Playbooks
Quick Reference
Breakdown
Slot Out is a five man route concept out of Shotgun Spread Dbl Flex that attacks the boundary with a quick out route while stacking vertical and crossing routes on the backside to hold linebackers and safeties. The slot receiver on the right runs a short out to the sideline as the primary and fastest read, while the outside receiver on that side runs a corner route up the seam to occupy the deep defender. On the left side, the outside receiver runs a deep vertical route and the inline receiver runs a shallow drag underneath it that crosses the field, giving the quarterback a checkdown or backside window if the out is covered. This is a zone beater designed to attack cornerback zone drops and flat defenders with a high low read, and the primary progression starts with the short out, then works to the backside drag, and finally the deep corner or vertical if the defense bites on the underneath routes.
Defensive Reads
Pre-snap, check the corner's alignment on the slot receiver: soft outside leverage or a deep half safety shell signals Cover 2 or Cover 4, which opens up the out route in the flat. Watch the flat defender's depth at the snap because a linebacker or nickel corner sitting shallow will jump the out route and take away the primary read, forcing you to the backside drag. Man coverage with no help over the top on the deep corner route is a shot play opportunity, so key the safety rotation post-snap to see if he stays home or bails to the opposite side. Beware of a user controlled defender lurking in the shallow zone or trailing the drag route, since a disciplined defender can rob the crossing route and bait an interception. Cover 3 with a hard flat defender and deep third corner tends to shut this play down, since it clogs both the out and the shallow drag lanes simultaneously.
Usage Tips
Use this play on early downs or third and short when you need a quick, high percentage throw against zone coverage. Pre-snap, identify if the defense is showing Cover 2 or Cover 3 because the flat defender's depth tells you whether the out route will be open immediately or if you need to hold it and let the corner route clear the zone. If the cornerback is playing tight man on the slot receiver, hot route the out to a quick slant or speed out to beat the jam and get separation faster. Pair this play with Slants Middle or RPO Peek Slant in the same set to keep the defense guessing between quick outside throws and inside quick game looks. Sequence this with Four Verticals later in a drive once you have shown the out route enough times to bait safeties into jumping underneath routes.
