Skip to content

Sport hub · 28 guides · 4 calculators

American football positions, statistics and simulation

American football is a game of specialists: eleven players a side, separate units for offence, defence and special teams, and a quarterback who handles the ball on nearly every offensive play. That structure is why depth charts, positional value and clock management matter as much as any single rating, and it is what these guides explain. (In these hubs, “football” on its own means the American game; association football has its own hub under soccer.)

Two of our apps approach it from opposite sides of the building. Football Franchise GM League has you draft a full roster position by position and simulate the season, with Franchise and GM modes for the longer run. Football Career Sim 2026 puts you behind centre for one quarterback’s career, from youth football through the combine and the draft to a starting job. The guides explain the real game first, then what a simulator does with it.

Our American football apps

Football Franchise GM League is the general manager’s view: fill every slot under the draft rules you pick — unlimited, limited with no refreshes, salary cap or playoff mode — then let the season simulator judge the roster. Football Career Sim 2026 is the quarterback’s view: read the defence, choose the target, call audibles and manage the clock while your coach’s trust and the depth chart respond. If you like building rosters, start with the GM game; if you would rather play the position, start with the career sim.

Where to start

  • Know what each position is for

    The positions guide explains what every slot contributes and what each one is worth on a draft board, and the quarterback archetypes guide covers the position that handles the ball on nearly every offensive play.

  • Learn the number the league uses for passers

    Passer rating has been the NFL’s official way of rating passers since 1973. It is built from completion rate, yards per attempt, touchdowns and interceptions, and the passer rating calculator shows each of the four components so you can see what is driving a number.

  • Then play the situations

    Reading a defence and managing the last two minutes are where a quarterback career is won or lost; depth charts, draft order and the draft board are where a franchise is.

Start here

Rules and how the sport works

Statistics and what they measure

Strategy, tactics and team-building

Getting more from the simulators

Guides for any sport

These use our American football apps as the example, but the ideas apply to every sport. More are collected on the sports index.

Calculators

Good to know

American football: common questions

What is the difference between Football Franchise GM League and Football Career Sim 2026?
Football Franchise GM League is a draft and general-manager game: you draft a roster position by position, the season simulator decides how it holds up, and Franchise Mode and GM Mode extend control to the wider organisation. Football Career Sim 2026 is a career simulator built around one quarterback, from youth football and high school through college, the combine and the draft to professional seasons.
Why is a perfect passer rating 158.3?
Each of the formula’s four components is capped at 2.375. Four capped components, divided by six and multiplied by 100, come to 158.3. The NFL’s own worked example — a season of 343 completions in 502 attempts for 4,643 yards, 45 touchdowns and six interceptions — rates 122.5.
What position do you play in Football Career Sim 2026?
A quarterback. You choose the throwing hand, appearance, archetype — pocket passer, scrambler, field general or dual-threat — and ratings such as throw power, accuracy, awareness and speed, then take the player from youth football to the professional draft.
Where should a newcomer to these guides start?
With football positions explained for drafting and the football draft simulator guide, then reading a defence and clock management in the final two minutes.
Sports indexSports calculatorsAll sports apps