The trend has translated to individual blockers, as well. From 2018 to 2021, no single player set 100 or more chip blocks in a season. From 2022 to ’24, one tight end per season managed the feat. And then, of course, in 2025, there was a complete upheaval, with eight different tight ends providing chip help at least 100 times, while T.J. Hockenson, Jake Ferguson, Kyle Pitts and Trey McBride became the first four players in the Next Gen Stats database to set at least 110 chips.
The advantage of chip blocks over true pass blocks is that the chip-blocking player can still run a route, and players were generally highly effective pass-catchers when coming out of a chip this season. On routes run out of a chip block, players caught an average of 80.2% of their targets; the overall average for running backs and tight ends was 74.7%. Hunter Henry caught every one of his 21 targets after delivering a chip block, while Hockenson gained nearly half of his receiving yards (210 of 438) off a chip.
The rise of the chip block coincides with the increased use of multiple tight ends. In 2025, teams used multiple TEs on 25.5% of pass plays, the highest rate Next Gen Stats has tracked (going back to 2016). They chipped on 29.2% of those plays while chipping on 25.1% of all others.
The newly crowned Seahawks contributed massively to the league’s TE creativity. Correspondingly, they were the first team since at least 2018 to set multiple chip blocks on at least 10% of their pass plays. Their effective chipping continued through their title run; Darnold was pressured on only one of the 25 plays on which the Seahawks chipped in the playoffs, and he was kept clean on all eight dropbacks that featured chips in the Super Bowl.
Coaching evolution in the NFL is about creating small advantages that lead to big results, and the chip block fits the bill exquisitely. The split-second that a route-runner spends interrupting a dangerous pass rusher will very frequently make the difference between the QB having to throw the ball away and attempting a successful deep shot. It will be fascinating to monitor the defensive response to this phenomenon, but until that response develops, it’s safe to assume the chip block will remain an integral aspect of the league’s most forward-thinking offenses.
