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 Y cross concept?

The Y Cross Concept at its core is a simple combination of a basic route like an in cut or a dig route working opposite a shallow cross route from the other side of the formation. Like the Mesh Concept discussed previously here, the Y Cross looks to put defenders in conflict at multiple levels of the defense but offers more targets to the deep third of the secondary. It is not ideal against every defense, but it is effective because it can be used in man or zone coverages and gives the QB an easy read progression.

How is it successful against man coverage?

A typical Y Cross concept will look something like this.

This route combination concept is effective against man coverage because it creates confusion in the middle of the defense and puts the LB in conflict with routes both in front and behind them. The vertical routes also draw the safety help deep which opens up the intermediate part of the field about 10-12 yards from the LOS. In this graphic, assuming man coverage, the object is to get the ball to the Y receiver just past the LB. The initial read progression would be the Y, who the play is designed for. It is important to note how the safeties play the crossing action of the Y. If either or both jump the crossing action, the next read should be either of the 1v1 verticals on the outside then following back to the X on the shallow and finally the RB as a safety valve. With so much action at multiple levels, a savvy QB will use look offs or shoulder and pump fakes to draw defenders into excavating an area making the completion to the intended target even easier. Peyton Manning was a master at this type of coverage manipulation from this concept.

Can this be used against zone coverage?

It can be effective against cover 4 when the four DB are each dropping to cover ¼ of the field. This creates space for the shallow, dig and RB flare to be effective. It is also effective against cover 2 when the LB are tasked with dropping deep into the intermediate part of the defense. This makes the shallow and flare easy completions to players on the move in space. Of course, against zone you could also vary the outside routes to deep comebacks or curls trying to take advantage of the soft spots open in the zone, but this would require a QB with a plus arm being on the same page as the WR.

Are there coverages it doesn’t work against?

Yes. This concept is designed for an intermediate or deep completion, so if played correctly, basic cover 3 is an issue. This is because every defender is dropping slightly and widening out to cover sideline to sideline, makes it difficult to target the Y or the verticals leaving only the shallow cross the ability to streak through the zones or resorting to the flare out of the backfield for short gains.

Is the progression always the same?

Basically yes. The theory behind this concept is to get the ball to your Y receiver in the intermediate part of the field so that player should always be the first read. The progression after that can vary based on how it is coached or by the reaction of the defenders. As discussed earlier, if the safeties jump the Y route, the verticals would be the second progression. However, if they dropped back to give help over the top, the shallow and flare would be the next reads on the play.

Are there variations of this concept?

Yes. As long as the X or slot WR are running the shallow with the Y running opposite on an intermediate cross/dig, 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 some examples:

Is this concept good for the Chargers?

At first glance you would think yes, but I do not think, as of today, the personnel are an ideal fit for this concept. Conklin is not the type of athletic pass catching weapon this play is designed for. This concept is better suited for TE’s like Bowers, Kittle, Kincaid, Andrews etc.., who have enough juice to threaten the intermediate part of the field as a primary target and have enough speed to turn it into a big gain in the open field. It also calls for some speed from the outside WR to threaten vertically immediately. While Williams and Harris can be deep threats, the lack of true initial deep speed do not put the safeties into immediate conflict over the top creating the space needed for the Y to operate, and outside of the shallow, there is not really a route suited for QJ. If this were deployed from a bunch set or 4 wide it could work by toggling Ladd/QJ and Harris, but those type of sets would mostly be used on passing downs, eliminating the run plays and PA fakes possible from a more standard formation in this concept. However, as younger players like Gadsden and KLS develop and pronounce their skill sets, this concept could be incorporated as the season progresses.