Wide receiver

A wide receiver (or WR, wideout) is an American football player whose main duty is to catch the football when it is thrown by the quarterback.

Wide receivers may also block, run with the football and sometimes throw the football besides just catching it. They can wear jersey numbers 10-19 and 80-89 in the National Football League, but there are no limits in college football.

An example of a typical wide receiver's positioning in an offensive formation: (L) in split end position, (R) in flanker position.

Dallas Cowboys wideout Dez Bryant makes a catch.

Wide Receiver Media

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  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

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  An example of a wide receiver's positioning in an offensive formation: split end (SE) (now wide receiver), slotback (SB), tight end (TE), wingback (WB), and flanker (FL) position

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  Wide receiver Demaryius Thomas on the Denver Broncos in 2017.

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  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