{{Short description|Position category in gridiron football}} '''Skill position''' is a gridiron football term that covers offensive positions that handle the ball and are primarily responsible for advancing yards and scoring points. Offensive players such as quarterbacks, running backs, and wide receivers 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 ends.<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|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|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|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|date=July 15, 2024|accessdate=February 13, 2025}}</ref>
Skill positions are contrasted with linemen 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
==References== {{reflist}}
{{American football positions}} Category:American football positions
{{American-football-stub}}