The Simple Brilliance of Trishton Jackson’s “Toe Tap Tuddy”
Credit to Nick Mullens for giving Trishton Jackson a shot with tight coverage.
In the opening quarter of Saturday’s game between Cleveland and Minnesota, the Vikings’ QB2 found Jackson for six points. The play shows off some of what makes Mullens a compelling backup — an ongoing willingness to give his guys have a chance — alongside Jackson’s focus, hard work, and athleticism.
Trishton Jackson’s Touchdown
First, the touchdown.
The league’s official social media account shared the play alongside the caption “Nice lil toe tap tuddy.” Take a look:
Begin with the formation.
The Vikings are operating out of 12 personnel. Translation: there are a pair of receivers, a pair of tight ends, and a running back. Both of the tight ends have their hand in the dirt and are tacked onto the end of the line. In short, it looks like a run before the ball is snapped.
Sensibly enough, Cleveland responds with loading eight men into the box. Doing so gives them a defender per blocker and then a +1 for the ball carrier. In theory, Kevin Stefanski’s team is in a good position to defend the run. Seven of the guys in the box can get blocked and there will still be one open man for the tackle.
Minnesota is working from under center and it’s 1st & 10. In other words, there’s a bit more evidence supporting the idea of a running play.
The Browns’ coverage tells us as much.
A pair of corners are locked onto the receivers along the outside. There’s a safety in the deep area of the field. If the ball was thrown toward the middle, then the Vikings’ pass catcher could have had to deal with free safety, but the route alongside Mullens’ first look ensures that Trishton Jackson will be left all alone with the corner.
It’s a quick three-step drop with Mullens looking toward his right. A free safety is going to be trained to read the eyes of the QB, so he’s likely drifting toward that side, at least a little bit. Meanwhile, Jackson is getting right on top of his corner’s toes. Doing so will allow him to peel off, creating some separation as he makes a play on the back-shoulder throw.
The timing is excellent all around. In fact, the play is built around timing; the call is all about isolating Jackson on his man, trusting that the receiver’s size and athleticism will allow for a completed pass.
Toss it all together and it’s a rock-solid play for Minnesota. There’s an element of surprise, some great timing, and some wonderful athleticism. Solid stuff.
Trishton Jackson is currently battling to be one of the five or six receivers kept on the roster. The more plays he makes, though, the more it looks like Mr. Jackson will be on the team when the Vikings take on the Giants in Week 1.
K. Joudry is the Senior Editor for Vikings Territory and PurplePTSD. He has been covering the Vikings full time since the summer of 2021. He can be found on Twitter and as a co-host for Notes from the North, a humble Vikings podcast.
