CINXE.COM

<!DOCTYPE html> <html class="client-nojs vector-feature-language-in-header-enabled vector-feature-language-in-main-page-header-disabled vector-feature-sticky-header-disabled vector-feature-page-tools-pinned-disabled vector-feature-toc-pinned-clientpref-1 vector-feature-main-menu-pinned-disabled vector-feature-limited-width-clientpref-1 vector-feature-limited-width-content-enabled vector-feature-custom-font-size-clientpref-1 vector-feature-appearance-pinned-clientpref-1 vector-feature-night-mode-enabled skin-theme-clientpref-day vector-toc-available" lang="en" dir="ltr"> <head> <meta charset="UTF-8"> <title>Lineman (gridiron football) - Wikipedia</title> <script>(function(){var className="client-js vector-feature-language-in-header-enabled vector-feature-language-in-main-page-header-disabled vector-feature-sticky-header-disabled vector-feature-page-tools-pinned-disabled vector-feature-toc-pinned-clientpref-1 vector-feature-main-menu-pinned-disabled vector-feature-limited-width-clientpref-1 vector-feature-limited-width-content-enabled vector-feature-custom-font-size-clientpref-1 vector-feature-appearance-pinned-clientpref-1 vector-feature-night-mode-enabled skin-theme-clientpref-day vector-toc-available";var cookie=document.cookie.match(/(?:^|; )enwikimwclientpreferences=([^;]+)/);if(cookie){cookie[1].split('%2C').forEach(function(pref){className=className.replace(new RegExp('(^| )'+pref.replace(/-clientpref-\w+$|[^\w-]+/g,'')+'-clientpref-\\w+( |$)'),'$1'+pref+'$2');});}document.documentElement.className=className;}());RLCONF={"wgBreakFrames":false,"wgSeparatorTransformTable":["",""],"wgDigitTransformTable":["",""],"wgDefaultDateFormat":"dmy", "wgMonthNames":["","January","February","March","April","May","June","July","August","September","October","November","December"],"wgRequestId":"96ec345d-a044-48f1-8176-b4f249bc2b15","wgCanonicalNamespace":"","wgCanonicalSpecialPageName":false,"wgNamespaceNumber":0,"wgPageName":"Lineman_(gridiron_football)","wgTitle":"Lineman (gridiron football)","wgCurRevisionId":1259296976,"wgRevisionId":1259296976,"wgArticleId":307099,"wgIsArticle":true,"wgIsRedirect":false,"wgAction":"view","wgUserName":null,"wgUserGroups":["*"],"wgCategories":["Articles with short description","Short description is different from Wikidata","Articles needing additional references from June 2007","All articles needing additional references","American football positions"],"wgPageViewLanguage":"en","wgPageContentLanguage":"en","wgPageContentModel":"wikitext","wgRelevantPageName":"Lineman_(gridiron_football)","wgRelevantArticleId":307099,"wgIsProbablyEditable":true,"wgRelevantPageIsProbablyEditable":true, "wgRestrictionEdit":[],"wgRestrictionMove":[],"wgRedirectedFrom":"Offensive_lineman","wgNoticeProject":"wikipedia","wgCiteReferencePreviewsActive":false,"wgFlaggedRevsParams":{"tags":{"status":{"levels":1}}},"wgMediaViewerOnClick":true,"wgMediaViewerEnabledByDefault":true,"wgPopupsFlags":0,"wgVisualEditor":{"pageLanguageCode":"en","pageLanguageDir":"ltr","pageVariantFallbacks":"en"},"wgMFDisplayWikibaseDescriptions":{"search":true,"watchlist":true,"tagline":false,"nearby":true},"wgWMESchemaEditAttemptStepOversample":false,"wgWMEPageLength":8000,"wgInternalRedirectTargetUrl":"/wiki/Lineman_(gridiron_football)#Offensive_line","wgRelatedArticlesCompat":[],"wgEditSubmitButtonLabelPublish":true,"wgULSPosition":"interlanguage","wgULSisCompactLinksEnabled":false,"wgVector2022LanguageInHeader":true,"wgULSisLanguageSelectorEmpty":false,"wgWikibaseItemId":"Q1060160","wgCheckUserClientHintsHeadersJsApi":["brands","architecture","bitness","fullVersionList","mobile","model","platform", "platformVersion"],"GEHomepageSuggestedEditsEnableTopics":true,"wgGETopicsMatchModeEnabled":false,"wgGEStructuredTaskRejectionReasonTextInputEnabled":false,"wgGELevelingUpEnabledForUser":false};RLSTATE={"ext.globalCssJs.user.styles":"ready","site.styles":"ready","user.styles":"ready","ext.globalCssJs.user":"ready","user":"ready","user.options":"loading","ext.cite.styles":"ready","skins.vector.search.codex.styles":"ready","skins.vector.styles":"ready","skins.vector.icons":"ready","jquery.makeCollapsible.styles":"ready","ext.wikimediamessages.styles":"ready","ext.visualEditor.desktopArticleTarget.noscript":"ready","ext.uls.interlanguage":"ready","wikibase.client.init":"ready","ext.wikimediaBadges":"ready"};RLPAGEMODULES=["mediawiki.action.view.redirect","ext.cite.ux-enhancements","mediawiki.page.media","site","mediawiki.page.ready","jquery.makeCollapsible","mediawiki.toc","skins.vector.js","ext.centralNotice.geoIP","ext.centralNotice.startUp","ext.gadget.ReferenceTooltips", "ext.gadget.switcher","ext.urlShortener.toolbar","ext.centralauth.centralautologin","mmv.bootstrap","ext.popups","ext.visualEditor.desktopArticleTarget.init","ext.visualEditor.targetLoader","ext.echo.centralauth","ext.eventLogging","ext.wikimediaEvents","ext.navigationTiming","ext.uls.interface","ext.cx.eventlogging.campaigns","ext.cx.uls.quick.actions","wikibase.client.vector-2022","ext.checkUser.clientHints","ext.growthExperiments.SuggestedEditSession","wikibase.sidebar.tracking"];</script> <script>(RLQ=window.RLQ||[]).push(function(){mw.loader.impl(function(){return["user.options@12s5i",function($,jQuery,require,module){mw.user.tokens.set({"patrolToken":"+\\","watchToken":"+\\","csrfToken":"+\\"}); }];});});</script> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/w/load.php?lang=en&modules=ext.cite.styles%7Cext.uls.interlanguage%7Cext.visualEditor.desktopArticleTarget.noscript%7Cext.wikimediaBadges%7Cext.wikimediamessages.styles%7Cjquery.makeCollapsible.styles%7Cskins.vector.icons%2Cstyles%7Cskins.vector.search.codex.styles%7Cwikibase.client.init&only=styles&skin=vector-2022"> <script async="" src="/w/load.php?lang=en&modules=startup&only=scripts&raw=1&skin=vector-2022"></script> <meta name="ResourceLoaderDynamicStyles" content=""> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/w/load.php?lang=en&modules=site.styles&only=styles&skin=vector-2022"> <meta name="generator" content="MediaWiki 1.44.0-wmf.5"> <meta name="referrer" content="origin"> <meta name="referrer" content="origin-when-cross-origin"> <meta name="robots" content="max-image-preview:standard"> <meta name="format-detection" content="telephone=no"> <meta property="og:image" content="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/af/Linemen.svg/1200px-Linemen.svg.png"> <meta property="og:image:width" content="1200"> <meta property="og:image:height" content="833"> <meta property="og:image" content="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/af/Linemen.svg/800px-Linemen.svg.png"> <meta property="og:image:width" content="800"> <meta property="og:image:height" content="555"> <meta property="og:image" content="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/af/Linemen.svg/640px-Linemen.svg.png"> <meta property="og:image:width" content="640"> <meta property="og:image:height" content="444"> <meta name="viewport" content="width=1120"> <meta property="og:title" content="Lineman (gridiron football) - Wikipedia"> <meta property="og:type" content="website"> <link rel="preconnect" href="//upload.wikimedia.org"> <link rel="alternate" media="only screen and (max-width: 640px)" href="//en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lineman_(gridiron_football)#Offensive_line"> <link rel="alternate" type="application/x-wiki" title="Edit this page" href="/w/index.php?title=Lineman_(gridiron_football)&action=edit"> <link rel="apple-touch-icon" href="/static/apple-touch/wikipedia.png"> <link rel="icon" href="/static/favicon/wikipedia.ico"> <link rel="search" type="application/opensearchdescription+xml" href="/w/rest.php/v1/search" title="Wikipedia (en)"> <link rel="EditURI" type="application/rsd+xml" href="//en.wikipedia.org/w/api.php?action=rsd"> <link rel="canonical" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lineman_(gridiron_football)#Offensive_line"> <link rel="license" href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en"> <link rel="alternate" type="application/atom+xml" title="Wikipedia Atom feed" href="/w/index.php?title=Special:RecentChanges&feed=atom"> <link rel="dns-prefetch" href="//meta.wikimedia.org" /> <link rel="dns-prefetch" href="//login.wikimedia.org"> </head> <body class="skin--responsive skin-vector skin-vector-search-vue mediawiki ltr sitedir-ltr mw-hide-empty-elt ns-0 ns-subject mw-editable page-Lineman_gridiron_football rootpage-Lineman_gridiron_football skin-vector-2022 action-view"><a class="mw-jump-link" href="#bodyContent">Jump to content</a> <div class="vector-header-container"> <header class="vector-header mw-header"> <div class="vector-header-start"> <nav class="vector-main-menu-landmark" aria-label="Site"> <div id="vector-main-menu-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown vector-main-menu-dropdown vector-button-flush-left vector-button-flush-right" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-main-menu-dropdown-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-main-menu-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Main menu" > <label id="vector-main-menu-dropdown-label" for="vector-main-menu-dropdown-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-menu mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-menu"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Main menu</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-main-menu-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> <div id="vector-main-menu" class="vector-main-menu vector-pinnable-element"> <div class="vector-pinnable-header vector-main-menu-pinnable-header vector-pinnable-header-unpinned" data-feature-name="main-menu-pinned" data-pinnable-element-id="vector-main-menu" data-pinned-container-id="vector-main-menu-pinned-container" data-unpinned-container-id="vector-main-menu-unpinned-container" > <div class="vector-pinnable-header-label">Main menu</div> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-pin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-main-menu.pin">move to sidebar</button> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-unpin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-main-menu.unpin">hide</button> </div> <div id="p-navigation" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-navigation" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> Navigation </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="n-mainpage-description" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Main_Page" title="Visit the main page [z]" accesskey="z"><span>Main page</span></a></li><li id="n-contents" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Contents" title="Guides to browsing Wikipedia"><span>Contents</span></a></li><li id="n-currentevents" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Portal:Current_events" title="Articles