Playbooks
Quick Reference
Breakdown
PA Y-Drag Wheel is a play-action pass out of Singleback Wing Tight that dresses up a run fake before releasing a four-man route concept. The wing tight end runs the wheel route out of the backfield area, working from underneath to the sideline for a big-play shot against man coverage, while a drag route crosses the field underneath the wheel as an outlet against blitz or zone drops. Two receivers to the far side stack a deep comeback-style route over a shallow out, and a checkdown to the flat rounds out the concept. The primary read starts with the wheel route against man leverage, then progresses to the drag underneath if the wheel is covered, and finally works to the flat route as the last resort.
Defensive Reads
Pre-snap, check linebacker depth and alignment over the tight end, since a linebacker lined up tight to the line with no safety help over the top signals a man coverage look that the wheel route will exploit. Watch for a single high safety shell, which usually means Cover 1 or Cover 3, both of which struggle to account for the wheel route once the underneath defender bites on the play-action. Key the flow of the linebackers after the snap, since aggressive run-fits toward the play fake open up the drag route as an easy underneath completion. Look for a user-controlled defender sitting in the shallow zone or lurking as a robber, since this play beats zone by design but a disciplined spy or lurk defender can jump the drag route and blow up the second read. Against Cover 2 or Cover 4 shells with corners playing off, the wheel route can get squeezed by a deep half safety, so identify if the corner is playing outside leverage, which forces the drag route to become the primary answer.
Usage Tips
Use this play on early downs when you have shown run tendency from Singleback Wing Tight, since the play-action fake sells hardest against defenses that respect the run.
Pre-snap, identify if the defense is showing man coverage with a linebacker or safety shaded over the tight end, since the wheel route is a true man beater that torches linebackers who cannot turn and run.
If you see two high safeties or a clear zone shell, look to hot route the drag into a deeper crosser or just take the underneath drag quickly before the zone defenders sink into their landmarks.
Pair this play with HB Inside Zone or HB Power O earlier in a drive to build run credibility, then dial up PA Y-Drag Wheel to cash in on linebackers biting on the play fake.
Combine this call with PA U-drag Wheel or PA Wheel Slide in your play-calling sequence so the defense cannot key on which side the wheel route is coming from.
