What Does a Cornerback Look for on Defense?

A cornerback is a defense player whose primary job is to guard the opposing team's wide receiver. Depending on the defensive alignment, there can be as many as five cornerbacks on the field at the same time. Besides providing coverage against wide receivers, cornerbacks are responsible for providing defensive assistance against running plays.

  1. Man Coverage.

    • In the "man coverage" defensive alignment, the cornerback provides single coverage of the opposing team's wide receiver. The cornerback's single responsibly is to not allow the wide receiver to get behind him down-field.

    Over the top

    • In some "nickel" packages, so named because there are five defensive backs on the field during the play, a cornerback will provide double-coverage on a receiver. In some variations of the "over the top" defensive alignment, the cornerback will sometimes "release" his receiver and allow the safety to continue to guard the receiver.

    Zone Coverage

    • In zone coverage, a cornerback is responsible for guarding any receiver who ventures into the area of the playing field he is responsible for. Once the receiver enters a different zone, the cornerback allows a teammate to pick up the coverage.

    Run Support

    • In some defensive alignments, the cornerback is responsible for shedding the block of the receiver and moving up field to help stop the running back. When a cornerback records a high number of tackles against the run, it generally means the team has a problem among its defensive linemen.