related to current events"><span>Current events</span></a></li><li id="n-randompage" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:Random" title="Visit a randomly selected article [x]" accesskey="x"><span>Random article</span></a></li><li id="n-aboutsite" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:About" title="Learn about Wikipedia and how it works"><span>About Wikipedia</span></a></li><li id="n-contactpage" class="mw-list-item"><a href="//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Contact_us" title="How to contact Wikipedia"><span>Contact us</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-interaction" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-interaction" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> Contribute </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="n-help" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Help:Contents" title="Guidance on how to use and edit Wikipedia"><span>Help</span></a></li><li id="n-introduction" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Help:Introduction" title="Learn how to edit Wikipedia"><span>Learn to edit</span></a></li><li id="n-portal" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Community_portal" title="The hub for editors"><span>Community portal</span></a></li><li id="n-recentchanges" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:RecentChanges" title="A list of recent changes to Wikipedia [r]" accesskey="r"><span>Recent changes</span></a></li><li id="n-upload" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:File_upload_wizard" title="Add images or other media for use on Wikipedia"><span>Upload file</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </nav> <a href="/wiki/Main_Page" class="mw-logo"> <img class="mw-logo-icon" src="/static/images/icons/wikipedia.png" alt="" aria-hidden="true" height="50" width="50"> <span class="mw-logo-container skin-invert"> <img class="mw-logo-wordmark" alt="Wikipedia" src="/static/images/mobile/copyright/wikipedia-wordmark-en.svg" style="width: 7.5em; height: 1.125em;"> <img class="mw-logo-tagline" alt="The Free Encyclopedia" src="/static/images/mobile/copyright/wikipedia-tagline-en.svg" width="117" height="13" style="width: 7.3125em; height: 0.8125em;"> </span> </a> </div> <div class="vector-header-end"> <div id="p-search" role="search" class="vector-search-box-vue vector-search-box-collapses vector-search-box-show-thumbnail vector-search-box-auto-expand-width vector-search-box"> <a href="/wiki/Special:Search" class="cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only search-toggle" title="Search Wikipedia [f]" accesskey="f"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-search mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-search"></span> <span>Search</span> </a> <div class="vector-typeahead-search-container"> <div class="cdx-typeahead-search cdx-typeahead-search--show-thumbnail cdx-typeahead-search--auto-expand-width"> <form action="/w/index.php" id="searchform" class="cdx-search-input cdx-search-input--has-end-button"> <div id="simpleSearch" class="cdx-search-input__input-wrapper" data-search-loc="header-moved"> <div class="cdx-text-input cdx-text-input--has-start-icon"> <input class="cdx-text-input__input" type="search" name="search" placeholder="Search Wikipedia" aria-label="Search Wikipedia" autocapitalize="sentences" title="Search Wikipedia [f]" accesskey="f" id="searchInput" > <span class="cdx-text-input__icon cdx-text-input__start-icon"></span> </div> <input type="hidden" name="title" value="Special:Search"> </div> <button class="cdx-button cdx-search-input__end-button">Search</button> </form> </div> </div> </div> <nav class="vector-user-links vector-user-links-wide" aria-label="Personal tools"> <div class="vector-user-links-main"> <div id="p-vector-user-menu-preferences" class="vector-menu mw-portlet emptyPortlet" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-vector-user-menu-userpage" class="vector-menu mw-portlet emptyPortlet" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> </ul> </div> </div> <nav class="vector-appearance-landmark" aria-label="Appearance"> <div id="vector-appearance-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown " title="Change the appearance of the page's font size, width, and color" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-appearance-dropdown-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-appearance-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Appearance" > <label id="vector-appearance-dropdown-label" for="vector-appearance-dropdown-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-appearance mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-appearance"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Appearance</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-appearance-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> </div> </div> </div> </nav> <div id="p-vector-user-menu-notifications" class="vector-menu mw-portlet emptyPortlet" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-vector-user-menu-overflow" class="vector-menu mw-portlet" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="pt-sitesupport-2" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item user-links-collapsible-item"><a data-mw="interface" href="https://donate.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FundraiserRedirector?utm_source=donate&utm_medium=sidebar&utm_campaign=C13_en.wikipedia.org&uselang=en" class=""><span>Donate</span></a> </li> <li id="pt-createaccount-2" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item user-links-collapsible-item"><a data-mw="interface" href="/w/index.php?title=Special:CreateAccount&returnto=Lineman+%28gridiron+football%29" title="You are encouraged to create an account and log in; however, it is not mandatory" class=""><span>Create account</span></a> </li> <li id="pt-login-2" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item user-links-collapsible-item"><a data-mw="interface" href="/w/index.php?title=Special:UserLogin&returnto=Lineman+%28gridiron+football%29" title="You're encouraged to log in; however, it's not mandatory. [o]" accesskey="o" class=""><span>Log in</span></a> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> <div id="vector-user-links-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown vector-user-menu vector-button-flush-right vector-user-menu-logged-out" title="Log in and more options" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-user-links-dropdown-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-user-links-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Personal tools" > <label id="vector-user-links-dropdown-label" for="vector-user-links-dropdown-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-ellipsis mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-ellipsis"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Personal tools</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="p-personal" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-personal user-links-collapsible-item" title="User menu" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="pt-sitesupport" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="https://donate.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FundraiserRedirector?utm_source=donate&utm_medium=sidebar&utm_campaign=C13_en.wikipedia.org&uselang=en"><span>Donate</span></a></li><li id="pt-createaccount" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:CreateAccount&returnto=Lineman+%28gridiron+football%29" title="You are encouraged to create an account and log in; however, it is not mandatory"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-userAdd mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-userAdd"></span> <span>Create account</span></a></li><li id="pt-login" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:UserLogin&returnto=Lineman+%28gridiron+football%29" title="You're encouraged to log in; however, it's not mandatory. [o]" accesskey="o"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-logIn mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-logIn"></span> <span>Log in</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-user-menu-anon-editor" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-user-menu-anon-editor" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> Pages for logged out editors <a href="/wiki/Help:Introduction" aria-label="Learn more about editing"><span>learn more</span></a> </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="pt-anoncontribs" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:MyContributions" title="A list of edits made from this IP address [y]" accesskey="y"><span>Contributions</span></a></li><li id="pt-anontalk" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:MyTalk" title="Discussion about edits from this IP address [n]" accesskey="n"><span>Talk</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </header> </div> <div class="mw-page-container"> <div class="mw-page-container-inner"> <div class="vector-sitenotice-container"> <div id="siteNotice"></div> </div> <div class="vector-column-start"> <div class="vector-main-menu-container"> <div id="mw-navigation"> <nav id="mw-panel" class="vector-main-menu-landmark" aria-label="Site"> <div id="vector-main-menu-pinned-container" class="vector-pinned-container"> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <div class="vector-sticky-pinned-container"> <nav id="mw-panel-toc" aria-label="Contents" data-event-name="ui.sidebar-toc" class="mw-table-of-contents-container vector-toc-landmark"> <div id="vector-toc-pinned-container" class="vector-pinned-container"> <div id="vector-toc" class="vector-toc vector-pinnable-element"> <div class="vector-pinnable-header vector-toc-pinnable-header vector-pinnable-header-pinned" data-feature-name="toc-pinned" data-pinnable-element-id="vector-toc" > <h2 class="vector-pinnable-header-label">Contents</h2> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-pin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-toc.pin">move to sidebar</button> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-unpin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-toc.unpin">hide</button> </div> <ul class="vector-toc-contents" id="mw-panel-toc-list"> <li id="toc-mw-content-text" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a href="#" class="vector-toc-link"> <div class="vector-toc-text">(Top)</div> </a> </li> <li id="toc-Offensive_line" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Offensive_line"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1</span> <span>Offensive line</span> </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-Offensive_line-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> <span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-expand"></span> <span>Toggle Offensive line subsection</span> </button> <ul id="toc-Offensive_line-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Run" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Run"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1.1</span> <span>Run</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Run-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Pass" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Pass"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1.2</span> <span>Pass</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Pass-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Defensive_line" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Defensive_line"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2</span> <span>Defensive line</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Defensive_line-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-References" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#References"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3</span> <span>References</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-References-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <div class="mw-content-container"> <main id="content" class="mw-body"> <header class="mw-body-header vector-page-titlebar"> <nav aria-label="Contents" class="vector-toc-landmark"> <div id="vector-page-titlebar-toc" class="vector-dropdown vector-page-titlebar-toc vector-button-flush-left" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-page-titlebar-toc" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Toggle the table of contents" > <label id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-label" for="vector-page-titlebar-toc-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-listBullet mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-listBullet"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Toggle the table of contents</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> </div> </div> </div> </nav> <h1 id="firstHeading" class="firstHeading mw-first-heading"><span class="mw-page-title-main">Lineman (gridiron football)</span></h1> <div id="p-lang-btn" class="vector-dropdown mw-portlet mw-portlet-lang" > <input type="checkbox" id="p-lang-btn-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-p-lang-btn" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox mw-interlanguage-selector" aria-label="Go to an article in another language. Available in 8 languages" > <label id="p-lang-btn-label" for="p-lang-btn-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--action-progressive mw-portlet-lang-heading-8" aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-language-progressive mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-language-progressive"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">8 languages</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ca mw-list-item"><a href="https://ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%C3%ADnia_ofensiva" title="Línia ofensiva – Catalan" lang="ca" hreflang="ca" data-title="Línia ofensiva" data-language-autonym="Català" data-language-local-name="Catalan" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Català</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-es mw-list-item"><a href="https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liniero_(f%C3%BAtbol_americano)" title="Liniero (fútbol americano) – Spanish" lang="es" hreflang="es" data-title="Liniero (fútbol americano)" data-language-autonym="Español" data-language-local-name="Spanish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Español</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-hu mw-list-item"><a href="https://hu.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linemen" title="Linemen – Hungarian" lang="hu" hreflang="hu" data-title="Linemen" data-language-autonym="Magyar" data-language-local-name="Hungarian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Magyar</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-arz mw-list-item"><a href="https://arz.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%B9%D8%A8_%D8%AE%D8%B7_(%D8%AC%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%AF%D8%A7%D9%8A%D8%A7%D8%B1%D9%86_%D9%81%D9%88%D8%AA%D8%A8%D9%88%D9%84)" title="لاعب خط (جريدايارن فوتبول) – Egyptian Arabic" lang="arz" hreflang="arz" data-title="لاعب خط (جريدايارن فوتبول)" data-language-autonym="مصرى" data-language-local-name="Egyptian Arabic" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>مصرى</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-nl mw-list-item"><a href="https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lineman" title="Lineman – Dutch" lang="nl" hreflang="nl" data-title="Lineman" data-language-autonym="Nederlands" data-language-local-name="Dutch" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Nederlands</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-no mw-list-item"><a href="https://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lineman" title="Lineman – Norwegian Bokmål" lang="nb" hreflang="nb" data-title="Lineman" data-language-autonym="Norsk bokmål" data-language-local-name="Norwegian Bokmål" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Norsk bokmål</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sr mw-list-item"><a href="https://sr.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9B%D0%B8%D0%BD%D0%B8%D1%98%D0%B0%D1%88_(%D0%B0%D0%BC%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%B8%D1%87%D0%BA%D0%B8_%D1%84%D1%83%D0%B4%D0%B1%D0%B0%D0%BB)" title="Линијаш (амерички фудбал) – Serbian" lang="sr" hreflang="sr" data-title="Линијаш (амерички фудбал)" data-language-autonym="Српски / srpski" data-language-local-name="Serbian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Српски / srpski</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-zh-yue mw-list-item"><a href="https://zh-yue.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%B7%9A%E9%8B%92" title="線鋒 – Cantonese" lang="yue" hreflang="yue" data-title="線鋒" data-language-autonym="粵語" data-language-local-name="Cantonese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>粵語</span></a></li> </ul> <div class="after-portlet after-portlet-lang"><span class="wb-langlinks-edit wb-langlinks-link"><a href="https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Special:EntityPage/Q1060160#sitelinks-wikipedia" title="Edit interlanguage links" class="wbc-editpage">Edit links</a></span></div> </div> </div> </div> </header> <div class="vector-page-toolbar"> <div class="vector-page-toolbar-container"> <div id="left-navigation"> <nav aria-label="Namespaces"> <div id="p-associated-pages" class="vector-menu vector-menu-tabs mw-portlet mw-portlet-associated-pages" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="ca-nstab-main" class="selected vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Lineman_(gridiron_football)" title="View the content page [c]" accesskey="c"><span>Article</span></a></li><li id="ca-talk" class="vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Talk:Lineman_(gridiron_football)" rel="discussion" title="Discuss improvements to the content page [t]" accesskey="t"><span>Talk</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="vector-variants-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown emptyPortlet" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-variants-dropdown-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-variants-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Change language variant" > <label id="vector-variants-dropdown-label" for="vector-variants-dropdown-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet" aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">English</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="p-variants" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-variants emptyPortlet" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </nav> </div> <div id="right-navigation" class="vector-collapsible"> <nav aria-label="Views"> <div id="p-views" class="vector-menu vector-menu-tabs mw-portlet mw-portlet-views" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="ca-view" class="selected vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Lineman_(gridiron_football)"><span>Read</span></a></li><li id="ca-edit" class="vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Lineman_(gridiron_football)&action=edit" title="Edit this page [e]" accesskey="e"><span>Edit</span></a></li><li id="ca-history" class="vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Lineman_(gridiron_football)&action=history" title="Past revisions of this page [h]" accesskey="h"><span>View history</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </nav> <nav class="vector-page-tools-landmark" aria-label="Page tools"> <div id="vector-page-tools-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown vector-page-tools-dropdown" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-page-tools-dropdown-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-page-tools-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Tools" > <label id="vector-page-tools-dropdown-label" for="vector-page-tools-dropdown-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet" aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Tools</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-page-tools-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> <div id="vector-page-tools" class="vector-page-tools vector-pinnable-element"> <div class="vector-pinnable-header vector-page-tools-pinnable-header vector-pinnable-header-unpinned" data-feature-name="page-tools-pinned" data-pinnable-element-id="vector-page-tools" data-pinned-container-id="vector-page-tools-pinned-container" data-unpinned-container-id="vector-page-tools-unpinned-container" > <div class="vector-pinnable-header-label">Tools</div> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-pin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-page-tools.pin">move to sidebar</button> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-unpin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-page-tools.unpin">hide</button> </div> <div id="p-cactions" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-cactions emptyPortlet vector-has-collapsible-items" title="More options" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> Actions </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="ca-more-view" class="selected vector-more-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Lineman_(gridiron_football)"><span>Read</span></a></li><li