W Drill Football: Backpedal, Plant and Break for DBs
Updated · Fact checked
Watch a defensive back's feet on a curl or a comeback: pedal, plant, drive forward on an angle. The W drill strings that move together several times in a row. You backpedal, break forward diagonally to the next cone, pedal again and break again, so your path across the field traces the letter W.
Each break is a rep of a key transition in coverage, going from moving backward to attacking forward without popping up or wasting a step.
How to do it
Set the cones
Put three cones in a line a few yards apart. Each pedal goes about 5 yards straight back and each break goes forward on a diagonal to the next cone, so your path traces a W.
Pedal about 5 yards
Start in your stance at an outside cone, facing the coach, and backpedal straight back, shoulders square and pads low.
Plant and drive
Plant the foot under you and break forward at about 45 degrees to the next cone. No false step and no popping up.
Repeat and finish
Pedal again, break again, and as you close on the last cone, intercept the throw and return it past the coach. Run it starting from both sides.
- Sets and reps
- 4 reps of about 15 yards at max effort, 120 seconds rest. Lighter weeks, including some in-season weeks, drop to 2 or 3 reps.
- Equipment
- 3 cones in a line, a few yards apart, A football and a coach or partner to signal and throw
- Muscles and skills
- Quads, Glutes
- Used in these 440 plans
- Defensive Back
Coaching cues and common mistakes
Coaching cues
- Backpedal, plant and drive at 45 degrees
- Stay low through the break
- Break with the foot beneath you
Common mistakes
- False steps at the break
- Rising up to change direction
What a clean break looks like
Stay low in the pedal, with your chest over your feet and short steps. To break, plant the foot that is already under you and push off it at about 45 degrees toward the next cone. The common faults are a false step, where you take a little extra step before driving, and standing up tall to change direction. Both cost time a receiver will use.
You can run it off cones alone. The NFL Combine version is coach led: you pedal about 5 yards, break diagonally to the next cone on the coach's signal, pedal and break again, then intercept a throw and return it. Breaking on a signal makes you react instead of memorize.
Where it fits
In 440's defensive back training plan, the W drill is the change of direction drill on agility days, done at full speed with full rest. Groove the pedal first with the backpedal drill, then add the breaks here.
FAQ
What is the W drill in football?
It is a defensive back footwork drill and one of the position drills at the NFL Combine. You backpedal about 5 yards, break forward diagonally to the next cone, then pedal and break again, so your path makes a W. It tests change of direction in a tight space.
How do you break faster out of a backpedal?
Stay low and keep your feet under you, so the plant foot is already in place when you need it. Push off at an angle without a false step and drive your arms through the break.
More defensive back drills
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Build my position planSources
- Defensive Backs Specific Combine Drills (Loren Landow & Chris Jarmon, excerpt from All-Pro Performance Training, provided by Human Kinetics, 2024-06-17), Coaches Insider
- Defensive Back Backpedal Drill, Glazier Clinics
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.