Play-caller
- Calls plays: Drew Petzing (OC, hired 2026-01-26) — presumed: ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reported the expectation during OC interviews was that Campbell relinquishes play-calling to the hire (ESPN/Yahoo, Jan 2026); OTA/minicamp coverage describes "Petzing's offense" installing (A to Z Sports / ESPN, June 2026). No reporting contradicts it as of 2026-07-07. Residual risk: Campbell called plays Weeks 10–18 of 2025 and could take them back.
- Tenure with team: Year 1 · Prior relationship with QB1: none — first year with Goff; Goff publicly praised Petzing after OTAs (ESPN, June 2026)
Last 3 play-calling stops (skip non-calling years — Petzing's only play-calling stop is Arizona, 2023–25; before that QB coach CLE 2022, WR coach MIN 2019):
| Stop (team, yrs) | PROE | Neutral pass% | Sec/play (neutral) | Motion% | PA% | 11 / 12 / 21% | Condensed% | RB tgt share | WR1 TS | Inside-10 pass% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ARI 2025 | UNVERIFIED (raw pass rate 69.9% — league's pass-heaviest, but script-driven per ETR; ARI EPA/play −0.015, 66.6 plays/gm — nflverse pbp_summary, pulled 2026-07-07) | UNVERIFIED | UNVERIFIED | 35.4% (FTN via nflverse, 2026-07-07) | 22.5% (FTN via nflverse) | 42 / 34 / — (13 pers. 11.8%) (nflverse participation) | UNVERIFIED | 20.1% (nflverse receiving.csv) | 27.4% — TE Trey McBride, led NFL in targets (169), rec (126), yds, TDs (azcardinals.com/nflverse, 2026-07-07) | UNVERIFIED |
| ARI 2024 | UNVERIFIED — "run-first" per Establish The Run (2026-07 retrospective) | UNVERIFIED | UNVERIFIED | UNVERIFIED | UNVERIFIED | 12/13-heavy identity (Revenge of the Birds, Feb 2025) | UNVERIFIED | UNVERIFIED | UNVERIFIED (McBride-led) | UNVERIFIED |
| ARI 2023 | UNVERIFIED — "run-first" per Establish The Run | UNVERIFIED | UNVERIFIED | UNVERIFIED | UNVERIFIED | 12/13-heavy identity | UNVERIFIED | UNVERIFIED | UNVERIFIED | UNVERIFIED |
Read: Petzing is a run-lean, heavy-personnel caller (2nd in NFL in rushing yards-per-carry over his three AZ seasons at 4.92 — detroitlions.com, Jan 2026) whose 12/13-personnel rates were among the league's highest and whose No. 1 read was his tight end — McBride's 27.4% target share led all NFL pass-catchers in 2025. The 2025 raw pass rate (69.9%) is a garbage-script artifact of a bad Cardinals team, not a tendency change. Roster adjustment: Goff + St. Brown are far better passing-game infrastructure than he had in Arizona, so expect more neutral pass volume than his AZ profile suggests — but the 12-personnel tilt gates DET WR3 snaps and makes LaPorta (if healthy) the biggest scheme winner, with beat reporting adding that Petzing "wants to push the ball downfield" for Jameson Williams (A to Z Sports, June 2026). Year-1 install drag applies (methodology §9). 2025 DET tendencies under Morton/Campbell (59.7% pass, 64.0 plays/gm, 47.3% motion, 25.2% PA, 51% 11 pers. — nflverse/FTN, pulled 2026-07-07) are void for projection except as roster evidence.
Scheme family
- Run scheme: zone-lean with gap/duo mixed, run out of 12/13 personnel with RPO elements (Revenge of the Birds scheme breakdown, Feb 2025; AZ 2023–25 2nd in NFL yards/carry at 4.92 — detroitlions.com, Jan 2026) — RB fits: Gibbs (one-cut burst) is an ideal fit; Pacheco's downhill style fits the heavy-personnel duo looks.
- Pass-game family: West-coast/Shanahan-adjacent with heavy personnel — PA and RPO out of condensed 12/13 sets, spread 11 on passing downs (RotB, Feb 2025). Implications: TE routes and slot-from-heavy-sets are fed (McBride precedent → LaPorta), WR3 snaps gated by 12-personnel rate (TeSlaa/Dortch capped), aDOT mid with schemed deep shots for Williams.