id="ca-more-edit" class="vector-more-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Lineman_(gridiron_football)&action=edit" title="Edit this page [e]" accesskey="e"><span>Edit</span></a></li><li id="ca-more-history" class="vector-more-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Lineman_(gridiron_football)&action=history"><span>View history</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-tb" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-tb" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> General </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="t-whatlinkshere" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:WhatLinksHere/Lineman_(gridiron_football)" title="List of all English Wikipedia pages containing links to this page [j]" accesskey="j"><span>What links here</span></a></li><li id="t-recentchangeslinked" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:RecentChangesLinked/Lineman_(gridiron_football)" rel="nofollow" title="Recent changes in pages linked from this page [k]" accesskey="k"><span>Related changes</span></a></li><li id="t-upload" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:File_Upload_Wizard" title="Upload files [u]" accesskey="u"><span>Upload file</span></a></li><li id="t-specialpages" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:SpecialPages" title="A list of all special pages [q]" accesskey="q"><span>Special pages</span></a></li><li id="t-permalink" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Lineman_(gridiron_football)&oldid=1259296976" title="Permanent link to this revision of this page"><span>Permanent link</span></a></li><li id="t-info" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Lineman_(gridiron_football)&action=info" title="More information about this page"><span>Page information</span></a></li><li id="t-cite" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:CiteThisPage&page=Lineman_%28gridiron_football%29&id=1259296976&wpFormIdentifier=titleform" title="Information on how to cite this page"><span>Cite this page</span></a></li><li id="t-urlshortener" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:UrlShortener&url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FLineman_%28gridiron_football%29%23Offensive_line"><span>Get shortened URL</span></a></li><li id="t-urlshortener-qrcode" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:QrCode&url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FLineman_%28gridiron_football%29%23Offensive_line"><span>Download QR code</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-coll-print_export" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-coll-print_export" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> Print/export </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="coll-download-as-rl" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:DownloadAsPdf&page=Lineman_%28gridiron_football%29&action=show-download-screen" title="Download this page as a PDF file"><span>Download as PDF</span></a></li><li id="t-print" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Lineman_(gridiron_football)&printable=yes" title="Printable version of this page [p]" accesskey="p"><span>Printable version</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-wikibase-otherprojects" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-wikibase-otherprojects" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> In other projects </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="t-wikibase" class="wb-otherproject-link wb-otherproject-wikibase-dataitem mw-list-item"><a href="https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Special:EntityPage/Q1060160" title="Structured data on this page hosted by Wikidata [g]" accesskey="g"><span>Wikidata item</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> </div> <div class="vector-column-end"> <div class="vector-sticky-pinned-container"> <nav class="vector-page-tools-landmark" aria-label="Page tools"> <div id="vector-page-tools-pinned-container" class="vector-pinned-container"> </div> </nav> <nav class="vector-appearance-landmark" aria-label="Appearance"> <div id="vector-appearance-pinned-container" class="vector-pinned-container"> <div id="vector-appearance" class="vector-appearance vector-pinnable-element"> <div class="vector-pinnable-header vector-appearance-pinnable-header vector-pinnable-header-pinned" data-feature-name="appearance-pinned" data-pinnable-element-id="vector-appearance" data-pinned-container-id="vector-appearance-pinned-container" data-unpinned-container-id="vector-appearance-unpinned-container" > <div class="vector-pinnable-header-label">Appearance</div> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-pin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-appearance.pin">move to sidebar</button> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-unpin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-appearance.unpin">hide</button> </div> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <div id="bodyContent" class="vector-body" aria-labelledby="firstHeading" data-mw-ve-target-container> <div class="vector-body-before-content"> <div class="mw-indicators"> </div> <div id="siteSub" class="noprint">From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia</div> </div> <div id="contentSub"><div id="mw-content-subtitle"><span class="mw-redirectedfrom">(Redirected from <a href="/w/index.php?title=Offensive_lineman&redirect=no" class="mw-redirect" title="Offensive lineman">Offensive lineman</a>)</span></div></div> <div id="mw-content-text" class="mw-body-content"><div class="mw-content-ltr mw-parser-output" lang="en" dir="ltr"><div class="shortdescription nomobile noexcerpt noprint searchaux" style="display:none">Player in gridiron football who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage</div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1236090951">.mw-parser-output .hatnote{font-style:italic}.mw-parser-output div.hatnote{padding-left:1.6em;margin-bottom:0.5em}.mw-parser-output .hatnote i{font-style:normal}.mw-parser-output .hatnote+link+.hatnote{margin-top:-0.5em}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .hatnote{display:none!important}}</style><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Not to be confused with <a href="/wiki/Defense_line" title="Defense line">defense line</a>.</div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1251242444">.mw-parser-output .ambox{border:1px solid #a2a9b1;border-left:10px solid #36c;background-color:#fbfbfb;box-sizing:border-box}.mw-parser-output .ambox+link+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+link+style+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+link+link+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+.mw-empty-elt+link+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+.mw-empty-elt+link+style+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+.mw-empty-elt+link+link+.ambox{margin-top:-1px}html body.mediawiki .mw-parser-output .ambox.mbox-small-left{margin:4px 1em 4px 0;overflow:hidden;width:238px;border-collapse:collapse;font-size:88%;line-height:1.25em}.mw-parser-output .ambox-speedy{border-left:10px solid #b32424;background-color:#fee7e6}.mw-parser-output .ambox-delete{border-left:10px solid #b32424}.mw-parser-output .ambox-content{border-left:10px solid #f28500}.mw-parser-output .ambox-style{border-left:10px solid #fc3}.mw-parser-output .ambox-move{border-left:10px solid #9932cc}.mw-parser-output .ambox-protection{border-left:10px solid #a2a9b1}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-text{border:none;padding:0.25em 0.5em;width:100%}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-image{border:none;padding:2px 0 2px 0.5em;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-imageright{border:none;padding:2px 0.5em 2px 0;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-empty-cell{border:none;padding:0;width:1px}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-image-div{width:52px}@media(min-width:720px){.mw-parser-output .ambox{margin:0 10%}}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .ambox{display:none!important}}</style><table class="box-More_citations_needed plainlinks metadata ambox ambox-content ambox-Refimprove" role="presentation"><tbody><tr><td class="mbox-image"><div class="mbox-image-div"><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Question_book-new.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/99/Question_book-new.svg/50px-Question_book-new.svg.png" decoding="async" width="50" height="39" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/99/Question_book-new.svg/75px-Question_book-new.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/99/Question_book-new.svg/100px-Question_book-new.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="512" data-file-height="399" /></a></span></div></td><td class="mbox-text"><div class="mbox-text-span">This article <b>needs additional citations for <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Verifiability" title="Wikipedia:Verifiability">verification</a></b>.<span class="hide-when-compact"> Please help <a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/Lineman_(gridiron_football)" title="Special:EditPage/Lineman (gridiron football)">improve this article</a> by <a href="/wiki/Help:Referencing_for_beginners" title="Help:Referencing for beginners">adding citations to reliable sources</a>. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.<br /><small><span class="plainlinks"><i>Find sources:</i> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.google.com/search?as_eq=wikipedia&q=%22Lineman%22+gridiron+football">"Lineman" gridiron football</a> – <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.google.com/search?tbm=nws&q=%22Lineman%22+gridiron+football+-wikipedia&tbs=ar:1">news</a> <b>·</b> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.google.com/search?&q=%22Lineman%22+gridiron+football&tbs=bkt:s&tbm=bks">newspapers</a> <b>·</b> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.google.com/search?tbs=bks:1&q=%22Lineman%22+gridiron+football+-wikipedia">books</a> <b>·</b> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=%22Lineman%22+gridiron+football">scholar</a> <b>·</b> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.jstor.org/action/doBasicSearch?Query=%22Lineman%22+gridiron+football&acc=on&wc=on">JSTOR</a></span></small></span> <span class="date-container"><i>(<span class="date">June 2007</span>)</i></span><span class="hide-when-compact"><i> (<small><a href="/wiki/Help:Maintenance_template_removal" title="Help:Maintenance template removal">Learn how and when to remove this message</a></small>)</i></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table> <figure typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Linemen.