In football, there are going to be a total of twenty-two players on the field and eleven on each team. Whether it is offense, defense or special teams both teams will have eleven players on the field.
Watching football on television usually means the camera is going to be focused on whoever has the ball. This often means a large number of the players on the field are going to be out of the frame.
If a team has more than eleven players on the field they can be assessed a twelve men in the huddle penalty.
Which positions make up the twenty two players on the football field?
Now that you know that each team in football has eleven players on the field you may be wondering which positions make up those spots.
Below we are going to cover the eleven positions typically included in the starting eleven players on the offense and the defense.
Offense Starting Eleven
When it comes to the offense the starting eleven positions are going to be known to most football fans.
Two positions going to be included in just about every offense in football is the quarterback and running back. There is generally one quarterback and one running back in the starting lineup taking up two of the eleven positions.
The offensive line is going to make up a large number of the starting players on the offense. Generally speaking, the offensive line is going to feature five players. Two offensive tackles, two offensive guards and a center.
The QB, RB, and offensive line make up seven of the eleven players on the offense.
Tight end is another starting offensive position in football that lines up on the end of the offensive line. Some formations will include two tight ends but the majority of offense will feature a single tight end.
The final position which fills out the starting eleven offensive players is wide receiver. The majority of offenses are going to have three wide receivers starting on the offense.
In most cases, this is going to be two wide receivers on the sideline and one lining up in the slot.
Some teams may choose to take out one of these wide receivers and replace them with an extra tight end or fullback.
Defense Starting Eleven
On the defensive side of the ball the starting eleven can be even more confusing. Due to offensive players being more popular many football fans are not aware of all the starting positions on a defense.
Three or four of the players on the defense are going to be represented by the defensive line. Depending on whether the defense is running a four-three or a three-four formation.
A four-three formation is going to include four defensive linemen and a three-four formation is going to include three defensive lineman and four linebackers.
Typically the combination of the defensive line and the linebackers will make up seven of the starters on the offense.
The defensive line is made up of two defensive ends and one or two defensive tackles.
The linebacker position group will feature two outside linebackers and one or two middle linebackers depending on the formation.
The final four players that make up the rest of the starting eleven defenders reside in the secondary.
The secondary tends to feature four players, two of which are cornerbacks and two are safeties. The safeties are further broken down into the strong safety and free safety positions.
On some occasions, a team may run a defense with three cornerbacks instead of two. In most cases, one of the linebackers will be replaced with this extra corner.
That is all for our guide on how many players are on the football field, if you’re are looking to learn more see our guide to how many players are on a football team or how many laces are on an American football.
