. Average EPA per play fell from -0.015 on non-RPO plays to -0.030 on RPO plays. However, quarterbacks averaged 4.56 yards per rushing attempt on RPOs compared to 4.39 on non-RPO plays.
A look at 2025
Play-action average and outliers in 2025
NFL Offenses Play-action rate Los Angeles Rams 34.40% Chicago Bears 33.10% Miami Dolphins 31.80% Buffalo Bills 31.60% Indianapolis Colts 31.50% Washington Commanders 30.00% Denver Broncos 28.30% Detroit Lions 28.10% Seattle Seahawks 27.90% Average 25.65% Pittsburgh Steelers 20.80% New Orleans Saints 20.60% New York Jets 20.40% Cincinnati Bengals 17.10%Table shows only select outliers compared to the league average.
Rams head coach Sean McVay scaled back his offense’s shifts and motion usage to 65.9% last season, though that still ranked above the NFL average. Even with the reduction, Los Angeles remains one of the league’s most creatively designed and fantasy-friendly offenses.
In just one season, Bears head coach Ben Johnson transformed Chicago’s offense from a fantasy-unfriendly, negative outlier into one of the NFL’s most efficiently designed units.
New Seahawks offensive coordinator Brian Fleury spent the past several seasons under Kyle Shanahan and Mike McDaniel, making it likely that Seattle will maintain a high rate of shifts and motion. Questions remain about the offense’s 2026 play-action usage, but given the Seahawks’ recent success with the concept and Fleury’s background in a Shanahan-style system, a significant reduction appears unlikely.
Bengals head coach Zac Taylor surprisingly reduced his offense’s play-action rate from its 2024 level (19.5%). Considering the caliber of Cincinnati’s offensive talent, the decline is difficult to justify. If the Bengals continue to underutilize play action, they risk limiting the efficiency ceiling of one of the league’s most talented skill-position groups.