A starting football team has 22 jobs on the field at once: 11 on offense, 11 on defense. All 22 Football takes that alignment literally and turns it into a draft board. You fill every job with one Pokémon, and the grader scores each slot on its own mix of base stats, body type and typing. That is why a legendary with the wrong physique loses to an ordinary body that fits the job, and why learning the position map is worth more than learning the dex.
Why the board has exactly these 22 jobs
The 22 slots are the 22 players standing on the field before the snap, nothing more and nothing less. That means five offensive line jobs rather than one, four defensive back jobs rather than two, and two edge jobs on defense. Each duplicate exists because the real formation has two of them doing slightly different work, and the grader reflects that with different typing bonuses instead of different stat weights.
- Offense (11): QB, RB, WR1, WR2, TE, LT, LG, C, RG, RT, K.
- Defense (11): LE, DT1, DT2, RE, LOLB, MLB, ROLB, CB1, CB2, FS, SS.
- The five line jobs split the pocket into two edge tackles, two interior guards and a center who makes the protection calls.
- The two receiver jobs grade the same stats but reward different types — WR1 gets the psychic bonus, WR2 gets ice.
- The two corner jobs mirror that split on defense, and the two outside linebacker jobs do the same: left wants fighting, ground or poison, right wants dark, poison or fighting.
Every slot at a glance
This is the full board in one table. The grades column is the short version of each formula, and the example column is the highest-grading body in the pool at that slot. Several bodies top more than one job — Avalugg leads all five line slots and Zeraora leads both receiver slots — so the same name appears in more than one row, and on a real 22-name board every body fills exactly one job.
| Slot | Also called | What it grades | Example pick |
|---|---|---|---|
| QB | Quarterback, pocket passer | Sp. attack 45, speed 20, attack 15; 1.5-2.1 m, 40-130 kg | Deoxys Normal — 68 |
| RB | Halfback (the hb football position), tailback | Speed 45, attack 30, hp 15; 0.8-1.5 m, 25-80 kg | Annihilape — 66 |
| WR1 | Split end, X receiver | Speed 50, sp. attack 25, attack 15; 1.0-1.7 m, 20-70 kg | Zeraora — 72 |
| WR2 | Flanker, Z receiver, slot | Same as WR1, with ice typing rewarded instead of psychic | Kilowattrel — 67 |
| TE | Tight end, Y, H-back, the modern fb football position | Attack 35, sp. defense 25, hp 20; 1.4-2.1 m, 60-220 kg | Slaking — 65 |
| LT | Left tackle, blind-side tackle | Defense 35, hp 30, attack 20; 1.6-2.4 m, 120-960 kg | Avalugg — 74 |
| LG | Left guard | Defense 35, hp 30, attack 20; 1.6-2.4 m, 120-960 kg | Aggron — 66 |
| C | Center, the protection caller | Defense 40, hp 30, sp. attack 15; 1.5-2.3 m, 110-960 kg | Iron Hands — 65 |
| RG | Right guard | Defense 35, hp 30, attack 20; 1.6-2.4 m, 120-960 kg | Snorlax — 65 |
| RT | Right tackle | Defense 35, hp 30, attack 20; 1.6-2.4 m, 120-960 kg | Hippowdon — 64 |
| K | Kicker, placekicker | Hp 35, defense 30, sp. defense 20; 0.3-1.0 m, 3-45 kg | Marshadow — 62 |
| LE | Left edge, defensive end, edge rusher | Attack 40, speed 25, defense 20; 1.4-2.1 m, 80-300 kg | Volcanion — 67 |
| DT1 | Defensive tackle, three-technique | Defense 40, hp 30, attack 20; 1.6-2.6 m, 150-960 kg | Aggron — 71 |
| DT2 | Nose tackle (the nt football position), 0-technique | Defense 40, hp 30, attack 20; 1.6-2.6 m, 150-960 kg | Great Tusk — 65 |
| RE | Right edge, rush end | Attack 40, speed 25, defense 20; 1.4-2.1 m, 80-300 kg | Crabominable — 65 |
