Double-Teaming #1 Receivers

Having different ways to double-team an offense’s go-to receiver is a necessary part of any defensive coordinator’s toolkit. Because if the offense can identify the double too easily, they can find ways to deal with it. So the key is disguising where that second defender in the double-team is coming from.

Below are some of our favorite examples of this from over the years.

This first play comes from a 2019 Week 4 Bills-Patriots game. In that matchup, Bills Defensive Coordinator Leslie Frazier found different ways to give extra attention to Julian Edelman, particularly on 3rd down when Tom Brady frequently looked to target him.

The below 3rd-and-10 was a great example. You can see that Edelman was aligned in the slot to Brady’s right with cornerback Kevin Johnson responsible for him in man coverage. It appeared Brady might have his favorite target singled up on 3rd down: