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Quick Reference
Not in any team playbook.
Breakdown
Deep In is a five man route concept out of Shotgun Trips TE that combines a Dagger style dig with a full Four Verts shell. The single receiver side runs a corner route to the sideline (red), while the trips side stacks a shallow drag/spot cut, a deep dig sitting at the sticks, and a vertical go route stretching the top of the numbers. This is a classic Cover 3 and Cover 4 beater built to attack zone drops with the deep in sitting down in the vacated hole between the flat defender and the deep third corner, though the vertical stems on both sides also give it man beater equity versus press or off man. The primary read starts with the deep in coming across the middle at the sticks, then works to the outside corner route on the single side, and finally climbs to the go route if the safety bites underneath.
Defensive Reads
Pre-snap, check safety depth and spacing: two safeties splitting the field deep signals Cover 4 or Cover 2, which opens the corner route and the deep in behind the linebacker level A single high safety cheating toward the trips side is a strong indicator of Cover 3, meaning the flat and curl defenders will be stressed by the drag and dig combo Watch linebacker depth at the snap: shallow drops mean the deep in sits comfortably at the sticks, while deep drops suggest a Tampa 2 style shell that could cap the dig Look for a user controlled defender spying or lurking in the shallow to intermediate middle zone, since that is the biggest threat to the deep in route and forces the quarterback to progress to the corner or vertical Man coverage with no safety help over the top is where this play struggles most, since the corner and go routes need separation and the deep in can get picked off in a crowded underneath area against aggressive man defenders
Usage Tips
Pre-snap, identify whether the defense is showing two deep safeties or a single high shell, since this concept is designed to punish teams sitting in Cover 3 or Cover 4 with the deep in sitting in the soft spot behind linebackers and in front of the corner
Against Cover 3, key the flat defender: if he widens with the shallow drag, throw the deep in immediately once the receiver clears the hook zone
Use the corner route on the backside as your answer versus Cover 4 or quarters coverage since the safety responsible for that quarter often has to choose between the vertical and the boundary throw
If the user drops a defender into a shallow zone lurk under the deep in, work the progression to the go route on the trips side or reset to the corner for an explosive gain
Pair this play with Verticals or Four Verts from the same set to condition the defense into expecting a full clearout, then call Deep In on second or third and medium to hit the sitting dig for a chain moving gain
