Dressing Up the Post-Wheel Route Combination in Different Ways

There aren’t many route concepts that defensive players and coordinators haven’t seen before. That means the key to great play-calling and game-planning lies less in the route combination itself, and more in the way that the offense gets to that route combination. Few in the NFL put this idea into practice better than Rams Head Coach Sean McVay.

One of the best aspects of the Rams offense under McVay has been that the same route concepts are used repeatedly, just dressed up with different looks to throw the defense off the scent. McVay will use various formations, personnel alignments, timing, and other tactics to keep the defense guessing. And this allows the Rams to keep going back to those staple plays that they are both comfortable with and great at executing regardless of the defense.

The approach has helped to make the Rams one of the most explosive passing offenses in the league since McVay became the head coach. It played a huge role in their march to a Vince Lombardi Trophy in 2021.

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The route combination I’ll focus on in this breakdown is the post-wheel, which McVay loves to lean on for big plays.

On this first example from Week 2 of the 2021 season against the Colts, Van Jefferson would run the post and Cooper Kupp would run the wheel from the slot:

Indianapolis would play quarters coverage to that side. The cornerback would be responsible for the #1 receiver’s vertical route and the safety would be responsible for the #2 receiver’s vertical route:

However, the timing of the routes on this play muddied the read for the safety. Kupp (the #2) utilized a delayed release, so he was still only 5 yards from the line of scrimmage when Jefferson (the #1) started breaking to the inside on his post.