| LOLB | Left outside linebacker (olb football), Sam | Attack 35, defense 30, speed 20; 1.2-1.9 m, 60-190 kg | Iron Leaves — 68 |
| MLB | Middle linebacker, Mike | Defense 35, attack 30, hp 20; 1.2-1.9 m, 60-210 kg | Cloyster — 70 |
| ROLB | Right outside linebacker (olb football), Will | Attack 35, defense 30, speed 20; 1.2-1.9 m, 60-190 kg | Machamp — 65 |
| CB1 | Cornerback, lockdown corner | Speed 50, sp. defense 25, hp 15; 0.8-1.5 m, 20-70 kg | Ogerpon — 64 |
| CB2 | Field corner, nickel corner | Same as CB1, with ice typing rewarded | Sneasler — 63 |
| FS | Free safety, center fielder | Speed 40, attack 25, sp. defense 20; 1.0-1.8 m, 30-110 kg | Tornadus Incarnate — 65 |
| SS | Strong safety, box safety | Speed 35, attack 30, sp. defense 20; 1.0-1.9 m, 40-130 kg | Genesect — 66 |
Offense: what each job does on a snap
Quarterback and running back
The quarterback takes the snap, reads the leverage of the linebackers, and either delivers the ball or hands it off. That job is the only one on the board that reads sp. attack first at 45 percent, which is why the pool's best quarterback is a 150-sp. attack body rather than a big arm. Deoxys Normal grades 68, Sharpedo 66 and Incineroar 64, and the size band is forgiving at 1.5-2.1 m and 40-130 kg — a sack-avoiding scrambler with 150 speed is worth more than a statue with the same arm. The running back job, still listed as the hb football position on old depth charts, flips the formula: speed 45 percent and attack 30 percent, with hp and defense covering short yardage and pass protection. Annihilape grades 66 and Infernape 65, both around 1.2 m and 55 kg, right in the middle of a 25-80 kg band.
The two receivers and the tight end
WR1 and WR2 are the fastest jobs on the board: speed carries half the grade, and the body band of 1.0-1.7 m and 20-70 kg rules out every heavyweight in the dex no matter how fast it is. Zeraora is the perfect receiver build at 143 speed, 44.5 kg and 1.5 m, topping the slot at 72, with Kilowattrel at 67 and Keldeo Ordinary at 66 behind it. The tight end slot wants the opposite body: attack 35 percent and sp. defense 25 percent on a 1.4-2.1 m, 60-220 kg frame, because a tight end has to block an edge rusher and then release into the middle on the same play. Slaking takes it at 65 on the strength of 160 attack and 150 hp at 130.5 kg, with Druddigon and Lickilicky one point back.
The five offensive line jobs
LT, LG, C, RG and RT all read defense and hp first, and all five accept bodies from 120 kg to 960 kg. The subtle difference is center: it shifts 5 percent off hp and puts 15 percent on sp. attack, so a smart, balanced anchor beats a pure mauler there. Avalugg is the best lineman in the game at 74 on the strength of 184 defense at 505 kg, and it also grades 72 at center and 73 at defensive tackle — but it can only fill one slot. After Avalugg the list thins fast: Aggron 66, Snorlax 65, Iron Hands 65 at center, Metagross and Hippowdon 64, Roaring Moon 62 and Great Tusk 61, and by the tenth-best lineman you are at a 60.
Kicker
The kicker is the strangest formula on the board: hp 35 percent, defense 30 percent, sp. defense 20 percent and speed 15 percent on a body between 0.3 m and 1.0 m and 3-45 kg. It rewards the small, sturdy, high-defense body that every other job rejects. Marshadow grades 62, Shuckle 61, Toxapex 58, and by the tenth-best kicker the market is down to 54. Size dominates the slot: Melmetal's 2.5 m, 800 kg frame is a 62 at defensive tackle and a 40 at kicker.
