The wildcat formation is one where the running back or wide receiver takes the quarterback’s place on the field. This allows for immediate movement of the ball because the running back is closer to the line of scrimmage and can be useful when the team only needs a few yards to gain a first down. Of course, the second the defense see the formation, they know they’re defending the run, so it isn’t usually effective. At practice this season, I saw some weird wildcat variation where the tight end took the snap but the quarterback was on the field so the tight end could throw him the ball and he could execute a long pass.  Strange when I saw it but yet another bit of trickery in the playbook.