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Wide receiver
A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense, WR gets its name from the player being split out "wide" (near the sidelines), farthest away from the rest of the offensive formation.
A forward pass-catching specialist, the wide receiver is one of the fastest players on the field alongside cornerbacks and running backs. One on either extreme of the offensive line is typical, but several may be employed on the same play. A slot receiver lines up between a wide receiver and the offensive line.
Through 2022, only four wide receivers, Jerry Rice (in 1987 and 1993), Michael Thomas (in 2019), Cooper Kupp (in 2021), and Justin Jefferson (in 2022), have won Offensive Player of the Year. In every other year it was awarded to either a quarterback or running back. No wide receiver has ever won MVP. Jerry Rice is the leader in receptions, receiving yards, and touchdowns on the all-time list for receivers, along with being a 3-time Super Bowl champion and 10-time All-Pro selection.
The wide receiver's principal role is to catch forward passes from the quarterback. On passing plays, the receiver attempts to avoid, outmaneuver, or simply outrun the cornerbacks or safeties typically defending them. If the receiver becomes open on their pass route, the quarterback may throw a pass to them. The receiver needs to successfully catch the ball without it touching the ground (known as a completion) and then run with the ball as far downfield as possible, hoping to reach the end zone to score a touchdown.
Especially fast receivers are typically perceived as "deep threats", while those with good hands and perhaps shifty moves may be regarded as "possession receivers" prized for running crossing routes across the middle of the field, and converting third-down situations. Taller receivers with a height advantage over typically shorter defenders tend to play further to the outside and run deep more often, while shorter ones tend to play inside and run more routes underneath the top of the defense.
A wide receiver may block theirs or another's defender, depending on the type of play being run. On standard running plays they will block their assigned defender for the running back. Particularly in the case of draws and other trick plays, they may run a pass route with the intent of drawing defenders away from the intended action. Well-rounded receivers are noted for skill in both roles; Hines Ward in particular received praise for his blocking abilities while also becoming the Pittsburgh Steelers' all-time leading receiver and one of 13 in NFL history through 2009 with at least 1,000 receptions.
Occasionally wide receivers are used to run the ball, usually in plays seeking to surprise the defense, as in an end-around or reverse. All-time NFL receiving yardage leader Jerry Rice also rushed the ball 87 times for 645 yards and 10 touchdowns in his 20 NFL seasons.
In even rarer cases, receivers may pass the ball as part of an outright trick play. Like a running back, a receiver may legally pass the ball so long as they receive it behind the line of scrimmage, in the form of a handoff or backward lateral. In Super Bowl XL, Antwaan Randle El, a four-year quarterback at Indiana University, threw a touchdown pass at the wide receiver position playing for the Pittsburgh Steelers against the Seattle Seahawks, the first wide receiver in Super Bowl history to do so, a feat later accomplished by Jauan Jennings in Super Bowl LVIII.
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Wide receiver
A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense, WR gets its name from the player being split out "wide" (near the sidelines), farthest away from the rest of the offensive formation.
A forward pass-catching specialist, the wide receiver is one of the fastest players on the field alongside cornerbacks and running backs. One on either extreme of the offensive line is typical, but several may be employed on the same play. A slot receiver lines up between a wide receiver and the offensive line.
Through 2022, only four wide receivers, Jerry Rice (in 1987 and 1993), Michael Thomas (in 2019), Cooper Kupp (in 2021), and Justin Jefferson (in 2022), have won Offensive Player of the Year. In every other year it was awarded to either a quarterback or running back. No wide receiver has ever won MVP. Jerry Rice is the leader in receptions, receiving yards, and touchdowns on the all-time list for receivers, along with being a 3-time Super Bowl champion and 10-time All-Pro selection.
The wide receiver's principal role is to catch forward passes from the quarterback. On passing plays, the receiver attempts to avoid, outmaneuver, or simply outrun the cornerbacks or safeties typically defending them. If the receiver becomes open on their pass route, the quarterback may throw a pass to them. The receiver needs to successfully catch the ball without it touching the ground (known as a completion) and then run with the ball as far downfield as possible, hoping to reach the end zone to score a touchdown.
Especially fast receivers are typically perceived as "deep threats", while those with good hands and perhaps shifty moves may be regarded as "possession receivers" prized for running crossing routes across the middle of the field, and converting third-down situations. Taller receivers with a height advantage over typically shorter defenders tend to play further to the outside and run deep more often, while shorter ones tend to play inside and run more routes underneath the top of the defense.
A wide receiver may block theirs or another's defender, depending on the type of play being run. On standard running plays they will block their assigned defender for the running back. Particularly in the case of draws and other trick plays, they may run a pass route with the intent of drawing defenders away from the intended action. Well-rounded receivers are noted for skill in both roles; Hines Ward in particular received praise for his blocking abilities while also becoming the Pittsburgh Steelers' all-time leading receiver and one of 13 in NFL history through 2009 with at least 1,000 receptions.
Occasionally wide receivers are used to run the ball, usually in plays seeking to surprise the defense, as in an end-around or reverse. All-time NFL receiving yardage leader Jerry Rice also rushed the ball 87 times for 645 yards and 10 touchdowns in his 20 NFL seasons.
In even rarer cases, receivers may pass the ball as part of an outright trick play. Like a running back, a receiver may legally pass the ball so long as they receive it behind the line of scrimmage, in the form of a handoff or backward lateral. In Super Bowl XL, Antwaan Randle El, a four-year quarterback at Indiana University, threw a touchdown pass at the wide receiver position playing for the Pittsburgh Steelers against the Seattle Seahawks, the first wide receiver in Super Bowl history to do so, a feat later accomplished by Jauan Jennings in Super Bowl LVIII.