Skill position

Skill positions in football are the positions that are most responsible for causing or preventing points from being scored. The skill positions are:

• Quarterback
• Running back, particularly halfback
• Wide receiver
• Cornerback
• Safety
• Return specialist
• Less commonly, linebacker and defensive end

Skill positions are often contrasted with linemen – players who line up along the line of scrimmage. Skill position players are generally smaller than linemen, but they must also be faster and have other talents (such as the ability to throw or catch the ball, cover an opposing receiver, or to dodge opponents) that rely more on finesse than on brute force. Positions that are not considered "skill positions" would include nose tackles, defensive tackles, offensive linemen, fullbacks, and tight ends (though the latter two positions can be either skill or non-skill, depending on the situation).

Placekickers, punters, long snappers and holders are usually considered separate from both the skill positions and the lineman positions, due to their highly specialized lines of work.

Positions in American football and Canadian football
Offense			Defense			Special teams
Linemen	Guard, Tackle, Center		Linemen	Tackle, End, Nose tackle		Kicking players	Placekicker, Punter, Kickoff specialist
Quarterback			Linebackers			Snapping	Long snapper, Holder
Backs	Halfback (Tailback), Fullback, H-back		Backs	Cornerback, Safety		Returning	Punt returner, Kick returner
Receivers	Wide receiver, Tight end, Slotback			Nickelback, Dimeback		Tackling	Gunner
Formations - Nomenclature

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This page uses content from Wikipedia. The original article was at Skill position. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with American Football Database, the text of Wikipedia is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.

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