Playbooks
Fade Out out of Shotgun Stack HB WK pairs an outside fade with an underneath out route to attack both levels of the coverage on one side of the field. The stack alignment lets the outside receiver release clean off the jam while the inside receiver works flat to the sideline, creating a natural high low read against man or off zone. This is a man beater first, but the out route also settles into soft spots versus zone, and the primary read progression starts with the fade on one on one matchups before working down to the out route if the corner sinks or the safety rotates over the top.
Watch cornerback depth at the snap, if the corner over the stack is playing tight man with no safety help over the top, throw the fade early before the window closes. Identify single high versus two high shells before the snap, two high look s indicate the fade will likely get squeezed, so plan to work the out route instead. Key the flat defender or nickel corner in zone coverage, if he sinks with the out route the fade is your answer, if he sits shallow the out route is open immediately. Look for a user controlled safety cheating toward the stack side presnap, that is a tell he plans to jump the fade route and bait the quarterback into a pick six. Recognize blitz packages that bring extra pressure off the edge, since the fade takes time to develop, a hard edge rush can force an early checkdown before the routes fully break.
Check the safety alignment before the snap, if you see a single high safety shaded toward the stack side, the fade has a real shot at a back shoulder throw against man coverage.
Use the out route as your checkdown against zone drops, it settles underneath cornerbacks sitting in a cloud shell or squatting on the flat.
Hot route the backside receiver into a quick slant or drag to hold the middle linebacker and keep him from sliding over to help on the out route.
This play hits best on second and long or third and medium since the fade is a low percentage shot but the out route gives you a reliable answer versus zone drops.
Pair this with Curl Flat or Double Corner from the same set so the defense has to respect both vertical shots and quick game, forcing safeties to guess on rotation.