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Quick Reference
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Breakdown
Post Wheels out of Shotgun Doubles HB Wk attacks the seam and sideline with a post from the boundary receiver and a wheel route from the backfield or slot, creating a natural high low stretch on one side of the field. This is a man beater at its core, since the wheel route torches man coverage and linebackers who try to carry the running back or slot receiver vertically. The primary read progression starts with the post against single high safety looks, then works to the wheel route if the corner or nickel is late to react or gets picked off by the crossing traffic underneath.
Defensive Reads
Look for a single high safety pre-snap, since that alignment tells you the post has one on one leverage and the defense is vulnerable to the vertical shot. Watch the linebacker or nickel defender assigned to the running back or slot receiver, if they widen too early or get caught in traffic from the post route the wheel route will be wide open down the sideline. Identify Cover 3 defenders sinking their zone drops too fast, since that opens a throwing window on the post before the deep third defender can rotate over. Beware of Cover 4 or Cover 2 shells with two deep safeties, this coverage takes away the post window and forces you to rely on the wheel or a hot route adjustment. Key on a delayed blitz or spy on the running back, since that can disrupt the wheel route timing and force the quarterback to hold the ball longer than the protection allows.
Usage Tips
Check pre-snap for single high shells like Cover 3 or Cover 1, since the post route has room to work against a deep third or man defender without a second safety over the top.
If you see two deep safeties in Cover 2 or Cover 4, hot route the post to a corner route or bend it into the void between the safety and corner to avoid throwing into double coverage.
Use motion on the running back or slot receiver before the snap to identify if the defense is playing man, since a defender following the motion confirms man coverage and green lights the wheel route.
Pair this play with Slot Wheel or PA Posts in the same set to keep defenses guessing between similar route shapes, forcing linebackers and safeties to hesitate on their run fits and coverage drops.
This play works best on second and medium to second and long, giving you enough field to test the deep post while still having checkdown value on the wheel if the coverage rotates late.
