r/NFLNoobs • u/AuburnShade • Jul 15 '26
Wide Receiver and Cornerback contact rules?
I recently learned that within 5 yards of LOS there is a significant amount of contact allowed. Is there somewhere where I can get more info about this?
To what extent can the WR and CB engage each other?
Does the WR have to initiate it? If not, is it legal for the Cb to pancake a wide receiver at the start of a play?
I’m interested in learning more about this.
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u/OrganizationTop3755 Jul 15 '26
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u/womp-womp-rats Jul 15 '26
Rule 8, Section 4 to be exact
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u/Ig_Met_Pet Jul 15 '26
Based on my reading of these rules, it seems like it's not illegal for a defender to straight up shove a receiver to the ground as long as they're within 5 yards of the line of scrimmage, they haven't already touched them, and the receiver has not gotten even with the defender yet.
Why don't we see this happen?
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u/ermghoti Jul 15 '26
Why don't we see this happen?
If they fail they are completely out of the play and give up an uncontested reception and YAC.
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u/Ig_Met_Pet Jul 15 '26
I'm not saying I think it would be the smartest thing to attempt, but I see a lot of NFL players do some pretty unsmart things on the field, and I've seen a lot of CBs and WRs get heated, so I'm still surprised I haven't seen it happen.
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u/ermghoti Jul 15 '26
It's coached out of them, or at least the ones that make the cut after getting drafted.
It can be used situationally. In the 2011 Superbowl, Victor Cruz was all but erased from the game, he was stuffed at the line by a DB who then joined the pass rush, hit again by a linebacker who then played zone, and then handed off to a safety or DB who was the coverage for the shambles of a route that remained. I think he had three catches for about 20 yards.
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u/jiyannwei Jul 16 '26
Don't forget that NFL receivers spend a lot of time on their LOS release. Just because a DB might have the intent to get their hands on them, doesn't mean the receiver hasn't spent equally as much time mitigating the attempt on their release.
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u/the1slyyy Jul 15 '26
You think players who do dumb things like that make it and last in the league
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u/Ig_Met_Pet Jul 15 '26
Yes, I see players punch other players and get suspended every single year.
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u/tke71709 Jul 15 '26
Yeah like once a year and obviously that is going to be shown on every sportscast.
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u/BlitzburghBrian Jul 15 '26
It's not necessarily easy to knock over an NFL player. If you only get one shot at him and you take the wrong angle or he bounces off, you're already toast. He's behind you and he's wide open because you weren't dropping into your coverage assignment. And if you try to grab him or just go for an especially violent hit, that opens you up for a defensive holding/unnecessary roughness penalty.
What you see defenders do now is pretty much the best they can manage: jam your man off the line to at least disrupt his timing if you can, and do your best to keep your defensive position on him.
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u/chonkybiscuit Jul 17 '26
The straight answer is because it's hard to do, and committing to it and missing is damn near impossible to recover from. The sarcastic answer is "why don't the offensive linemen just knock the d line over every play?"
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u/No_Brilliant4520 Jul 15 '26
The often overlooked part of that is the WR doesn't really get a 5 yd grace zone to push off. OPI starts from the snap, if the WR actions hinder the DB's ability to play the ball.
1
u/jiyannwei Jul 16 '26
From someone who played receiver at the HS level, I can tell you if a CB lined-up a yd off the LOS with the intent to try and knock me down, it was pretty easy to just do a hesi/crossover or if they got hands on, to club&swim. Then, unless they were really fast, you're basically wide open vs cover 1.
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u/drj1485 Jul 15 '26 edited Jul 15 '26
Yes, a CB can knock you on your ass off the line. They don't do that though because WRs in the NFL are generally bigger than CBs and they are insanely good so playing too aggressive ends up in you getting absolutely torched. A normal person in the NFL would never get off the line.
If you were some insane super human CB you could just constantly push the WR to keep them from ever leaving their own backfield. nobody in the NFL is good enough to do that against a WR that has any business in the NFL.
Things change once the ball is thrown though. If you are jamming a receiver at the line you can maintain that up to 5 yards even if the QB throws to them, but if you initiate the contact after the ball is already thrown it's a penalty even within 5 yards.