NFL role guide · Taxonomy, not ranking
NFL player archetypes
A visual guide to the recurring roles that shape football: what each archetype does, which traits define it and the players who show its different forms.
01
Understand the job
Learn what a role asks a player to solve.
02
Compare different versions
See how stars reach the same outcome with different tools.
03
Open the careers
Continue directly into each representative player's profile.
Win before the snap
Quarterbacks
Field-general quarterback
A pocket passer who diagnoses leverage, changes the play and turns coverage answers into routine completions.
Manning · Brady · Montana · Burrow
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Aggression changes the field
Quarterbacks
Gunslinger quarterback
A passer willing to attack tight windows and deep space, accepting risk because one throw can overturn the game.
Favre · Marino · Stafford · Allen
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Defend all eleven
Quarterbacks
Dual-threat quarterback
A quarterback whose designed runs and open-field ability make the defense account for one more ball carrier on every snap.
Jackson · Newton · Young · Hurts
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Structure breaks; the play survives
Quarterbacks
Off-script creator
An improvising quarterback who changes arm angles, escapes pressure and turns a broken play into the offense's most dangerous moment.
Mahomes · Rodgers · Wilson · Tarkenton
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Make contact the defender's problem
Running backs
Power running back
A runner who creates yards through balance, leg drive and the ability to turn a clean tackle into another first down.
Brown · Henry · Campbell · Lynch
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One crease is enough
Running backs
Speed and cutback back
A runner who stretches pursuit horizontally, plants once and turns a small backside lane into an explosive play.
Sanders · Dickerson · Johnson · Charles
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A matchup from anywhere
Running backs
All-purpose running back
A back who can run between the tackles, detach as a receiver and make base personnel feel wrong before the snap.
Faulk · Tomlinson · McCaffrey · Kamara
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Win isolated outside
Wide receivers
Alpha X receiver
The boundary receiver trusted to beat press coverage, command safety help and convert contested targets against the defense's best corner.
Rice · Moss · Johnson · Owens
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Own the middle
Wide receivers
Slot receiver
A separator who reads leverage on the move, finds space between zones and gives the quarterback an immediate answer inside.
Ward · Kupp · Brown · Allen
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Defend every yard
Wide receivers
Vertical deep threat
A receiver whose speed and tracking force safeties backward, opening space even when the ball goes elsewhere.
Moss · Hill · Lockett · Branch
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The formation's mismatch
Tight ends
Move tight end
A tight end who aligns in the slot, outside or in motion to attack linebackers with route craft and defensive backs with size.
Kelce · Gonzalez · Gates · Winslow
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Block the edge, own the seam
Tight ends
Complete in-line tight end
A true every-down tight end who can handle defensive ends in the run game and become a primary target without leaving the formation.
Gronkowski · Kittle · Witten · Mackey
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Collapse the pocket
Defensive front
Edge pass rusher
A defender who wins the corner with speed or converts that threat into power, forcing the offense to change its protection plan.
Taylor · White · Miller · Watt
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Erase one side
Defensive backs
Shutdown corner
A corner trusted in isolation against the opponent's best receiver so the rest of the coverage can devote help elsewhere.
Sanders · Revis · Sherman · Woodson
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