PFM FOOTBALL POSITIONS
Football Positions Explained
Football positions make a lot more sense when you stop defining them by a spot on a diagram. A linebacker may start behind the defensive line, but his job is to read the blocking scheme, find the right gap and react when that run look turns into play action. A wide receiver can line up outside, in the slot or tight to the formation, and each spot changes the release, route and coverage he has to beat.
Alignment shows you where the play starts. Assignment tells you what the player has to solve after the snap. That is how every PFM position guide is built.
Football Positions on the Field
Start with the field and the jobs become easier to place. The map below combines a traditional offensive set with common defensive alignment families so you can see where each position usually enters the picture before the snap.
Edge rusher is a role rather than one fixed position. Depending on the defense, the primary edge rusher may be a defensive end or an outside linebacker lined up outside the tackle.
Teaching alignment: this uses a traditional 4-3 picture to place the main position groups. NFL defenses change fronts and personnel constantly, so the exact spacing and assignments can move from snap to snap.
What Each Football Position Does
The field shows where the play starts. These descriptions explain what each position is actually responsible for once the ball moves.
Offense
The quarterback is the offense’s decision-maker on most snaps. He has to identify the defense before the ball moves, work through the coverage after it does and decide whether the play stays on schedule or needs a different answer.
Read the Quarterback guideA running back does more than take handoffs. He has to press the blocking scheme, see the cut before it fully opens, protect the quarterback and become a receiving option when the ball goes outside.
Read the Running Back guideFullback
The fullback is a lead blocker and short-yardage problem for defenses that still have to account for one. He can insert into the run fit, protect the passer or slip into the flat after selling the block.
Wide receivers win space before and after the snap. Release, route depth, leverage and hands all matter, and the job changes depending on whether the receiver is outside, in the slot or moving across the formation.
Read the Wide Receiver guideTight End
Tight end sits right on the line between blocker and receiver. One snap can ask him to handle an edge defender; the next can send him down the seam against a safety or linebacker.
Offensive Tackle
Offensive tackles protect the edges of the pocket against some of the best pass rushers in football. They also have to create width in the run game without losing leverage when a defender crashes inside.
Offensive Guard
Guards work in the most crowded part of the offensive line. They handle powerful interior rushers, climb to linebackers and pull across the formation when the run scheme asks them to move.
Center
The center starts the play with the snap, but that is only the beginning. He has to recognize fronts, help set protections and block interior defenders who can be on top of the quarterback almost immediately.
Defense
Defensive Tackle
Defensive tackles fight for control in the middle. Some eat double teams, some shoot gaps, and the best can wreck a run or collapse the pocket before the quarterback has room to step up.
Defensive End
Defensive ends play on the outside of the defensive front and have to control both the run and pass. The job can range from setting a hard edge to attacking the offensive tackle as a primary pass rusher.
Edge Rusher
Edge rusher describes the job more than the roster label. Whether listed as a defensive end or outside linebacker, the player attacks from the outside of the front and tries to make the quarterback feel the pocket shrinking.
Linebackers live where the run game, coverage and pressure meet. They have to read fast, fit the right gap, play through traffic and still be ready to carry a tight end, close on a running back or blitz.
Read the Linebacker guideCornerback
Cornerbacks play with very little room for error. They have to control leverage at the line, stay connected through the route and find the football without losing the receiver they are trying to cover.
Safety
Safeties see the offense from depth and are often the last defender between a clean play and a touchdown. Their job can include deep coverage, fitting the run, matching tight ends and disguising where the defense is actually going.
Special Teams
Kicker
The kicker turns stalled drives into points and can swing field position with every kickoff. The motion has to stay repeatable even when one swing of the leg decides the game.
Punter
A punter is trying to give the coverage team a better field, not simply hit the ball as far as possible. Hang time, placement and knowing when to pin the returner near a sideline all matter.
Long Snapper
The long snapper has one job everybody notices only when it goes wrong. He has to deliver a clean snap on punts and field goals, then get into protection or coverage immediately after the ball leaves his hands.
Return Specialist
Returners start with space and speed, but the best plays are built on decisions. They have to judge the kick, see the first crease and know when taking the safe yards is better than turning back into traffic.