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With the 2025 NFL Draft behind us and the doldrums of the offseason upon us, I thought this would be a good time to get into some scheme and play breakdowns. I will go over some of the more popular offensive and defensive schemes and plays that you will hear this fall either during games or breaking them down afterward. Consider this Summer School of Football 101.
What is a Slot Fade?
Any avid football fan has heard the term “slot fade” boom over the last few years as it has become a popular variation from the spread offense. The slot fade is exactly like it sounds; it is a fade route run from the slot receiver. It’s increased in popularity because it is an easy read for the QB, and it gives him a large target area to place the ball into to be completed. It is also a good base route concept because it can have a bunch of variations run off it.
How is it used?
The Slot Fade concept is best used against man coverages such as cover 1(single high safety) or cover 0 (all out blitz with no safety help), however it can be used against different types of zone coverages as well. It is best used as a check at the line after the QB has confirmed a single high safety look in man coverage. The two outside receivers will run some combination of man and zone beater routes such as a crosser on the backside and maybe a chop route or hitch on the play side. The TE or another slot WR will run a deep out or corner and a smart lookoff by the QB will pull the single high safety to that part of the field. This should give your slot fade route a ton of room to operate anywhere from 20-30 yds downfield.
What route variations can be run from it?
Once a team has shown or successfully established the slot fade concept there are a bunch of deceptive route variations that can be run from it to keep defenses guessing. The easiest variation is to have the slot defender sell the fade while breaking the route off toward the sideline once the defender has turned his hips to run the fade. Another variation is to sell the fade and then hard cross the defenders face once he gets into trail technique.
Is this concept good for the Chargers?
The current roster is well equipped for this type of offensive play. Ladd McConkey has shown his effectiveness with this route concept due to his fantastic ability to utilize a two way go from the slot and has enough speed to stack the defender. Mike Williams and new addition Tre Harris will be effective running the slot fade with their ability to track the ball and be strong in contested catch situations. This route concept will also be good for Quentin Johnston as he gets to run a zone based crosser or hitch on the backside. If the Chargers can establish their running game teams will be forced to bring a safety into the box which should create a bunch of single high looks to maximize this play call.
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