Defensive Formation Names

A defensive formation is a specific arrangement of defensive players on the field. Knowing the names of these formations helps players and coaches quickly communicate and align on strategies. Let’s examine two common naming conventions for defensive formations.

Coverage Scheme

Cover [# of Safeties (S)]
Example: Cover 2

Common in smaller formats like 5s. The # represents the number of safeties in deep coverage.

(Need a reminder about defensive positions? Check out our article here.)

Since coverage scheme names only describe the number of safeties, the formation of the remaining defensive players remains unclear. For example, both formations below are considered Cover 2.

An alternative naming convention describes the formation of all the defensive players.

Positional Formation

[# of Rushers (RSH)/Defensive Line (DL)] - [# of Cornerbacks (CB)/Linebackers (LB)] - [# of Safeties (S)]
Example: 2-4-2

More common in larger formats like 8s. You might see the first number dropped in 5s formats where only 1 rusher is allowed resulting in:

[# of Cornerbacks (CB)/Linebackers (LB)] - [# of Safeties (S)]
Example: 2-2

We’ll dive deeper into these specific defensive formations in a future article.