The run-pass option has become a predominant force in a lot of NFL offenses over the last decade. Per Sports Info Solutions, there were 916 RPO dropbacks that resulted in passes in 2022. In 2019, which is as far back as we can go with reliable metrics, there were 709. In 2019, there were 1,439 running plays based on RPOs. In 2022, there were 2,674.
The point is, teams are using RPOs more often these days. The problem is, we’re not always sure what an RPO is, and what an RPO isn’t. Even Al Michaels, who for my money is the best sports broadcaster ever, can get confused.
Confusing defenses is the point. Confusing announcers and analysts, maybe not so much. And “reliable metrics” turns out to be the point.
📽️ This RPO faked the heck out of Al Michaels. #RPOFootball pic.twitter.com/j1nbKAE7zT
— RPO.Football (@FootballRpo) October 25, 2021
So, in this week’s edition of “The Xs and Os with Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar,” Greg (of NFL Films and ESPN’s NFL Matchup) and Doug (of Touchdown Wire) get into what an RPO is, and what an RPO isn’t.
Consider it a public service.
So, what the heck is an RPO anyway?
It’s common to mistake different kinds of play-action and run-action concepts as RPOs, so let’s get it straight from Greg as to what to look for when determining what it is.
“An RPO is a run-pass option. Meaning that, as the quarterback takes the snap, he is reading one defender. You can’t read four defenders at the snap; that’s not humanly possible. It’s in the gun [shotgun or pistol]. and you have an offset back. When the quarterback takes the snap and reads the defender, 99% of the time, it’s a second-level defender. There are a few times when he can be reading a safety, but it’s a second-level defender a very high percentage of the time.
“The second-level defender, by his reaction to the handoff look in the backfield — the mesh look in the backfield — the quarterback will decide based on the reaction of that defender he’s reading whether he’s going to hand the ball off, or whether he’s going to throw it into an area that the defender he’s reading would vacate if he reacted to the run-action.
“Then, you have the offensive line part of this. What you are trying to show the defense from the offensive line is run-blocking looks. Normally, what you get with an RPO is that when you’re showing the fake to the back… let’s say the back is going to the right. Four of your offensive linemen would go to the right to show a run look, because you want the second-level defenders, who are reading offensive linemen more often than not as their keys… they will see the offensive linemen move to the right in a zone look, and they’ll say, ‘A-ha! It looks like a run!’ And that’s where you get the movement of that defender you’re reading.”
All well and good, and now, let’s investigate different plays that are, and are not, RPOs.
This is an RPO.
When asked for a particularly compelling example of an RPO throw, Greg went back to this 58-yard Patrick Mahomes throw to Tyreek Hill in Week 1 of the 2018 season against the Los Angeles Chargers. Greg remembered this because he detailed it on the NFL Matchup show back then, and it’s worth reviewing.
Mahomes is in the gun, and as he creates a handoff look to Kareem Hunt, he’s clearly reading Chargers linebacker Denzel Perryman (No. 52). Tyreek Hill is running a crossing route from right to left, and though Mahomes’ timing is thrown off by pressure from nose tackle Brandon Mebane, Mahomes is an alien, so he was able to get this throw off to Hill in the window created precisely by Perryman’s reaction. From there, it was Hill who zoomed 46 yards after the catch to the end zone.
This is not an RPO.
As we have said, it’s easy for even your smarter football people to get confused as to what is and is not an RPO. One premium charting service classified this 43-yard Ryan Tannehill throw to Treylon Burks in the Tennessee Titans’ Week 11 game against the Green Bay Packers as an RPO, and we’re going to point out pretty quickly and clearly why it isn’t.
This isn’t an RPO because Tannehill is under center, which means that he has to turn his back to the defense as he’s executing the fake to Derrick Henry. When Tannehill turns around, he hasn’t read a defender for an open window. This is heavy personnel for the Titans — six offensive linemen and two tight ends — so they’re trying to get the defense to think run. That’s augmented by the fact that Burks is the only player running a route.
This is a nice play-action shot play design. But it is not an RPO.
This is also not an RPO.
This 48-yard pass from Gardner Minshew to A.J. Brown in the Philadelphia Eagles’ Week 16 game against the Dallas Cowboys was also classified as an RPO, but it isn’t.
It’s a great play, and it more resembles an RPO than the Tannehill play, but Minshew would have to be reading and manipulating a specific defender for it to be that. At the snap, Minshew executes the ball fake to running back Miles Sanders, but he’s really watching cornerback Trevon Diggs’ reaction to his look to receiver Zach Pascal on the flat route to the right side. When Diggs takes the cheese there, Minshew knows that he’s going to have Brown up top, which he does.
Nice design, great execution. But not an RPO.
This is also not an RPO.
In Week 1 against the New England Patriots, Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa threw this 26-yard pass to Tyreek Hill. Pre-snap, Hill motioned from right to left, and you can tell that it’s man coverage by how cornerback Jack Jones follows Hill across. So, Tua gets the Cover-1 tell, and while he does execute the cross fake to running back Raheem Mostert, he’s looking for the one-on-one matchup between Hill and Jones downfield. Tagovailoa isn’t looking to move anyone at the second level — this is more about Hill’s motion, and the threat of his downfield speed, creating chaos for the defense.
Another great design well-executed, but also not an RPO.
So, to review...
When you’re trying to identify an RPO pass, look for the following things:
- A pistol or shotgun alignment.
- A quarterback reading a second-level defender, and making his run-pass decision based on that reaction.
- A quarterback throwing into a window specifically vacated by the defender’s read.
- Run-action blocking as opposed to pass-blocking.
Class dismissed!
