# Skill position

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{{Short description|Position category in gridiron football}}
'''Skill position''' is a [gridiron football](/source/gridiron_football) term that covers [offensive positions](/source/American_football_positions) that handle the ball and are primarily responsible for advancing yards and scoring points. Offensive players such as [quarterback](/source/quarterback)s, [running back](/source/running_back)s, and [wide receiver](/source/wide_receiver)s are typically considered skill positions,<ref>{{cite web|title=Definition of skill position in English by Oxford Dictionaries|url=https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/skill_position|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171212031855/https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/skill_position|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 12, 2017|website=oxforddictionaries.com|publisher=Oxford University Press|accessdate=December 11, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Savage|first1=Jeff|title=Play-By-Play Football|date=2004|publisher=Lerner Publications|isbn=0822514494|page=39|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WkIS1vctJqEC&pg=PA39|accessdate=December 11, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Kedia|first1=Ben L.|last2=Jain|first2=Subhash C.|title=Restoring America's Global Competitiveness through Innovation|date=2013|publisher=Edward Elgar Publishing|isbn=978-1781005958|page=348|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4dUMAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA348|accessdate=December 11, 2017}}</ref> as are [tight end](/source/tight_end)s.<ref>{{cite magazine|last1=Arthur|first1=Kenneth|title=Hands That Feed: The NFL's Best Skill Position Players|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/news/good-hands-the-nfls-best-wrs-rbs-and-tes-20140805|accessdate=December 11, 2017|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=August 5, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Sullivan|first=Tyler|url=https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/ranking-nfls-top-10-offensive-position-groups-for-2024-texans-wr-room-takes-no-1-spot/|title=Ranking NFL's top 10 offensive position groups for 2024: Texans' WR room takes No. 1 spot|publisher=[CBS Sports](/source/CBS_Sports)|date=July 15, 2024|accessdate=February 13, 2025}}</ref> 

The running backs, wide receivers, and tight ends on a team are often referred to as '''offensive weapons''' or simply '''weapons''' for a quarterback on the offensive side of the ball.<ref name=Barnwell>{{cite web|last=Barnwell|first=Bill|author-link=Bill Barnwell|url=https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/29446061/ranking-offensive-weapons-all-32-nfl-teams-2020-barnwell-picks-best-worst|title=Ranking offensive weapons for all 32 NFL teams in 2020: Barnwell picks the best and worst|publisher=[ESPN](/source/ESPN)|date=July 13, 2020|accessdate=February 13, 2025}}</ref> Sportswriters often use the term interchangeably with "skill position" to describe non-quarterback and non-offensive linemen on a team's offense.<ref name=Barnwell/><ref>{{cite web|last=Verderame|first=Matt|url=https://www.si.com/nfl/ranking-all-32-nfl-skill-position-groups-49ers-dolphins-chiefs|title=Ranking the Best Skill-Position Groups of the 2024 NFL Season|work=[Sports Illustrated](/source/Sports_Illustrated)|date=August 29, 2024|accessdate=February 13, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Sullivan|first=Tyler|url=https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/ranking-nfls-top-10-offensive-position-groups-for-2024-texans-wr-room-takes-no-1-spot/|title=Ranking NFL's top 10 offensive position groups for 2024: Texans' WR room takes No. 1 spot|publisher=[CBS Sports](/source/CBS_Sports)|date=July 15, 2024|accessdate=February 13, 2025}}</ref>

Skill positions are contrasted with [linemen](/source/Lineman_(American_football)) and defensive players, which are generally considered to be positions heavily reliant on power and brute strength.<ref>{{cite web|title=Non-Skill Position TD Scorers|url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/friv/odd_td.htm|website=Pro-Football-Reference.com|publisher=Sports Reference|accessdate=December 11, 2017}}</ref> Skill position players are often physically smaller than linemen, but they must also be faster and have other talents; such as the ability to throw accurately, handle or catch the ball under pressure, avoid tacklers, or read and exploit defensive weaknesses; which are less of a priority for linemen.

==See also==
*[Eligible receiver](/source/Eligible_receiver)

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{American football positions}}
Category:American football positions

{{American-football-stub}}

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Skill position](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skill_position) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skill_position?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.