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/af/Linemen.svg/350px-Linemen.svg.png" decoding="async" width="350" height="243" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/af/Linemen.svg/525px-Linemen.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/af/Linemen.svg/700px-Linemen.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="765" data-file-height="531" /></a><figcaption>A diagram of the linemen, with defensive linemen (in 4-3 formation) in red and offensive linemen in green.</figcaption></figure> <p>In <a href="/wiki/Gridiron_football" title="Gridiron football">gridiron football</a>, a <b>lineman</b> is a player who specializes in play at the <a href="/wiki/Line_of_scrimmage" title="Line of scrimmage">line of scrimmage</a>. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the <b>offensive line</b>, while linemen on the opposing team are the <b>defensive line</b>. A number of <a href="/wiki/National_Football_League" title="National Football League">NFL</a> rules specifically address restrictions and requirements for the offensive line, whose job is to help protect the <a href="/wiki/Quarterback" title="Quarterback">quarterback</a> from getting <a href="/wiki/Quarterback_sack" title="Quarterback sack">sacked</a> for a loss, or worse, <a href="/wiki/Fumble" title="Fumble">fumbling</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The defensive line is covered by the same rules that apply to all defensive players. Linemen are usually the largest players on the field in both height and weight, since their positions usually require less running and more strength than <a href="/wiki/Skill_position" title="Skill position">skill positions</a>. </p> <meta property="mw:PageProp/toc" /> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Offensive_line">Offensive line</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Lineman_(gridiron_football)&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: Offensive line"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The offensive line consists of the <a href="/wiki/Center_(American_football)" class="mw-redirect" title="Center (American football)">center</a>, who is responsible for <a href="/wiki/Snap_(gridiron_football)" title="Snap (gridiron football)">snapping</a> the ball into play, two <a href="/wiki/Guard_(American_football)" class="mw-redirect" title="Guard (American football)">guards</a> who flank the center, and two <a href="/wiki/Offensive_tackle" class="mw-redirect" title="Offensive tackle">offensive tackles</a> flanking these guards. In addition, a full offensive line may also include a <a href="/wiki/Tight_end" title="Tight end">tight end</a> outside one or both of the tackles. </p> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Green_Bay_Packers_Offensive_Line_lined_up_Dec_2013.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9a/Green_Bay_Packers_Offensive_Line_lined_up_Dec_2013.jpg/220px-Green_Bay_Packers_Offensive_Line_lined_up_Dec_2013.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="147" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9a/Green_Bay_Packers_Offensive_Line_lined_up_Dec_2013.jpg/330px-Green_Bay_Packers_Offensive_Line_lined_up_Dec_2013.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9a/Green_Bay_Packers_Offensive_Line_lined_up_Dec_2013.jpg/440px-Green_Bay_Packers_Offensive_Line_lined_up_Dec_2013.jpg 2x" data-file-width="3888" data-file-height="2592" /></a><figcaption>The <a href="/wiki/Green_Bay_Packers" title="Green Bay Packers">Green Bay Packers</a> offensive line</figcaption></figure> <p>An offensive lineman's motion during a play is often limited to just a few quick steps (typically from a <a href="/wiki/Three-point_stance" title="Three-point stance">three-point stance</a>) to establish position, followed by a wrestling match similar to <a href="/wiki/Sumo" title="Sumo">sumo</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Offensive linemen thus tend to be the largest and strongest players on the field with excellent agility and balance, but limited straight-line running speed and stamina. </p><p>On some running plays, an offensive lineman will <i>pull</i> by backing out of his initial position and running behind the other offensive linemen to engage a defensive player beyond the initial width of the offensive line; in modern games this duty usually falls to <a href="/wiki/Guard_(gridiron_football)" title="Guard (gridiron football)">guards</a>. </p><p>When an offensive lineman knocks a player down on a block, leaving the defensive player lying flat on his back, it is known as a pancake block.<sup id="cite_ref-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>When an offensive line has an equal number of men on either side of the center, it is known as a <i>balanced line</i>.<sup id="cite_ref-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-4"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The <i>interior offensive line</i> consists of the center and guards.<sup id="cite_ref-5" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-5"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>5<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>Besides the initial snap from center, offensive linemen are not eligible to handle the ball- with the exception of recovering fumbles- and are not allowed to advance more than two yards past the line of scrimmage at the time a pass is thrown, whether they are engaged with a defensive player or not. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Run">Run</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Lineman_(gridiron_football)&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: Run"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>On running plays, the primary job of the offensive line is to create space for the ball carrier to run, either by pushing all defensive players backwards past the line of scrimmage, or by pushing defensive players to the side to allow the ball carrier to run past them. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Pass">Pass</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Lineman_(gridiron_football)&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: Pass"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>On <a href="/wiki/Forward_pass" title="Forward pass">passing</a> plays, the offensive line is tasked with stopping defensive players from tackling the quarterback before he has thrown the ball. Stopping these players indefinitely is practically not possible, so the main objective of the offensive line is to slow them down, providing the quarterback with enough time to identify an open, eligible receiver and throw him the ball. </p> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-left" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Pittsburgh_2013_left_side_offensive_line.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cb/Pittsburgh_2013_left_side_offensive_line.jpg/220px-Pittsburgh_2013_left_side_offensive_line.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="222" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cb/Pittsburgh_2013_left_side_offensive_line.jpg/330px-Pittsburgh_2013_left_side_offensive_line.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cb/Pittsburgh_2013_left_side_offensive_line.jpg/440px-Pittsburgh_2013_left_side_offensive_line.jpg 2x" data-file-width="2156" data-file-height="2176" /></a><figcaption>The <a href="/wiki/Pittsburgh_Steelers" title="Pittsburgh Steelers">Pittsburgh Steelers</a> offensive line</figcaption></figure> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Defensive_line">Defensive line</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Lineman_(gridiron_football)&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: Defensive line"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">"Defensive line" redirects here. Not to be confused with <a href="/wiki/Defense_line" title="Defense line">Defense line</a> or <a href="/wiki/Three_lines_of_defence" class="mw-redirect" title="Three lines of defence">Three lines of defence</a>.</div> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Calgary%27s_D-Line_(1797298431).jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/74/Calgary%27s_D-Line_%281797298431%29.jpg/220px-Calgary%27s_D-Line_%281797298431%29.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="139" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/74/Calgary%27s_D-Line_%281797298431%29.jpg/330px-Calgary%27s_D-Line_%281797298431%29.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/74/Calgary%27s_D-Line_%281797298431%29.jpg/440px-Calgary%27s_D-Line_%281797298431%29.jpg 2x" data-file-width="900" data-file-height="570" /></a><figcaption>The <a href="/wiki/Montreal_Alouettes" title="Montreal Alouettes">Montreal Alouettes</a> offensive line (left) and the <a href="/wiki/Calgary_Stampeders" title="Calgary Stampeders">Calgary Stampeders</a> defensive line (right)</figcaption></figure> <p>The defensive line consists of one or two <a href="/wiki/Defensive_tackle" title="Defensive tackle">defensive tackles</a> and two <a href="/wiki/Defensive_end" title="Defensive end">defensive ends</a> who play outside the defensive tackles. The defensive line works with the <a href="/wiki/Linebacker" title="Linebacker">linebackers</a> to try to control the <a href="/wiki/Line_of_scrimmage" title="Line of scrimmage">line of scrimmage</a>. The <a href="/wiki/4-3_defense" class="mw-redirect" title="4-3 defense">4-3 defense</a>, most commonly used in the NFL, employs two defensive tackles (and a defensive line of four men, with three <a href="/wiki/Linebacker" title="Linebacker">linebackers</a> behind them), while the <a href="/wiki/3-4_defense" class="mw-redirect" title="3-4 defense">3-4 defense</a> uses just a single defensive tackle, called the <a href="/wiki/Nose_tackle" class="mw-redirect" title="Nose tackle">nose tackle</a> (and a defensive line of three men, with four linebackers behind them). Defensive ends in a typical 3-4 have responsibilities more similar to a 4-3 defensive tackle than 4-3 defensive ends. </p><p>On running plays, the goal is to tackle the ball carrier. The defensive line attempts to maintain their original formation (even spacing without holes), but also to prevent any members of the opposing offensive line from successfully engaging the linebackers, who chase down the ball carrier. The defensive tackles are usually the most skilled run defenders on the team. </p><p>On passing plays, the defensive line tries to reach the <a href="/wiki/Quarterback" title="Quarterback">quarterback</a>. Ideally, the defensive players are able to tackle the quarterback for a loss (a <a href="/wiki/QB_sack" class="mw-redirect" title="QB sack">sack</a>), but in practice the quarterback will usually manage to throw the ball before an actual tackle is made; the goal is thus to put pressure on the quarterback as quickly as possible to force him to throw the ball before he can find an open receiver. Defensive ends are usually the most skilled <a href="/wiki/Pass_rush" title="Pass rush">pass rushers</a> on the team. In order to increase the pressure on the quarterback, teams will often have players other than the defensive line attempt to tackle the quarterback; this is called a <a href="/wiki/Blitz_(gridiron_football)" title="Blitz (gridiron football)">blitz</a>. </p><p>Because the defense does not know whether the offense is attempting a passing play or a running play (or whether a quarterback will give up on an attempt to pass and instead run with the ball), they must balance passing and running strategies: running around offensive linemen and avoiding contact may allow faster pressure on a quarterback, but it also leaves a hole in the defensive line and frees an offensive lineman to engage a linebacker, enabling a big running play. </p><p>Defensive linemen, particularly defensive ends are typically lighter and faster than defensive tackles and offensive linemen. Defensive tackles weight averages between 260 and 310 lbs.