Wide Receiver Route Tree: Numbers, Stems and How to Rep It
Updated · Fact checked
The route tree is a numbered menu of the basic pass routes. Each route has a stem, the straight part that starts the route, and a break, the cut at the top. Learn the tree and a play call like "9 on the outside, 4 inside" turns into a picture right away.
In 440's plan, running it "on air" means a quarterback or coach throws to you and there is no defense. It sounds basic, but it is where you groove the details that get you open later: the same speed on every stem, a clean break and your eyes back to the passer on time.
How to do it
Set the depths
Mark the line of scrimmage and cone the break points for each route at the depths your coach uses.
Run the stem
From your stance, sprint the stem at the same speed on every route, selling vertical the whole way.
Break and find the ball
Make the cut that fits the route, get your eyes back to the passer on time and catch with your hands.
Work through the tree
Go 1 through 9, alternating sides of the formation, and jog back between reps.
- Sets and reps
- Receivers: 2 sets of every route on air, 30 seconds rest. Tight ends: 3 sets of 5 reps each side of seam routes against a linebacker and stick/option routes. Athletes: 2 sets of each route.
- Equipment
- Footballs, A quarterback, coach or partner to throw, Cones to mark the line of scrimmage and break depths
- Muscles and skills
- Hips, Hamstrings
- Used in these 440 plans
- Wide Receiver, Tight End, Athlete
Coaching cues and common mistakes
Coaching cues
- Sell vertical on every stem
- Sink the hips on stopping routes
- Eyes back to the QB on time
Common mistakes
- Rounding a route that needs a sharp stop
- Drifting on the stem
What the numbers mean (and why they change)
In a common version, odd numbers break toward the sideline and even numbers break toward the middle. Former NFL defensive back Matt Bowen's NFL tree runs 1 flat, 2 slant, 3 comeback, 4 curl, 5 out, 6 dig, 7 corner, 8 post and 9 go. In the NFL, everything outside the quick game breaks at about 12 to 15 yards.
That is not a universal standard. In the tree from the coaching book Complete Running Back, for example, 0 is a crossing route and 5 is the corner, not the out. Some systems call routes by name only, and some mix names and numbers. Use the tree above to learn the shapes, then learn the numbers and depths your own coach uses.
Sell the stem
Every stem should look like a go route for as long as possible. The stem is where you attack the defender's hips and get them leaning the wrong way, so if your comeback stem looks different from your go stem, the corner reads it early. Then match the break to the route: sink your hips and stop on comebacks and hitches, and run through the cut on posts. The speed cut vs sink cut drill covers both.
The full receiver plan is on the wide receiver training page. Tight ends rep a smaller menu, seams plus stick and option routes, in tight end training, and athletes run the tree on air.
FAQ
What are the 9 routes in the route tree?
In one common version: 1 flat, 2 slant, 3 comeback, 4 curl, 5 out, 6 dig, 7 corner, 8 post and 9 go. Numbering changes between playbooks, so check your team's tree before you memorize it.
What is an option route?
An option route has no fixed break. You read the nearest defender's leverage and the coverage after the snap, then break away from a man defender or settle in the open area between zone defenders.
More wide receiver drills
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Build my position planSources
- Glossary Entry: Route Stem (Aug 6, 2019), The Scouting Academy
- Running Backs - Pass Route Tips (Tim Horton, excerpt from Complete Running Back, Human Kinetics; July 1, 2016), Coaches Insider / Human Kinetics
- NFL 101: Breaking Down the Basics of the Route Tree (Matt Bowen, Apr 4, 2014), Bleacher Report
- Use 7on7 To Teach Receiver Speed Cuts (Charlie Coiner, Mar 20, 2022), FirstDown PlayBook
- ITP Glossary: Sinking the Hips (Jul 3, 2018), The Scouting Academy / Inside The Pylon
- ITP Glossary: Option Route, The Scouting Academy / Inside The Pylon
Program numbers (benchmarks, sets, reps, loads, protein targets) are 440 Football's own prescriptions. For athletes 13 and older; check with a physician or a registered dietitian before major training or diet changes.