Playbooks

Fake Screen Wheel

Shotgun·Y Off Trips·11

Play Action Screen Pass Wheel Pass Play

Play diagram for Fake Screen Wheel from Shotgun Y Off Trips in Madden 27

Quick Reference

FormationShotgun

SetY Off Trips

Personnel

111 RB · 1 TE · 3 WR

In 3 playbooks

Balanced Pass OffenseOffense Giants OffenseOffense NFL Live Giants OffenseOffense

Breakdown

Fake Screen Wheel is a play-action screen concept out of Shotgun Y Off Trips that disguises itself as a bubble or HB screen before releasing the trips receiver on a wheel route up the sideline. The diagram shows the outermost trips receiver faking a screen catch then wheeling vertically up the numbers, the adjacent slot receiver running a quick out breaking away from the formation, the inside trips receiver working a skinny post/corner angle into the middle of the field, and the backside receiver running a straight vertical seam. The quarterback's primary read starts with the fake screen action to hold linebackers before progressing to the wheel route, which is designed to exploit man coverage or overzealous underneath defenders who bite on the screen fake.

Defensive Reads

Pre-snap, identify if the defense is showing zone drops with linebackers sitting flat, this play punishes zone defenders who flow hard toward the screen fake. Check cornerback alignment on the trips side, soft coverage or a cornerback playing off the line gives the wheel route room to separate vertically. Post-snap, watch linebacker eyes and hips, if they bite on the screen fake and drift toward the backfield the wheel route will be wide open behind them. Man coverage with no safety help over the top is the ideal shell to attack since the wheel route stretches defenders vertically before they can recover. Beware of user-controlled defenders sitting in a lurk technique near the flat, disciplined defenders who stay home on the screen action can jump the wheel route and undercut it for a big play against you.

Usage Tips

Sell the screen fake with the quarterback by pausing on the pump before turning to the wheel route, this freezes linebackers and safeties who key on screen action.

Use this play on early downs or in obvious screen down-and-distance situations like second and short to bait aggressive defenses into jumping the fake.

Hot route the backside vertical into a dig or curl against zone shells if the safety rotates away from the wheel side, giving you a checkdown against zone beaters.

Pair this play with HB Slip Screen or HB Swing Screen earlier in a drive so the defense conditions itself to attack screens, then hit them with the wheel fake for a big play.

Watch for the cornerback on the trips side, if he presses at the snap the wheel route can be too tightly covered so consider peeking to the skinny post or seam route instead.