Man and zone coverage splits
Man coverage assigns a defender to a receiver; zone assigns him to an area. 2025 was 69.0% zone and 31.0% man league-wide, with the Broncos the most man-heavy at 44.6% and the Vikings the most zone-heavy at 81.7%.
FTN charts the coverage shell on every dropback. Man and zone are the two families; the verified data also carries the specific shells beneath them. Most defenses run both and lean one way.
Quarterbacks vs Man and Zone Coverage — 2026 leaders
| # | Player | vs Man | vs Zone | Gap | Man Comp% | Zone Comp% | Read |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jordan Love | 0.40 | 0.16 | +0.2 | 59.9% | 64.6% | Read |
| 2 | Drake Maye | 0.36 | 0.27 | +0.1 | 58.6% | 68.9% | Read |
| 3 | Dak Prescott | 0.31 | 0.09 | +0.2 | 58.6% | 67.1% | Read |
| 4 | Jared Goff | 0.27 | 0.14 | +0.1 | 57.8% | 66.6% | Read |
| 5 | Sam Darnold | 0.23 | 0.09 | +0.1 | 61.6% | 65.3% | Read |
| 6 | Bo Nix | 0.20 | 0.06 | +0.1 | 55.7% | 62.4% | Read |
| 7 | Matthew Stafford | 0.12 | 0.28 | -0.2 | 58.7% | 65.0% | Read |
| 8 | Caleb Williams | 0.11 | 0.06 | +0.1 | 53.8% | 56.2% | Read |
| 9 | Trevor Lawrence | 0.10 | 0.04 | +0.1 | 51.8% | 58.8% | Read |
| 10 | Lamar Jackson | 0.10 | -0.03 | +0.1 | 50.0% | 60.8% | Read |
Why it matters
The two coverages produce different games. Against man in 2025, quarterbacks completed 49.4% with a CPOE of -2.81; against zone they completed 59.8% at +1.97. Individual passers split hard — across 22 qualifying quarterbacks, Geno Smith of the Raiders was +0.279 expected points per dropback better against man than zone, while Patrick Mahomes of the Chiefs was -0.318. Separation-first receivers eat against man; zone beaters live in the space behind it.
The counter
Coverage tendencies shift week to week with the opponent, so a season rate is a prior, not a plan.
More football stats explained
- EPA (expected points added)
- EPA per dropback
- Success rate
- CPOE (completion percentage over expected)
- ANY/A (adjusted net yards per attempt)
- RYOE (rushing yards over expected)
- Target share
- Air yards share
- WOPR (weighted opportunity rating)
- aDOT (average depth of target)
- YAC over expected
- Separation
- Pressure rate
- Blitz rate
- PROE (pass rate over expected)
- Stacked box rate
- Half-PPR (and how it differs from full PPR)
- The usage gap (snaps versus production)
- Pythagorean wins
- Stickiness (what repeats and what does not)
- Snap share
- Pass-snap share
- YPRR (yards per route run)
- Availability (the “stayed” rate)
- Handcuff
- Play-action rate
- Pre-snap motion rate
- Drop rate
- Contested catch rate
- Interception-worthy throws
- Quarterback-fault sacks
- Intended air yards (IAY)
- Deep ball rate
- QB Composite Rating
- Screen pass rate
- No-huddle rate
- RPO rate
- Light box rate
- Throwaway rate
- Catchable throw rate
- Out-of-pocket rate
- Time to throw
- Aggressiveness
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