A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense, WR gets its name from the player being split out "wide", farthest away from the rest of the offensive formation.
Calvin Johnson (pictured here during his college tenure at Georgia Tech), a three-time All-Pro and six-time Pro Bowl receiver who starred for the Detroit Lions
An Air Force Falcons wide receiver (foreground) lines up close to the sideline while the linemen and backs (background) line up near midfield before a snap during a 2023 game.
Don Hutson was a two-time NFL Most Valuable Player and member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame who played his entire career with the Green Bay Packers
American football positions
In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitutions", meaning that they may change any number of players during any "dead ball" situation. This has resulted in the development of three task-specific "platoons" of players within any single team: the offense, the defense, and "special teams". Within these three separate "platoons", various positions exist depending on the jobs that the players are doing.
The offensive line (on left, in orange jerseys) consists of a center (with ball in hand ready to snap) with two guards on either side, and two tackles.
A wide receiver (No. 87, in white) begins a play in the flanker position
The four defensive linemen (in red) have their hands on the ground in a "three point stance"
This defense (in white) is in a base 4–3 set. Just behind the four defensive linemen (whose hands are on the ground) are three linebackers (Nos. 55, 3 and 16), and further back are two safeties (numbers 24 and 44). The two cornerbacks are off screen to the left and right.