<sup id="cite_ref-6" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-6"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>6<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="References">References</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Lineman_(gridiron_football)&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: References"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239543626">.mw-parser-output .reflist{margin-bottom:0.5em;list-style-type:decimal}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .reflist{font-size:90%}}.mw-parser-output .reflist .references{font-size:100%;margin-bottom:0;list-style-type:inherit}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-2{column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-3{column-width:25em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns{margin-top:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns ol{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns li{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-alpha{list-style-type:upper-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-roman{list-style-type:upper-roman}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-alpha{list-style-type:lower-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-greek{list-style-type:lower-greek}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-roman{list-style-type:lower-roman}</style><div class="reflist"> <div class="mw-references-wrap"><ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-1">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1238218222">.mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free.id-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited.id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration.id-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription.id-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg")right 0.1em center/12px no-repeat}body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background-size:contain;padding:0 1em 0 0}.mw-parser-output .cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#085;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}</style><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.nfl.com/rulebook/beginnersguidetofootball">"NFL Beginner's Guide to Football"</a>. <i>National Football League</i>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=National+Football+League&rft.atitle=NFL+Beginner%27s+Guide+to+Football&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nfl.com%2Frulebook%2Fbeginnersguidetofootball&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ALineman+%28gridiron+football%29" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-2"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-2">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFBishop2004" class="citation news cs1">Bishop, Greg (September 12, 2004). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150315120438/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2004-09-12/sports/0409120012_1_linemen-sumo-wrestlers-nfl">"Sumo wrestlers...or NFL linemen?"</a>. <i>Chicago Tribune</i>. Archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2004-09-12/sports/0409120012_1_linemen-sumo-wrestlers-nfl">the original</a> on March 15, 2015<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">June 24,</span> 2017</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=Chicago+Tribune&rft.atitle=Sumo+wrestlers...or+NFL+linemen%3F&rft.date=2004-09-12&rft.aulast=Bishop&rft.aufirst=Greg&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Farticles.chicagotribune.com%2F2004-09-12%2Fsports%2F0409120012_1_linemen-sumo-wrestlers-nfl&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ALineman+%28gridiron+football%29" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-3"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-3">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.livestrong.com/article/405704-what-is-a-pancake-block-in-football/">"What Is a Pancake Block in Football?"</a>. <i>Livestrong</i>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=Livestrong&rft.atitle=What+Is+a+Pancake+Block+in+Football%3F&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.livestrong.com%2Farticle%2F405704-what-is-a-pancake-block-in-football%2F&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ALineman+%28gridiron+football%29" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-4"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-4">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation book cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://books.google.com/books?id=5pPYAODf6ZAC"><i>Football</i></a>. Taylor & Francis.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Football&rft.pub=Taylor+%26+Francis&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fbooks.google.com%2Fbooks%3Fid%3D5pPYAODf6ZAC&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ALineman+%28gridiron+football%29" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-5"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-5">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFZierlein,_Lance2017" class="citation web cs1">Zierlein, Lance (April 14, 2017). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.nfl.com/news/2017-nfl-draft-lamp-leads-o-line-class-short-on-top-talent-0ap3000000800071">"2017 NFL Draft: Lamp leads O-line class short on top talent"</a>. <i><a href="/wiki/NFL.com" class="mw-redirect" title="NFL.com">NFL.com</a></i><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">October 5,</span> 2017</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=NFL.com&rft.atitle=2017+NFL+Draft%3A+Lamp+leads+O-line+class+short+on+top+talent&rft.date=2017-04-14&rft.au=Zierlein%2C+Lance&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nfl.com%2Fnews%2F2017-nfl-draft-lamp-leads-o-line-class-short-on-top-talent-0ap3000000800071&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ALineman+%28gridiron+football%29" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-6"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-6">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFFischer2013" class="citation web cs1">Fischer, Ezra (2013-07-31). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://dearsportsfan.com/2013/07/30/what-is-a-defensive-lineman-in-football/">"What is a Defensive Lineman in Football?"</a>. <i>Dear Sports Fan</i><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">2023-01-04</span></span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=Dear+Sports+Fan&rft.atitle=What+is+a+Defensive+Lineman+in+Football%3F&rft.date=2013-07-31&rft.aulast=Fischer&rft.aufirst=Ezra&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fdearsportsfan.com%2F2013%2F07%2F30%2Fwhat-is-a-defensive-lineman-in-football%2F&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ALineman+%28gridiron+football%29" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> </ol></div></div> <div class="navbox-styles"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1129693374">.mw-parser-output .hlist dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul{margin:0;padding:0}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt,.mw-parser-output .hlist li{margin:0;display:inline}.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul ul{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .hlist .mw-empty-li{display:none}.mw-parser-output .hlist dt::after{content:": "}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li::after{content:" · ";font-weight:bold}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li:last-child::after{content:none}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd dd:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dd dt:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dd li:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt dd:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt dt:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt li:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist li dd:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist li dt:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist li li:first-child::before{content:" (";font-weight:normal}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd dd:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dd dt:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dd li:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt dd:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt dt:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt li:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li dd:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li dt:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li li:last-child::after{content:")";font-weight:normal}.mw-parser-output .hlist ol{counter-reset:listitem}.mw-parser-output .hlist ol>li{counter-increment:listitem}.mw-parser-output .hlist ol>li::before{content:" "counter(listitem)"\a0 "}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd ol>li:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt ol>li:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist li ol>li:first-child::before{content:" ("counter(listitem)"\a0 "}</style><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1236075235">.mw-parser-output .navbox{box-sizing:border-box;border:1px solid #a2a9b1;width:100%;clear:both;font-size:88%;text-align:center;padding:1px;margin:1em auto 0}.mw-parser-output .navbox .navbox{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .navbox+.navbox,.mw-parser-output .navbox+.navbox-styles+.navbox{margin-top:-1px}.mw-parser-output .navbox-inner,.