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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 Smash Concept?
The Smash concept is a staple of many different offensive schemes from youth football to the NFL because it is not very complex with its reads. It creates the opportunity for big plays down the field while also giving the QB easy completions underneath later in the progression. Unlike the Y Cross concept, Smash is designed to attack outside the hashes on the perimeter of the defense and unlike Mesh, it does not change routes depending on the coverage.
How is it successful vs Man Coverage?
A typical smash route concept will basically look similar to something like this.
This graphic gives a great understanding of how successful this play design would be against man coverage. With CB’s locking down the hitch routes, the corner routes have plenty of room to operate into the deep part of the field outside the hashes. Depending on the spot of the ball there is a possibility that either corner route has even more space to operate to the wider side of the field. Speedy slot receivers or TE with enough juice to threaten the deep third are fantastic options for this concept.
In this scenario, the first read would be either of the corner routes, especially the one to the wide side of the field. Even though the corner route might take a second longer to develop than the hitches, the QB must be able to quickly diagnose if either of those will materialize against the CB even if it takes an extra second to throw it. If not, he needs to pivot quickly to one of the hitches. If the QB is not decisive in his read, he loses the ability to hit the hitch on time voiding it as an option. His only option then, outside of a sack, would be a scramble or taking a contested deep shot to one of the corners.
Can this be used against Zone?
Yes. Cover 2 and Cover 4 especially. In Cover 2 the corner routes will have plenty of room to work against the safeties as the CB are sitting down in the flat areas. Cover 4 is a fantastic coverage against any high-low progression, especially on play action because the LB become the flat defenders and also have to honor the run fake first. This should give the QB an easy completion to either hitch route. If the safeties start jumping the hitch, the corner routes should be wide open.
Is the progression always the same?
No. Based on how it is coached or who the coaches want to get the ball on a particular play or against a particular coverage, the progressions will change. You can even motion players to swap positions once the defense has been determined to be man or zone pre snap.
Are there coverages it doesn’t work against?
Yes. Cover 3 is a terrible coverage for this concept. With all DB defenders dropping into the deep third and the LB becoming the flat defenders, every route area should be covered. In this scenario the best option would be a check down to the RB or a scramble drill where the WR work back to the QB.
Are there variations of this concept?
Yes. As long as the route concept includes some type of deep corner routes and a hitch, there can be a myriad of other types of routes run by other receivers, and it can be run from a myriad of different formations. Here are a few more examples of plays run with different routes and formations. You will see the one constant is always the corner route paired with a hitch.
Is this concept good for the Chargers?
100% yes. Both Mike Williams and Ladd McConkey have shown the ability to be excellent at running corners and hitches and would be perfect working this concept together. At Ole Miss, the corner and hitch were staples of the route tree where Harris excelled, and hitches and digs are where Johnston is at his best. While you would like more immediate speed from your corner route WR to be able to quickly decipher if they can stack the defender, the ability of Harris and Williams to win contested catches makes this concept dangerous without it. It is also a good concept, because the skill set of this WR group makes the positions interchangeable in various formations. This concept is also a plus with Herbert's arm strength and his ability to process through his progressions quickly and accurately.
I'm thinking Gadsden can help this concept be very successful.
@buck-melanoma I know everyone is giddy for him because we have been clamoring for a TE for so long, but I really need to see him on the field in this offense. I watched some Syracuse games of his and I didn't get a real feel for his game. I don't think he will be a seam stretcher type of player like a Bowers or Kittle. I don't think he has that type pf juice. I think he will operate more like a Dallas Goedert where he operates in the short and intermediate part of the field and can turn those into some nice gains. But hey, I'm rooting for him. At the very least he should improve the overall athletic profile of the room.
@erick-v you're likely right that the dearth of talent at this position for years has a lot of us, myself included, placing big aspirations on the rookie.
I don't think he needs to be a big seam stretcher. I think if he can be an effective pass catcher in the short to medium areas and a reliable outlet he'll open up a lot for guys who can stretch the field more. It's obvious Gadsden has good hands....now, can Roman use him properly and effectively? I'm aware of what he did in Baltimore with Andrews. Sure, history matters. Now I wanna see current events. Roman still has a lot to prove as a Charger, IMO. All the past stats mean squat if they don't translate here.
I think Gadsden is unlikely to make a big impact in 2025. Dissly will be on the field a lot as the best run blocking TE who can also be a decent target in the passing game. Conklin will be on the field a lot as the primary short to intermediate TE target.
Gadsden could add the most value by being able to be a quality intermediate to deep TE target, but it's hard for me to see him getting a lot of snaps and targets given the presence of so many quality intermediate to deep WR targets in McConkey, Williams, and Harris, and maybe to a lesser degree Reagor and KLS.
The real value for Gadsden could be in 2026, if he is able to show enough that the Chargers feel good about letting go of Conklin and/or Dissly and moving Gadsden up into a top 2 TE role, and possibly the top receiving TE role.
TEs are often slow to adjust to the NFL, especially those not drafted in the first round or two. I expect that will be the case for Gadsden. He also may have trouble getting on the field on offense if he cannot do an adequate job of blocking, and that is not a strength for him.
It will be interesting to watch.
@tau837 I think you're going to be surprised at the number of snaps Gadsden receives and his impact.
Should be fun to watch.
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