Attacking with the Post-Wheel

One of the best route concepts in football is the post-wheel. It can be run against a multitude of coverages (man and zone), and there are so many different ways to dress it up, keeping the defense off the scent.

Below, I’m going to take you through some of the best ways NFL offenses have done so in recent years.

First, the purpose of the concept is to hit the wheel route. The post on the outside is generally meant to create an opening downfield by removing or occupying any deep defenders. So the mission for offensive coordinators is to utilize tactics that target the defender responsible for the wheel.

In Week 1 of the 2023 season for instance, the Chargers did so by using personnel and formation to create a favorable matchup to run the wheel against.

This was a 2nd-and-6, and the Chargers would come out in “12” personnel (1 RB, 2 TE). That got the Dolphins to match up in base personnel:

The Chargers aligned in an empty formation and put their two wide receivers (Keenan Allen and Mike Williams) to the same side of the field. The Dolphins did not have their cornerback from the other side of the formation follow. Instead, they matched up with linebacker David Long over Allen:

This was an indicator of zone coverage. Once Herbert saw it, he signaled something to his receivers on the outside. I’m guessing that told them to run the post-wheel:

Why the post-wheel? Because the Dolphins would be playing quarters coverage. And in this coverage, the underneath flat defender (Long) has to run with the #2 receiver (Allen) if he goes vertical, which Allen would do on this play:

When you can get a wide receiver running a vertical route against a linebacker, you take it.