Playbooks
Quick Reference
In 2 playbooks
Breakdown
Packer Cross out of Shotgun 5WR Flex Trey shows a deep crosser (red route) working from the trey side all the way across the field, sitting behind a receiver breaking outside on an out route from the same stack. On the boundary side, the two receivers run a vertical clear-out paired with a shallow drag underneath that pivots to the sideline, while the far outside receiver on the trey side runs a straight vertical to hold the deep defenders. This is a man beater that uses the deep cross to create natural rub traffic against man coverage, and it also works against zone by settling the crosser into the void behind underneath defenders and in front of deep zone defenders. The primary read progression starts with the deep crosser working across the middle, then works to the out route breaking off the same stack, and finally checks down to the drag underneath if the middle is jammed.
Defensive Reads
Watch the middle linebacker depth at the snap, if he drops deep into a hook zone quickly he can undercut the deep crosser before it fully develops. Key the safety rotation post-snap, if both safeties stay deep in a two-high shell the crosser has to work underneath them into a tighter window. Look for a user-controlled defender sitting in a lurk position over the middle of the field, since that is the primary threat to jumping the crossing route in man or zone. Man coverage with no safety help over the top gets exposed by the rub created at the stack, so if you see press man alignment pre-snap expect the crosser to win quickly. Cover 3 with an aggressive underneath zone defender flowing to the crosser's landmark can bait a bad throw, so if the sit defender widens late look for the drag checkdown instead.
Usage Tips
Pre-snap, identify if the defense is showing single-high or two-high safety look because the deep cross thrives against single-high man coverage where the rub at the stack creates natural separation.
Use the vertical routes on the outside to occupy corners and safeties, which opens up the crossing route working through the middle voids of zone coverage.
Hot route the drag underneath into a spot or sit route versus zone heavy defenses to give your QB a quick answer if the crosser is taken away by an underneath robber.
This play pairs well with Shallow Cross and Middle Slant in the same set since all three attack the middle of the field, letting you keep the defense guessing on whether the shot is coming over the middle or underneath.
Best called on second and medium to third and long situations where the defense is more likely to sit back in zone, since the deep cross needs time to develop and clear underneath linebackers.
