What is the QB Draw concept in 11v11 tackle football?
In 11v11 tackle football a quarterback draw removes the handoff from the concept entirely. The line pass-sets, every receiver clears out, and the quarterback hesitates as though reading the field before running straight up the middle. Nothing tips it, because until he tucks the ball nothing has happened that looks like a run.
Why QB Draw works in 11v11
It needs two things flag football does not have
A pass set to sell, which needs a line, and a quarterback who is allowed to run, which most flag rule sets restrict or forbid outright. Either one alone would rule it out. That is why the flag run game carries QB Keep instead, which needs only a fake and a rulebook that permits the carry.
Removing the handoff makes it later and better
A normal draw has an exchange, and an exchange is visible. Here the only movement that gives it away is the quarterback starting to run, by which point the rushers are past him and the linebackers have turned their backs to drop. No other run in the playbook improves the longer it waits.
You are carrying the ball with your most valuable player
Every carry is a chance to lose the quarterback, and that cost does not go down with how well the play works. Most teams keep this to a handful of calls a season, which is the opposite of how the same idea is used at five a side where the quarterback is often simply the best athlete.
Nothing tips it, because nothing happens
A normal draw has a handoff, and a handoff is visible. On a quarterback draw the only movement that gives it away is the quarterback starting to run, by which point the rushers are already past him and the linebackers have turned their backs to drop into coverage.
Everyone in coverage is facing the wrong way
Defenders dropping into zone are watching the quarterback's eyes and the receivers behind them. The moment he tucks it and goes, every one of them has to turn around and find the ball, and turning around is slow.
It is the latest-developing run in the playbook
The longer the quarterback holds it, the further upfield the rush travels and the wider the lane becomes. No other run improves the longer it waits, which is what makes this the specific answer to a defense that is pinning its ears back.
How to read it
- 1
Hold it longer than feels comfortable
The lane opens late. A quarterback who runs at two seconds is running into a rush that is still square to him; at three he is running through the space they have just left.
- 2
Keep the eyes downfield until the last moment
The coverage drops as long as he looks like he is throwing. Dropping the eyes to find the lane is what turns a free ten yards into a linebacker waiting in it.
- 3
Pick the side the rush has cleared
It is called up the middle but it is run wherever the rushers are not. Usually that means following the widest rusher's vacated gap, which the quarterback can feel as much as see.
- 4
Slide, get down, get out
This is the least protected player on the team carrying the ball in traffic. Getting the yards and ending the play is the whole outcome; a quarterback still fighting for extra is a risk with no upside worth having.
What changes in 11v11
It needs two things flag football does not have
A pass set to sell, which needs a line, and a quarterback who is allowed to run, which most flag rule sets restrict or forbid outright. Either one alone would rule it out. That is why the flag run game carries QB Keep instead, which needs only a fake and a rulebook that permits the carry.
Removing the handoff makes it later and better
A normal draw has an exchange, and an exchange is visible. Here the only movement that gives it away is the quarterback starting to run, by which point the rushers are past him and the linebackers have turned their backs to drop. No other run in the playbook improves the longer it waits.
You are carrying the ball with your most valuable player
Every carry is a chance to lose the quarterback, and that cost does not go down with how well the play works. Most teams keep this to a handful of calls a season, which is the opposite of how the same idea is used at five a side where the quarterback is often simply the best athlete.
When not to call QB Draw
It puts your quarterback in contact on purpose
Every carry is a chance to lose the most important player on the roster, and that cost does not scale down with how well the play works. Most teams keep this to a handful of calls a season for exactly that reason.
It only exists on obvious passing downs
The concept needs a rush that is committed and coverage that is dropping. On any down where the defense is honouring the run there is no vacated middle, and the play has nothing to run into.
Take it to your team
Draw your plays in the flag football play creator, collect them in the playbook maker, and print printable play cards so every player knows them come Saturday.
Open QB Draw in the designer
Opens this exact 11v11 diagram. Move anybody, change the depths, then save it to your playbook.
Open this play in the designerRelated questions
How is a QB draw different from a QB keep?
When do you call a quarterback draw?
How long should the quarterback hold it?
Related guides
Coach Ray Carroll
Coaches 5v5 flag football from kindergarten through 7th grade in San Mateo and San Carlos, California, and built RC Football to design, teach and print the plays his own teams run.