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How each defense spends its charted dropbacks: coverage-shell diet plus man/zone rate. Brighter green = higher usage. Click a column to sort.
NFL coverage tendencies for all 32 defenses: the man vs zone split and the full coverage-shell diet, from Cover 0 through quarters, as a share of each team's charted dropbacks. Sort by any coverage to find the heaviest man defenses or the most zone-reliant ones, then match receivers who beat that coverage to the defenses that live in it.
| Defense | Zone ↓ | Man | Cover 3 | Cover 2 | Cover 1 | Cover 4 | Cover 6 | 2-Man | Cover 0 | Cover 9 | Combo | Blown | Plays |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MIN | 81.5% | 18.5% | 24.4 | 36.7 | 7.7 | 12.1 | 4.0 | 5.4 | 5.4 | 3.8 | 0.4 | · | 496 |
| GB | 80.6% | 19.4% | 34.3 | 27.9 | 16.5 | 10.1 | 5.7 | 1.0 | 1.9 | 2.3 | 0.3 | · | 577 |
| LV | 79.7% | 20.3% | 37.7 | 22.1 | 13.3 | 11.7 | 5.9 | 2.5 | 4.4 | 2.1 | 0.2 | · | 562 |
| CAR | 79.2% | 20.8% | 34.1 | 22.1 | 17.8 | 14.0 | 5.8 | 0.9 | 2.1 | 3.0 | · | 0.2 | 534 |
| NO | 78.2% | 21.8% | 40.5 | 15.8 | 16.0 | 9.4 | 7.7 | 2.4 | 3.4 | 4.3 | 0.4 | · | 531 |
| LAC | 77.4% | 22.6% | 31.0 | 25.9 | 12.9 | 11.3 | 6.2 | 5.3 | 4.4 | 2.7 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 549 |
| JAX | 76% | 24% | 29.8 | 26.1 | 16.1 | 9.2 | 8.0 | 3.4 | 4.5 | 2.7 | 0.1 | · | 671 |
| SF | 75.6% | 24.4% | 32.0 | 17.1 | 20.1 | 13.9 | 8.8 | 1.7 | 2.7 | 3.2 | 0.7 | · | 603 |
| DAL | 75.4% | 24.6% | 29.3 | 25.1 | 20.6 | 12.3 | 6.2 | 0.5 | 3.5 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 593 |
| LA | 74.8% | 25.2% | 27.8 | 24.1 | 17.1 | 11.6 | 7.9 | 5.3 | 2.7 | 3.1 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 636 |
| TEN | 74.1% | 25.9% | 26.4 | 29.4 | 18.9 | 9.5 | 5.7 | 3.6 | 3.4 | 2.7 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 557 |
| MIA | 72.8% | 27.2% | 24.7 | 34.6 | 20.2 | 7.4 | 3.1 | 4.5 | 2.5 | 2.7 | 0.4 | · | 555 |
| ARI | 72% | 28% | 26.1 | 20.4 | 17.1 | 13.6 | 9.0 | 7.5 | 3.4 | 2.7 | 0.2 | · | 597 |
| SEA | 71.3% | 28.7% | 24.4 | 31.0 | 18.1 | 6.3 | 6.8 | 6.9 | 3.7 | 2.3 | 0.5 | · | 651 |
| TB | 70.8% | 29.2% | 30.7 | 21.7 | 17.7 | 11.3 | 5.3 | 6.3 | 5.1 | 1.3 | 0.5 | · | 603 |
| WAS | 69.5% | 30.5% | 24.7 | 19.2 | 24.2 | 15.4 | 5.5 | 3.4 | 2.9 | 3.6 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 583 |
| BUF | 69.1% | 30.9% | 22.6 | 25.5 | 17.0 | 11.3 | 6.3 | 10.3 | 3.6 | 3.0 | 0.4 | · | 505 |
| NE | 68.6% | 31.4% | 29.2 | 26.5 | 26.3 | 9.3 | 2.3 | 1.8 | 3.2 | 0.9 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 558 |
| BAL | 67.9% | 32.1% | 31.4 | 18.9 | 24.2 | 7.3 | 5.9 | 1.8 | 6.1 | 3.7 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 657 |
| HOU | 67.9% | 32.1% | 21.4 | 22.8 | 29.1 | 12.6 | 7.5 | 1.2 | 1.9 | 3.1 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 588 |
| ATL | 67.5% | 32.5% | 25.4 | 15.6 | 28.0 | 16.1 | 5.6 | 2.2 | 2.4 | 3.9 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 590 |
| CIN | 64.8% | 35.2% | 32.7 | 20.1 | 24.7 | 3.3 | 5.1 | 4.2 | 6.3 | 3.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 571 |
| PIT | 64.6% | 35.4% | 29.0 | 20.7 | 24.1 | 9.1 | 3.9 | 7.1 | 4.2 | 1.7 | 0.2 | · | 661 |
| IND | 63.6% | 36.4% | 26.4 | 23.6 | 23.5 | 7.7 | 3.0 | 6.9 | 6.0 | 2.0 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 664 |
| KC | 63.3% | 36.7% | 20.2 | 25.7 | 22.0 | 11.9 | 3.7 | 7.0 | 7.7 | 1.5 | · | 0.4 | 545 |
| NYJ | 60% | 40% | 23.2 | 25.5 | 28.0 | 6.8 | 2.0 | 6.5 | 5.5 | 1.8 | · | 0.6 | 542 |
| NYG | 59.9% | 40.1% | 25.3 | 15.1 | 30.4 | 14.9 | 2.5 | 5.8 | 3.9 | 1.9 | 0.2 | · | 589 |
| DET | 59.1% | 40.9% | 28.1 | 17.7 | 28.6 | 7.2 | 4.1 | 10.0 | 2.3 | 1.6 | · | 0.3 | 609 |
| CLE | 58.9% | 41.1% | 27.4 | 19.4 | 34.6 | 6.3 | 3.5 | 2.2 | 4.3 | 1.9 | 0.4 | · | 540 |
| CHI | 57.9% | 42.1% | 22.8 | 25.3 | 30.9 | 4.4 | 3.3 | 6.3 | 4.9 | 1.8 | 0.4 | · | 570 |
| PHI | 57.2% | 42.8% | 22.5 | 18.2 | 34.4 | 6.9 | 6.0 | 5.3 | 3.1 | 2.6 | 1.0 | · | 582 |
| DEN | 55.2% | 44.8% | 22.9 | 16.4 | 31.2 | 8.4 | 4.4 | 7.0 | 6.7 | 2.1 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 658 |
Values are the % of a defense's charted dropbacks in each coverage shell (rows sum to ~100). Man/Zone is the split of plays the charter tagged man vs zone. Source: nflverse participation charting joined to play-by-play; ~half of dropbacks are charted, so treat these as tendencies, not exact play-calls. 2025 regular season.
Sort the grid by the Man column and the defenses that live in man coverage rise to the top, with the exact share of their charted dropbacks. Sorting by Zone or by a specific shell such as Cover 3 answers the same question for any coverage type.
Receivers win differently against different coverages. A separator who beats press thrives on man-heavy defenses, while a zone-beater who finds soft spots profiles better against zone teams. Matching a receiver's strength to the defense's coverage diet sharpens receptions and yardage prop reads.
From nflverse participation charting joined to official play-by-play. Roughly half of all dropbacks get charted, so the percentages describe tendencies rather than exact play calls. Each row shows the number of charted plays behind it so you can judge the sample.
The grid rebuilds when the charting feed publishes, typically within a few days of games. Early in a season the prior year is the fuller sample; the season toggle lets you compare both before trusting a tendency.