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup{width:100%}.mw-parser-output .navbox-group,.mw-parser-output .navbox-title,.mw-parser-output .navbox-abovebelow{padding:0.25em 1em;line-height:1.5em;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .navbox-group{white-space:nowrap;text-align:right}.mw-parser-output .navbox,.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup{background-color:#fdfdfd}.mw-parser-output .navbox-list{line-height:1.5em;border-color:#fdfdfd}.mw-parser-output .navbox-list-with-group{text-align:left;border-left-width:2px;border-left-style:solid}.mw-parser-output tr+tr>.navbox-abovebelow,.mw-parser-output tr+tr>.navbox-group,.mw-parser-output tr+tr>.navbox-image,.mw-parser-output tr+tr>.navbox-list{border-top:2px solid #fdfdfd}.mw-parser-output .navbox-title{background-color:#ccf}.mw-parser-output .navbox-abovebelow,.mw-parser-output .navbox-group,.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup .navbox-title{background-color:#ddf}.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup .navbox-group,.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup .navbox-abovebelow{background-color:#e6e6ff}.mw-parser-output .navbox-even{background-color:#f7f7f7}.mw-parser-output .navbox-odd{background-color:transparent}.mw-parser-output .navbox .hlist td dl,.mw-parser-output .navbox .hlist td ol,.mw-parser-output .navbox .hlist td ul,.mw-parser-output .navbox td.hlist dl,.mw-parser-output .navbox td.hlist ol,.mw-parser-output .navbox td.hlist ul{padding:0.125em 0}.mw-parser-output .navbox .navbar{display:block;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .navbox-title .navbar{float:left;text-align:left;margin-right:0.5em}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .navbox-image img{max-width:none!important}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .navbox{display:none!important}}</style></div><div role="navigation" class="navbox" aria-labelledby="Positions_in_American_football_and_Canadian_football" style="padding:3px"><table class="nowraplinks hlist mw-collapsible autocollapse navbox-inner" style="border-spacing:0;background:transparent;color:inherit"><tbody><tr><th scope="col" class="navbox-title" colspan="2"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239400231">.mw-parser-output .navbar{display:inline;font-size:88%;font-weight:normal}.mw-parser-output .navbar-collapse{float:left;text-align:left}.mw-parser-output .navbar-boxtext{word-spacing:0}.mw-parser-output .navbar ul{display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;line-height:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-brackets::before{margin-right:-0.125em;content:"[ "}.mw-parser-output .navbar-brackets::after{margin-left:-0.125em;content:" ]"}.mw-parser-output .navbar li{word-spacing:-0.125em}.mw-parser-output .navbar a>span,.mw-parser-output .navbar a>abbr{text-decoration:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-mini abbr{font-variant:small-caps;border-bottom:none;text-decoration:none;cursor:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-ct-full{font-size:114%;margin:0 7em}.mw-parser-output .navbar-ct-mini{font-size:114%;margin:0 4em}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .navbar li a abbr{color:var(--color-base)!important}@media(prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .navbar li a abbr{color:var(--color-base)!important}}@media print{.mw-parser-output .navbar{display:none!important}}</style><div class="navbar plainlinks hlist navbar-mini"><ul><li class="nv-view"><a href="/wiki/Template:American_football_positions" title="Template:American football positions"><abbr title="View this template">v</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-talk"><a href="/wiki/Template_talk:American_football_positions" title="Template talk:American football positions"><abbr title="Discuss this template">t</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-edit"><a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:American_football_positions" title="Special:EditPage/Template:American football positions"><abbr title="Edit this template">e</abbr></a></li></ul></div><div id="Positions_in_American_football_and_Canadian_football" style="font-size:114%;margin:0 4em"><a href="/wiki/American_football_positions" title="American football positions">Positions</a> in <a href="/wiki/American_football" title="American football">American football</a> and <a href="/wiki/Canadian_football" title="Canadian football">Canadian football</a></div></th></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%;text-align:right;"><a href="/wiki/Offense_(sports)" title="Offense (sports)">Offense</a> (<a href="/wiki/Skill_position" title="Skill position">Skill position</a>)</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"></div><table class="nowraplinks navbox-subgroup" style="border-spacing:0"><tbody><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:8em"><div style="float:right;"><b><a class="mw-selflink-fragment" href="#Offensive_line">Lineman</a></b></div></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Tackle_(gridiron_football_position)" title="Tackle (gridiron football position)">Tackle</a> (T)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Guard_(gridiron_football)" title="Guard (gridiron football)">Guard</a> (G)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Center_(gridiron_football)" title="Center (gridiron football)">Center</a> (C)</li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:8em"><div style="float:right;"><b><a href="/wiki/Quarterback" title="Quarterback">Quarterback</a></b></div></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Dual-threat_quarterback" title="Dual-threat quarterback">Dual-threat</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Game_manager" title="Game manager">Game manager</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/System_quarterback" title="System quarterback">System</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:8em"><div style="float:right;"><b><a href="/wiki/Back_(American_football)" title="Back (American football)">Back</a></b></div></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Running_back" title="Running back">Running back</a> (RB)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Halfback_(American_football)" title="Halfback (American football)">Halfback/Tailback</a> (HB/TB)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Fullback_(gridiron_football)" title="Fullback (gridiron football)">Fullback</a> (FB)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/H-back" title="H-back">H-back</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wingback_(American_football)" title="Wingback (American football)">Wingback</a> (WB)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Triple-threat_man" title="Triple-threat man">Triple-threat</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Change_of_pace_running_back" title="Change of pace running back">Change of pace</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:8em"><div style="float:right;"><b>Receiver</b></div></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Wide_receiver" title="Wide receiver">Wide receiver</a> (WR)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Eligible_receiver" title="Eligible receiver">Eligible receiver</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Tight_end" title="Tight end">Tight end</a> (TE)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Slotback" title="Slotback">Slotback</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/End_(gridiron_football)" title="End (gridiron football)">End</a> (E)</li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table><div></div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%;text-align:right;"><a href="/wiki/Defense_(sports)" title="Defense (sports)">Defense</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"></div><table class="nowraplinks navbox-subgroup" style="border-spacing:0"><tbody><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:8em"><div style="float:right;"><b><a class="mw-selflink-fragment" href="#Defensive_line">Lineman</a></b></div></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Defensive_tackle" title="Defensive tackle">Defensive tackle</a> (DT)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Defensive_tackle#Nose_tackle" title="Defensive tackle">Nose tackle</a> (NT)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Defensive_end" title="Defensive end">Defensive end</a> (DE)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Edge_rusher" title="Edge rusher">Edge rusher</a> (EDGE)</li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:8em"><div style="float:right;"><b>Backer</b></div></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Linebacker" title="Linebacker">Linebacker</a> (LB)</li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:8em"><div style="float:right;"><b><a href="/wiki/Defensive_back" title="Defensive back">Defensive back</a></b></div></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Cornerback" title="Cornerback">Cornerback</a> (CB)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Safety_(gridiron_football_position)" title="Safety (gridiron football position)">Safety</a> (S)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Halfback_(Canadian_football)" title="Halfback (Canadian football)">Halfback</a> (HB)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Nickelback_(American_football)" title="Nickelback (American football)">Nickelback</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Dimeback" title="Dimeback">Dimeback</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table><div></div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%;text-align:right;"><a href="/wiki/American_football_positions#Special_teams" title="American football positions">Special teams</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"></div><table class="nowraplinks navbox-subgroup" style="border-spacing:0"><tbody><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:8em"><div style="float:right;"><b><a href="/wiki/Kicking_specialist" title="Kicking specialist">Kicking</a></b></div></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Placekicker" title="Placekicker">Placekicker</a> (K)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Punter_(gridiron_football)" title="Punter (gridiron football)">Punter</a> (P)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Kickoff_specialist" title="Kickoff specialist">Kickoff specialist</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:8em"><div style="float:right;"><b><a href="/wiki/Snap_(gridiron_football)" title="Snap (gridiron football)">Snapping</a></b></div></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Long_snapper" title="Long