The wheel route is one of the best in football. The most creative offenses in both college and the NFL work to stress opposing defenses both horizontally and vertically. The wheel is able to accomplish that with just one route.
At its most basic structure, the wheel is two routes built into one. It’s a flat route before it turns up the field. That’s typically the coaching point for the route, usually directed for running backs — run a flat then turn the route up the field.
This puts a defender, usually a linebacker, into conflict. The defender’s first instinct is to carry the route into the flat, but once the route goes upfield, the defender is at least a step behind and can’t make up the ground and the route goes vertical. Offenses can often use slants on the wheel side to create a natural pick and create even more space for the route. When it works, it’s unstoppable.
Through three weeks of the 2020 season, the wheel might be broken — or at least a little deflated. Per Sports Info Solutions charting, teams are just 18-of-45 (40% completion rate) on wheel routes this season. They’re only slightly better in on-target rate, 53.3%. For a route that is wide open when done correctly, that’s a small success rate. But it’s not too far off from the production on targeted wheel routes last season and the wheel bubble might have burst from its peak in 2018.
Wheel Route Production, 2017-2020
| Year | Att | On-Target% | Comp% | YPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 170 | 60.0% | 45.3% | 10.6 |
| 2018 | 185 | 61.6% | 50.8% | 12.1 |
| 2019 | 191 | 53.9% | 42.4% | 9.4 |
| 2020 | 45 | 53.3% | 40.0% | 8.7 |
There’s still just enough boom in these plays that the EPA on wheel routes hasn’t completely bottomed out, but again it’s not near where it was in 2018.
Wheel Route Value, 2017-2020
| Year | EPA/Att | Positive Play % |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 0.35 | 43.7% |
| 2018 | 0.53 | 50.2% |
| 2019 | 0.17 | 46.2% |
| 2020 | 0.21 | 42.0% |
So what’s going on with the wheel and is there a solution to this problem you didn’t know existed until you clicked on this article?
Part of the issue here is that NFL offenses are trying the wheel more often. Through three weeks, there have been 2.13 wheel attempts per game. That’s way up from 1.34 in 2019, 1.38 in 2018, and 1.5 in 2017. This can be a place where oversaturation of the route can lead to more inefficiency. The more defenses see it, the more they’ll be able to identify it as it’s developing.
But maybe the bigger issue in play is how many offenses are trying to take the wheel outside of its original setup from the backfield and trying to take it to receivers straight off the line of scrimmage.
So far in 2020, there’s nearly an even split between wheel targets that have gone to running backs (19) and those to wide receivers (16). Nearly all of the dropoff in production on wheel routes this season has been a case of those targets to receivers.
Wheel Route, RB vs WR, 2020
| Position | Att | On-Target% | Comp% | YPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RB | 19 | 63.1% | 52.6% | 10.6 |
| WR | 16 | 43.8% | 25.0% | 5.1 |
Moving the wheel to the line of scrimmage, especially for wide receivers, takes away many of the aspects that make the wheel route so effective in the first place. With a route off the line, the space is already condensed for the receiver to stretch his route horizontally before it goes vertical. Receivers are also more often matched up against cornerbacks, or at worst safeties, on the line of scrimmage. Those defensive backs, clearly, are typically more athletic than linebackers and the ability to change direction to follow the wheel vertically is not as big of an issue, especially when there is less space to set up the horizontal movement to begin.
The Detroit Lions tried a wheel out of the slot to Danny Amendola against the Green Bay Packers in Week 2. Detroit tried to run a pick with the outside receiver to force the cornerback off his path, but the problem was Amendola needed to avoid the outside pick, too. That didn’t leave much space between Amendola’s horizontal to vertical break and corner Chandon Sullivan was able to easily recover to force a contest at the catch point. If you’re throwing a covered wheel, something went wrong.
That was Detroit's second attempt for a wheel to Amendola in the game. The first also started off slow with little spacing and another avoidance of the pick caused Matthew Stafford to put the ball just about of his receiver's reach down the sideline.
Also in Week 2, the Arizona Cardinals tried a wheel to Christian Kirk against the Washington Football Team on a 1st and 10. Arizona also tried the outside pick, but safety Landon Collins (20) was able to easily undercut the pick and stay in stride with Kirk, who never really turned on the jets for separation down the field.
The best wheel route to a wide receiver this season came in Week 3 by the Buffalo Bills against the Los Angeles Rams. But even that came with favorable circumstances to create the space needed off the line for a successful completion.
Buffalo was in a two-minute drill at the end of the first half with a 1st and 10 from the Los Angeles 33-yard line and under a minute to go. The Rams were in off coverage to prevent the big play. Beasley started the horizontal stem, which forced safety John Johnson (43) over. What opened the route, though, was the release by running back David Montgomery and a pump fake from Josh Allen. That forced Johnson to step up to defend Montgomery, but it opened up the window for Beasley and a 19-yard gain.
This isn’t to say wheels not out of the backfield can’t work. But much of what’s going on right now has fundamentally worked against what makes the wheel work. In Week 2, the Rams hit a successful wheel from empty with running back Darrell Henderson stacked outside with Robert Woods. Instead of a faux-slant for the pick attempt, Woods ran a quick hitch, which confined the spacing and gave him immediate contact with safety Marcus Epps, who was covering Henderson.
In Week 1, the Jacksonville Jaguars got the best of both worlds on a wheel to Laviska Shenault. On a 1st and 10 from their own 25-yard line, the Jaguars sent Shenault in motion through the backfield and released him on the route in one continuous movement. That shifted some of the Colts’ defensive assignments before the snap and led to an 18-yard gain, which could have been more if not for great recognition and a peel-off from cornerback Rock Ya-Sin.
Like many concepts in the NFL, the wheel has been copied and adapted so many times, some of the original intent was lost. The wheel is still an incredibly valuable route, especially when still used out of the backfield. For teams that are trying to get more creative with the route from different spots, it’s going to be important to remember what makes the route work in the first place.
