5 arguments for the Eagles giving Kenneth Gainwell more snaps at WR

Kenneth Gainwell can be used as a red zone receiving threat as well.

Kenneth Gainwell also excels on angle or texas routes. He scored on one in the red zone to put the Birds up 7-0 against the Las Vegas Raiders. While this route is often run from out of the backfield, it can also work when in bunch formations. Man coverage against that route is a death wish for an opposing linebacker or safety similar to orbit return. It’s often paired with a drag route and the wideout might win on that as well.

Against zone, the in-breakers are bound to draw defenders and likely open up some room for the angle route to develop. One way or another, it will create space and the quarterback will have a throwing window for a touchdown or a decent gain to draw closer to the endzone.

In Matt Bowen’s example below, it doesn’t work against the man coverage-heavy Patriots due to a beautiful play by J.C. Jackson but it’s often an effective concept.

As Matt Bowen noted in a separate article, Andy Reid uses this route combination in the red zone frequently. On that specific play, Bowen explains, the Chiefs run 21 personnel with Dexter McCluster as a wideout and Jamaal Charles in the backfield.

McCluster is sent in motion to the opposite side of the formation before breaking off his angle route. It’s paired with a dig and drag (drive route concept). The motion also draws the defender’s eyes to the flat for a potential quick pass on a play-action leak. Then, there is also the threat that McCluster runs to the flat to block for a jailbreak screen.

With how often the Birds have run that this season, they can take advantage of the aggressiveness of opposing defenses.