snapper">Long snapper</a> (LS)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Holder_(gridiron_football)" title="Holder (gridiron football)">Holder</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:8em"><div style="float:right;"><b>Returning</b></div></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Punt_returner" class="mw-redirect" title="Punt returner">Punt returner</a> (PR)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Kick_returner" class="mw-redirect" title="Kick returner">Kick returner</a> (KR)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Jammer_(American_football)" title="Jammer (American football)">Jammer</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Upman" class="mw-redirect" title="Upman">Upman</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:8em"><div style="float:right;"><b><a href="/wiki/Tackle_(football_move)" title="Tackle (football move)">Tackling</a></b></div></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Gunner_(American_football)" title="Gunner (American football)">Gunner</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Upback" title="Upback">Upback</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Utility_player#American_football" title="Utility player">Utility</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table><div></div></td></tr><tr><td class="navbox-abovebelow" colspan="2"><div><b><a href="/wiki/Formation_(American_football)" title="Formation (American football)">Formations</a> <small>(<a href="/wiki/List_of_formations_in_American_football" title="List of formations in American football">List</a>)</small> — <a href="/wiki/History_of_American_football_positions" title="History of American football positions">Nomenclature</a> — <a href="/wiki/Strategy_of_American_football" title="Strategy of American football">Strategy</a></b></div></td></tr></tbody></table></div> <div class="navbox-styles"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236075235"></div><div role="navigation" class="navbox authority-control" aria-label="Navbox" style="padding:3px"><table class="nowraplinks hlist navbox-inner" style="border-spacing:0;background:transparent;color:inherit"><tbody><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Help:Authority_control" title="Help:Authority control">Authority control databases</a>: National <span class="mw-valign-text-top noprint" typeof="mw:File/Frameless"><a href="https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1060160#identifiers" title="Edit this at Wikidata"><img alt="Edit this at Wikidata" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/8a/OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg/10px-OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg.png" decoding="async" width="10" height="10" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/8a/OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg/15px-OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/8a/OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg/20px-OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="20" data-file-height="20" /></a></span></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"><ul><li><span class="uid"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://id.loc.gov/authorities/sh85077166">United States</a></span></li><li><span class="uid"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://olduli.nli.org.il/F/?func=find-b&local_base=NLX10&find_code=UID&request=987007529342605171">Israel</a></span></li></ul></div></td></tr></tbody></table></div>    </div><noscript><img src="https://login.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:CentralAutoLogin/start?type=1x1&useformat=desktop" alt="" width="1" height="1" style="border: none; position: absolute;"></noscript> <div class="printfooter" data-nosnippet="">Retrieved from "<a dir="ltr" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lineman_(gridiron_football)&oldid=1259296976#Offensive_line">https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lineman_(gridiron_football)&oldid=1259296976#Offensive_line</a>"</div></div> <div id="catlinks" class="catlinks" data-mw="interface"><div id="mw-normal-catlinks" class="mw-normal-catlinks"><a href="/wiki/Help:Category" title="Help:Category">Category</a>: <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Category:American_football_positions" title="Category:American football positions">American football positions</a></li></ul></div><div id="mw-hidden-catlinks" class="mw-hidden-catlinks mw-hidden-cats-hidden">Hidden categories: <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Articles_with_short_description" title="Category:Articles with short description">Articles with short description</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Short_description_is_different_from_Wikidata" title="Category:Short description is different from Wikidata">Short description is different from Wikidata</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Articles_needing_additional_references_from_June_2007" title="Category:Articles needing additional references from June 2007">Articles needing additional references from June 2007</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:All_articles_needing_additional_references" title="Category:All articles needing additional references">All articles needing additional references</a></li></ul></div></div> </div> </main> </div> <div class="mw-footer-container"> <footer id="footer" class="mw-footer" > <ul id="footer-info"> <li id="footer-info-lastmod"> This page was last edited on 24 November 2024, at 11:30<span class="anonymous-show"> (UTC)</span>.</li> <li id="footer-info-copyright">Text is available under the <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Text_of_the_Creative_Commons_Attribution-ShareAlike_4.0_International_License" title="Wikipedia:Text of the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License">Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License</a>; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the <a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Terms_of_Use" class="extiw" title="foundation:Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Terms of Use">Terms of Use</a> and <a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Privacy_policy" class="extiw" title="foundation:Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Privacy policy">Privacy Policy</a>. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://wikimediafoundation.org/">Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.</a>, a non-profit organization.</li> </ul> <ul id="footer-places"> <li id="footer-places-privacy"><a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Privacy_policy">Privacy policy</a></li> <li id="footer-places-about"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:About">About Wikipedia</a></li> <li id="footer-places-disclaimers"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:General_disclaimer">Disclaimers</a></li> <li id="footer-places-contact"><a href="//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Contact_us">Contact Wikipedia</a></li> <li id="footer-places-wm-codeofconduct"><a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Universal_Code_of_Conduct">Code of Conduct</a></li> <li id="footer-places-developers"><a href="https://developer.wikimedia.org">Developers</a></li> <li id="footer-places-statslink"><a href="https://stats.wikimedia.org/#/en.wikipedia.org">Statistics</a></li> <li id="footer-places-cookiestatement"><a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Cookie_statement">Cookie statement</a></li> <li id="footer-places-mobileview"><a href="//en.m.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lineman_(gridiron_football)&mobileaction=toggle_view_mobile#Offensive_line" class="noprint stopMobileRedirectToggle">Mobile view</a></li> </ul> <ul id="footer-icons" class="noprint"> <li id="footer-copyrightico"><a href="https://wikimediafoundation.org/" class="cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--size-large cdx-button--fake-button--enabled"><img src="/static/images/footer/wikimedia-button.svg" width="84" height="29" alt="Wikimedia Foundation" loading="lazy"></a></li> <li id="footer-poweredbyico"><a href="https://www.mediawiki.org/" class="cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--size-large cdx-button--fake-button--enabled"><img src="/w/resources/assets/poweredby_mediawiki.svg" alt="Powered by MediaWiki" width="88" height="31" loading="lazy"></a></li> </ul> </footer> </div> </div> </div> <div class="vector-settings" id="p-dock-bottom"> <ul></ul> </div><script>(RLQ=window.RLQ||[]).push(function(){mw.config.set({"wgHostname":"mw-web.codfw.main-78f4c97c5d-vr2vt","wgBackendResponseTime":165,"wgPageParseReport":{"limitreport":{"cputime":"0.440","walltime":"0.616","ppvisitednodes":{"value":870,"limit":1000000},"postexpandincludesize":{"value":48404,"limit":2097152},"templateargumentsize":{"value":1962,"limit":2097152},"expansiondepth":{"value":9,"limit":100},"expensivefunctioncount":{"value":5,"limit":500},"unstrip-depth":{"value":1,"limit":20},"unstrip-size":{"value":36040,"limit":5000000},"entityaccesscount":{"value":1,"limit":400},"timingprofile":["100.00% 535.579 1 -total"," 30.20% 161.734 1 Template:Reflist"," 23.67% 126.759 4 Template:Cite_web"," 20.85% 111.662 1 Template:Short_description"," 18.75% 100.399 1 Template:American_football_positions"," 18.26% 97.810 1 Template:Navbox"," 13.23% 70.882 1 Template:More_citations_needed"," 12.15% 65.066 1 Template:Ambox"," 10.71% 57.370 3 Template:Main_other"," 10.26% 54.974 1 Template:SDcat"]},"scribunto":{"limitreport-timeusage":{"value":"0.301","limit":"10.000"},"limitreport-memusage":{"value":5953883,"limit":52428800}},"cachereport":{"origin":"mw-web.eqiad.main-565d46677b-nb7wh","timestamp":"20241128120808","ttl":2592000,"transientcontent":false}}});});</script> <script type="application/ld+json">{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"Article","name":"Lineman (gridiron football)","url":"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Lineman_(gridiron_football)#Offensive_line","sameAs":"http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q1060160","mainEntity":"http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q1060160","author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Contributors to Wikimedia projects"},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.wikimedia.org\/static\/images\/wmf-hor-googpub.png"}},"datePublished":"2003-08-29T11:14:49Z","dateModified":"2024-11-24T11:30:40Z","image":"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/a\/af\/Linemen.svg","headline":"American football player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage"}</script> </body> </html>