What Is an Eligible Receiver in Football?

The eligible receivers are the running backs and any player in the backfield, the tight ends, the wide receivers, and specifically the two players lined up on the ends of the line of scrimmage. The quarterback is also eligible once the ball has been handed off or if a pass is tipped. In total, five offensive players are eligible on any given passing play, while the interior linemen are not.

The five interior offensive linemen — the center, both guards, and the players not on the end of the line — are ineligible so that the offense cannot disguise blockers as receivers and gain an unfair advantage downfield. They typically wear numbers 50-79, which flags them as ineligible to officials. Their job is to block, and they may not catch a forward pass or move more than one yard downfield before a pass is thrown.

Yes, by reporting as eligible to the referee before the snap. On 'tackle-eligible' or reported-eligible plays, a lineman wearing an ineligible number tells the official he is eligible for that play, the referee announces it to the defense, and he can then legally catch a pass. He must still line up in a legal position. Once the play is over, he reverts to ineligible unless he reports again.

A player who would normally be eligible on the end of the line becomes ineligible — 'covered up' — if another eligible receiver lines up outside him on the same side at the line of scrimmage. Only the outermost player on the line is eligible on each end. This is a common pre-snap trap: a receiver split wide can accidentally cover the tight end next to him, making the tight end ineligible.

If an ineligible player, such as an interior lineman, catches or touches a forward pass, it is a penalty for illegal touching. Separately, if an ineligible player moves more than one yard past the line of scrimmage before the quarterback throws, it is 'ineligible receiver downfield,' a 5-yard penalty. Both rules stop the offense from using blockers as extra pass targets or masking run-pass intentions.

The offense must have exactly seven players on the line of scrimmage at the snap. Only the two on the ends of that line are eligible receivers; the five inside them are not. The remaining four players line up in the backfield and are eligible. Getting this count wrong — too few on the line, or an eligible player covering another — is an illegal formation penalty.

The quarterback is eligible, but usually only becomes a pass target after handing the ball off, on a trick play, or if a pass is tipped and comes back to him. On a standard drop-back the quarterback is the passer, not a receiver. Plays like a [play-action](/play-action-explained/) fake followed by a throwback to the quarterback rely on his eligibility.