Fullback (gridiron football)

A fullback (FB) is a position in the offensive backfield in gridiron football and is one of the two running back positions along with the halfback. Fullbacks are typically larger than halfbacks, and, in most offensive schemes, the fullback's duties are split among power running, pass catching, and blocking for both the quarterback and the other running back.^[1]

Many great runners in the history of American football have been fullbacks, including Jim Brown, Marion Motley, Bronko Nagurski, Jim Taylor, Franco Harris, Larry Csonka, John Riggins, Christian Okoye, and Levi Jackson. However, many of these runners would retroactively be labeled as halfbacks, due to their position as the primary ball carrier; they were primarily listed as fullbacks due to their size and did not often perform the run blocking duties expected of modern fullbacks. Examples of players who have excelled at the hybrid running–blocking–pass catching role include Vonta Leach, Mike Alstott, William Henderson, Daryl Johnston, Kyle Juszczyk, John Kuhn, Le'Ron McClain, Lorenzo Neal, Marcel Reece, Larry Centers and Tom Rathman.

The fullback role has seen a decline in the 2010s with the rise of singleback positions. A small number of running backs are listed as fullbacks, especially if their primary role is that of a blocking back.

In the days before two platoons, the fullback was usually the team's punter and drop kicker.^[2] When, at the beginning of the 20th century, a penalty was introduced for hitting the opposing kicker after a kick, the foul was at first called "running into the fullback", in as much as the deepest back usually did the kicking.^[3]

Before the emergence of the T-formation in the 1940s, most teams used four offensive backs, lined up behind the offensive line, on every play: a quarterback, two halfbacks, and a fullback. The quarterback began each play a quarter of the way "back" behind the offensive line, the halfbacks began each play side by side and halfway "back" behind the offensive line, and the fullback began each play the farthest "back" behind the offensive line.

As the game evolved and alternate formations came in and went out of fashion, halfbacks (reduced to typically just one rather than two) emerged as the offensive backs most likely to run the ball. "Halfback" came to be synonymous with "running back". Formations began to favor placing the fullback—the back most entrusted with blocking for the running back—closer to the line of scrimmage than the running back. These blocking backs retained the name "fullback" even though they were closer to the offensive line than the halfback. The term "halfback" declined in usage, replaced variously with the more descriptive term "tailback" or the generic term "running back". The term "fullback" is eventually used specifically for blocking backs.

Fullbacks in modern football are usually lined up behind the quarterback (directly behind in formations like the standard I-formation or offset to either side of the quarterback in formations like the strong I, where they line up on the side with the tight end, or in the weak I where they line up on the side of the formation without the tight end), though with the rise of shotgun and pistol formations, they sometimes line up next to or in front of the quarterbacks in these formations. When fullbacks are used in pistol formations, they are often lined up next to the quarterback on either side while the running back lines up directly behind the quarterback. In shotgun formations, they are sometimes placed nearer to the offensive line if used as blockers or next to the quarterback where they line up parallel to the running back, who will line up parallel to the fullback on the other side of the quarterback either slightly in front or behind the quarterback. Fullbacks are less used in contemporary football, with this mainly being due to the increased relying on the pass game and the increased usage of personnel groupings that use only one back at a time.

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Fullbacks are typically known less for speed and agility and more for muscularity and the ability to shed tackles. In 2010s NFL, fullbacks, while occasionally deployed as ball carriers, are often primarily a lead blocker to allow running backs to get to the secondary of the opposing team's defense. In the early 2000s, many NFL teams used blocking fullbacks, such as Tony Richardson, Vonta Leach, and Lorenzo Neal, with great success. These backs cleared the way for some of the decade's great running backs. Later on, some teams have phased the fullback position out of their offense altogether, with those teams either all but eschewing the I-formation, or instead utilizing either a tight end, H-back, or backup running-back in the role.

Active fullbacks in the NFL as of 2024 include C. J. Ham, Patrick Ricard, Michael Burton, Alec Ingold, Kyle Juszczyk, Keith Smith, Reggie Gilliam, Hunter Luepke, Khari Blasingame, Andrew Beck, Troy Hairston, Adam Prentice, Nick Bawden, Ben Mason, and Jakob Johnson.

In the contemporary NFL, there are an increased number of teams who use players who also play other positions as their primary fullbacks. "Tweener" running backs (halfbacks) who are usually heavier than the typical halfback but lighter than the pro-typical fullback, tight ends who are proficient run blockers who can handle the responsibilities of lead-blocking on run plays, and offensive linemen and interior defensive lineman are all kinds of players who are also used as fullbacks in the modern NFL. Notable active players who are and/or have been commonly used as fullbacks while also often playing another position as of 2024 include Carson Steele (running back), British Brooks (running back), Scott Matlock (defensive lineman), Nick Bellore (inside linebacker), Vita Vea (nose tackle), Ko Kieft (tight end), Brock Wright (tight end), and Connor Heyward (tight end). Patrick Ricard was another example of this kind of player earlier in his career as he was both a defensive end and fullback, but by the 2021 season he stopped regularly playing on defense.

In spite of their usually infrequent carries, some fullbacks have led their teams in rushing – among the most notable ones were Le'Ron McClain who was the rushing leader for the Baltimore Ravens in 2008 and Tony Richardson who led the Kansas City Chiefs in rushing in 2000. In 2010, Peyton Hillis led the Cleveland Browns in rushing yards with 1,177 yards as a fullback before being converted into a halfback.

Although technically running backs, typically fullbacks are primarily valued for their blocking in most 21st century offenses. The most common and simple runs—the dive and the blast—both employ the fullback as the primary blocker for the halfback. In the flexbone formation, however, the fullback (sometimes referred to as the B-back) can often be used as the primary rushing threat.

In many other offensive schemes, the fullback is used as a receiver, especially when the defense blitzes. In selected plays, some teams will have a lineman report as an eligible receiver to line up as a fullback ("Jumbo" or "Heavy Jumbo") or as a tight end in a "Miami" package in goal-line formations. Players who have been frequently used as situational fullbacks include Haloti Ngata, Dontari Poe, Jared Allen while with the Kansas City Chiefs, Richard Seymour while with the New England Patriots, and Isaac Sopoaga while with the San Francisco 49ers, while Dan Klecko and Nikita Whitlock have played both as a defensive tackle and fullback. Defensive tackle William "The Refrigerator" Perry scored a touchdown in Super Bowl XX from the fullback position.

Most teams in the NFL do not have a substitute fullback in their depth charts. The role can be filled by backup or number three or four tight ends or bigger and less-frequently-used running backs. Occasionally, defensive tackles have been used in the fullback position (famous examples include William "The Refrigerator" Perry and Kyle Williams); this is most commonly used in goal-line situations, where the defensive tackle's size and ability to penetrate a wall of players becomes an advantage. In modern offenses, fullbacks in an I-formation can be motioned into a 2-TE formation or H-back formation, making a running back or tight end fairly well suited to the role.

The fullback position is also used in Canadian football. Unlike in professional American football, where teams keeping multiple fullbacks on the same roster is rare, many professional Canadian teams roster multiple fullbacks on their official rosters.

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