Defense: what each job does on a snap
The four down linemen
LE and RE are the speed-and-power jobs of the defense — attack 40 percent and speed 25 percent on an 80-300 kg frame — and they rush the passer from opposite edges. Volcanion tops the left side at 67, Crabominable the right at 65, and Chien-Pao grades 63 on either side as a pure speed rusher at 135 speed. DT1 and DT2 are pure mass: defense 40 percent and hp 30 percent on a 150-960 kg body. Aggron grades 71 at the three-technique and Great Tusk 65 at the nose, where the job is to absorb a double team so the linebackers stay clean.
The three linebackers
The outside linebacker job — olb football, if you are searching for it — reads attack 35 percent, defense 30 percent and speed 20 percent on a 1.2-1.9 m frame: big enough to set the edge, fast enough to run down a ball carrier. Iron Leaves grades 68 on the left, Machamp 65 on the right, and the two jobs reward different types, so the same body can be two or three points better on one side. The middle linebacker flips the order to defense 35 and attack 30 with 20 percent hp. Cloyster's 180 defense at 132.5 kg makes it the best Mike in the pool at 70.
The four defensive backs
CB1 and CB2 grade speed at 50 percent and sp. defense at 25 percent on a 0.8-1.5 m, 20-70 kg body, and they travel with the offense's two outside receivers. Ogerpon leads the corner market at 64 and Sneasler follows at 63, which makes cornerback the one unit with no elite tier at all: nothing in the pool clears 65 there. The safeties are hybrids. Free safety reads speed 40 percent and attack 25 percent on a 30-110 kg frame and plays deep, where Tornadus Incarnate and Landorus Incarnate both grade 65. Strong safety shifts weight onto attack and hp on a 40-130 kg body, and Genesect's 120 attack at 82.5 kg takes it at 66.
The four position names people search for
Four old-school position names show up constantly in football writing and never appear as a slot label on the board. Here is where each one lives in All 22 Football.
OLB football: outside linebacker
A real outside linebacker is either the Sam on the strong side or the Will on the weak side. The board splits that job into LOLB and ROLB, both grading attack, defense and speed on a 60-190 kg frame, with different typing bonuses so the two slots read the pool differently.
HB football position: halfback
Halfback is the older name for the running back, and it maps straight onto the RB slot: speed 45 percent, attack 30 percent, hp 15 percent and defense 10 percent, on a 0.8-1.5 m, 25-80 kg body. Annihilape (66) and Infernape (65) are the two best fits.
FB football position: fullback
There is no fullback slot among the 22. A fullback's short-yardage runs and pass protection live in the RB and TE jobs, so if you want that player type, look for a heavy body with attack and hp that still fits the tight end band of 1.4-2.1 m and 60-220 kg.
NT football position: nose tackle
The nose tackle is not a separate slot either — it is the DT2 job, aligned over the center and graded on defense and hp with the heaviest weight band in the game at 150-960 kg. In a 3-4 front the same body type can take DT1.
Realistic fallbacks: the second-best body at every slot
In a snake draft you will not get the top name at every job, so the number that matters at each slot is the gap to the next option. Most jobs cost one or two points to fill with the second-best body; a few cost a cliff. The table below shows the best fit and the next body at all 22 jobs, with the size of the drop.
