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.
Updated Jul 26, 2026
Current leaders — 2025
| # | Player | vs Man | vs Zone | Gap | Man Comp% | Zone Comp% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jordan LoveQB · GB | 0.40 | 0.16 | +0.2 | 59.9% | 64.6% |
| 2 | Drake MayeQB · NE | 0.36 | 0.27 | +0.1 | 59.0% | 68.9% |
| 3 | Dak PrescottQB · DAL | 0.30 | 0.09 | +0.2 | 58.8% | 67.1% |
| 4 | Jared GoffQB · DET | 0.27 | 0.14 | +0.1 | 57.8% | 66.6% |
| 5 | Sam DarnoldQB · SEA | 0.23 | 0.09 | +0.1 | 61.6% | 65.3% |
| 6 | Bo NixQB · DEN | 0.20 | 0.06 | +0.1 | 55.7% | 62.4% |
| 7 | Matthew StaffordQB · LAR | 0.12 | 0.28 | -0.2 | 58.7% | 65.0% |
| 8 | Caleb WilliamsQB · CHI | 0.11 | 0.06 | +0.1 | 53.8% | 56.2% |
| 9 | Trevor LawrenceQB · JAX | 0.10 | 0.04 | +0.1 | 51.8% | 58.8% |
| 10 | Lamar JacksonQB · BAL | 0.10 | -0.03 | +0.1 | 50.0% | 60.8% |
See the full quarterbacks vs man and zone coverage leaderboard — Jordan Love leads.
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.
Updated Jul 26, 2026
The counter
Coverage tendencies shift week to week with the opponent, so a season rate is a prior, not a plan.
Updated Jul 26, 2026
Hear the story behind the numbers
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