Thursday, 11 February 2016
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Player Positions In Football

Below are the various positions on a football team, both Offensive and Defensive positions. These positions don't vary between the different types of football, that is the NFL, European NFL and College have the same players, and the same number of players, 11. The Canadian Football League (CFL) does have one more player on the field and Arena Football has fewer players, see our separate section on Canadian and Arena Football.

The numbers after the position tell you how many there are of each position, i.e. there is 1 Quarterback.


Now depending on what kind of offense the team is running, these positions can change. That is, maybe a team will have 3 wide receivers and no tight end. Also in high school and college football the position are basically the same but can go by different names. But we don't want to bog you down with details so let's get on with it.

Quarterbacks (1)

The Quarterback is the leader of the team and is arguably the most important person and position on a football team. The Quarterback runs the offense. He is the one who throws the ball to the receivers, or else he hands the ball off to a running back. The Quarterback is involved in every play that the offense runs. An outstanding Quarterback is every coach's dream.

Famous quarterbacks include: Joe Montana, Joe Namath and Bart Starr

Running Backs (2) Running backs include Fullbacks and Halfbacks.

Running backs are the players who are behind the quarterback and who the quarterback will hand the ball off to if the play is a running play. Running backs need to be able to run fast, but they also must be big and strong enough to break tackles. Running backs also catch passes sometimes so they need to be able to catch the ball as well. And they will sometimes stay in the backfield when the play is a pass play and block to help protect the quarterback.

Famous Running Backs include: Earl Campbell, Tony Dorsett, Eric Dickerson and Barry Sanders.

Wide Receivers/Tight End (2 or 3 Wide Receivers, 1 Tight End)

Usually there are two Wide Receivers and they stand far outside the rest of the team, closer to the side of the field. They run patterns, or routes, and they hope they can out run or out maneuver the defensive player who is trying to cover him and then catch the ball if the quarterback throws it to them.

A Tight End (We could go with an obvious jokes here, but it's way too easy) is a player who is off to the side of the quarterback but not lined up with the linemen. The Tight End lines up a couple of yards off the line of scrimmage and he is allowed to catch a pass. He is bigger than wide receivers because he does not have to be as fast and usually catches passes in short yardages plays, so he needs to be able to use his size and strength to get past the defensive if he can.  Not all positions are allowed to catch passes. A linemen or the center can't run down the field to catch a pass. It's against the rules.

Center (1)

The Center is the person who hikes the ball to the quarterback. He is also bent over like the running backs and the rest of the offensive line and he passes the ball between his legs to the quarterback.

Offensive Linemen (4) Left Guard, Left Tackle, Right Guard, Right Tackle

The four Offensive Linemen are the really huge guys, 280, 290, 300 pounds who line up two on either side of the Center. Their job is to try to keep the Defensive Linemen from getting past them and thus keep them from tackling the quarterback or tackling a running back or in some other way disrupting the offense's play. The Offensive Linemen on running plays try to push the Defensive Linemen to one side or another so the Running Back will have a clear place to run. This is called a hole. A TV announcer might say something like, "Did you see that hole he ran through, you could have driven a truck through that hole."

Kickers/Punters (1 of each)

The Kicker is the position who's job it is to kick extra points or field goals.

The Punter kicks or punts the ball when the offense has failed to get a first down and, thus, has to punt the ball on fourth down because they are not close enough to try a field goal attempt. He also punts the ball on a free kick, which is when a safety has been scored.


Just like the offense the defense can change as they try to figure out what the offense will do, what play the offense might run. So this is a description of a standard kind of defensive formation but this could change. For example a defense might play with one safety and two guards if they think the offense is more likely to run a running play.

Safety (2)

The Safety job is varied. He watches on running plays and if the runner gets past the Defensive Linemen and the Linebackers he then will try to stop the runner from getting any further down the field. He also watches on short passing plays, to see if the quarterback passes the ball to either the tight end or to a running back he then will try to help out the linebackers to stop this play. But he is usually standing too far back to make the first tackle on a running back who has caught a pass. He also will watch for receivers who run across the middle of the field to try and intercept and/or knock down a pass before a receiver can catch it.

Linebackers (2)

Linebackers are the next line of defense after the Defensive line and before the Safety. They try to tackle the running back if he gets past the Defensive Linemen or if there is a short pass play he will try to break up the pass or tackle whoever has caught the ball.

Corner Backs (2)

Corner Backs cover the wide receiver and try to keep the wide receivers from catching the pass from the quarterback and keep them from gaining a lot of yards.

Defensive Ends (2)

The Defensive End will line up on the line of scrimmage and is on either end of the line. So he is opposite the Left or Right End on the offense. He will try to get past the Offensive Linemen to tackle or "sack" the Quarterback on a pass play or tackle the running back. These guys are usually also very large people, but since they need to be quick and fast they are not as big as Offensive linemen, as a general rule.

Tackles (2)

The Defensive Tackle will line up opposite the left or right offensive tackle. His job is basically the same as the defensive end, but he has to be more aware of the running back because his main job is to stop the run.

Nose Guard (1)

The Nose Guard lines up right in front of the center and his job is to block up the middle and help the tackles stop the run. Also if there was not a nose guard the Quarterback could just hand the ball back to the center and the center could run with it. The nose guard keeps this from happening.

Of course all sports have abbreviations for all the positions on the team. That way the statisticians can write down the statistics for each position in a concise manner. Of course all of the statistics also have abbreviations so if you want to read box scores in baseball of the statistical shorthand that is used in all sports you have to learn the abbreviations. Or at least a few of the important ones, like in football QB stand for Quarterback. The following are the abbreviations of the positions in football.

Position ---- Abbreviation

Center ---- C

Cornerback ---- CB

Defensive Back ---- DB

Defensive End ---- DE

Defensive Tackle ---- DT

Free Safety ---- FS

Fullback ---- FB

Guard ---- G

Kicker ---- K

Kick Returner ---- KR

Inside Linebacker ---- ILB

Linebacker ---- LB

Middle Linebacker ---- MLB

Nose Tackle ---- NT

Punter ---- P

Punt Returner ---- PR

Quarterback ---- QB

Running Back ---- RB

Safety ---- S

Strong Safety ---- SS

Tackle ---- T

Tight End ---- TE

Wide Receiver ---- WR

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