| Slot | Best fit | Grade | Next best | Grade | Drop |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| QB | Deoxys Normal | 68 | Sharpedo | 66 | 2 |
| RB | Annihilape | 66 | Infernape | 65 | 1 |
| WR1 | Zeraora | 72 | Kilowattrel | 67 | 5 |
| WR2 | Zeraora | 72 | Kilowattrel | 67 | 5 |
| TE | Slaking | 65 | Druddigon | 64 | 1 |
| LT | Avalugg | 74 | Aggron | 66 | 8 |
| LG | Avalugg | 74 | Aggron | 66 | 8 |
| C | Avalugg | 72 | Iron Hands | 65 | 7 |
| RG | Avalugg | 74 | Aggron | 66 | 8 |
| RT | Avalugg | 74 | Aggron | 66 | 8 |
| K | Marshadow | 62 | Shuckle | 61 | 1 |
| LE | Volcanion | 67 | Crabominable | 65 | 2 |
| DT1 | Avalugg | 73 | Aggron | 71 | 2 |
| DT2 | Avalugg | 73 | Aggron | 71 | 2 |
| RE | Crabominable | 65 | Dracozolt | 64 | 1 |
| LOLB | Iron Leaves | 68 | Cloyster | 67 | 1 |
| MLB | Cloyster | 70 | Iron Leaves | 65 | 5 |
| ROLB | Iron Leaves | 68 | Cloyster | 67 | 1 |
| CB1 | Ogerpon | 64 | Sneasler | 63 | 1 |
| CB2 | Ogerpon | 64 | Sneasler | 63 | 1 |
| FS | Landorus Incarnate | 65 | Tornadus Incarnate | 65 | 0 |
| SS | Genesect | 66 | Cresselia | 64 | 2 |
Two warnings hide in that table. First, the fallbacks are not independent: Iron Leaves, Cloyster and Machamp are the options at all three linebacker jobs, so three jobs share a three-body pool and one of them will be filled below 65. Second, Avalugg is the cliff. No other body is within eight points of it at left tackle, so if it is gone, your line has to be rebuilt around Aggron, Snorlax and Hippowdon instead of around one star.
What a position grade actually measures
Every one of the 22 grades is assembled the same way: 62 percent base stats, 28 percent body type and 10 percent typing. The stat part reads only the stats listed for that job, each divided by 180 first, so any base stat at 180 or above counts as a perfect mark. The body part compares height (45 percent of the term) and weight (55 percent) against the position's band and peaks in the middle of it, which is why a body at either extreme loses points even inside the range. The typing part starts at 50 and moves: a primary type on the bonus list adds 22, a secondary adds 10, a primary type on the penalty list costs 26 and a secondary costs 12. Because typing is only a tenth of the total, that swing is worth roughly two or three grade points — normally a tiebreaker, occasionally the whole difference at a job like ROLB where the two best bodies sit one point apart.
Worked example: Zeraora at WR1. Speed 143 is 143/180 of a perfect mark and speed is half the weight, so it contributes 0.40; sp. attack 102 at 25 percent adds 0.14, attack 112 at 15 percent adds 0.09 and hp 88 at 10 percent adds 0.05, for a stat term of 68. Its 1.5 m and 44.5 kg sit near the middle of both bands, so the size term scores 80, and electric typing lands on the WR1 bonus list for a typing term of 72. Blend the three — 68, 80 and 72 — and the grade rounds to 72. Check any body the same way on the roster builder.
How to use the position map on draft night
- Pick the slot first, the body second. Choose the job you need, then take the best-graded available body for it — the pool re-sorts itself for every position.
- Check the size band before the stat line. Body type is 28 percent of the grade, so a body outside the band loses points no matter how good its stats are.
- Read typing as free points. When two bodies grade within a point, the one whose types sit on the slot's bonus list is the better starter.
- Spend the heavy jobs early. Seven slots accept 120 kg or more and the pool runs out of giants long before it runs out of skill players.
- Grade units, not stars. Your team rating averages the 11 offensive and 11 defensive slots, so one 74 next to a 45 is worth less than two 65s.
When you are ready to test it, open the <a href="/builder/">all-22 roster builder</a> and fill the board: grades update as you go and the season simulator starts once all 22 jobs are staffed. If you want a target to beat, the <a href="/best-lineup/">highest-grading all-22 lineup</a> on the site scores 66.4 overall and never drops below 62 at any slot.