NICKELBACK (AMERICAN FOOTBALL)

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In American football, a 'nickelback' is a cornerback who serves as the fifth, instead of the typical four defensive backs on the defense. A base defense contains four defensive backs, two cornerbacks, the free safety and the strong safety. Adding an extra back makes five, hence the term "nickel". Usually the nickelback will take the place of a linebacker, so if the team was in a 4-3 formation, there would now be four linemen, only two linebackers and five defensive backs creating a 4-2-5 formation. However, some teams will replace a lineman rather than a linebacker, creating a three linemen, three linebacker and five defensive back alignment, a 3-3-5 formation. If an offensive team always uses three or more wide receivers, a defense may turn to a nickel defense for their base package on most plays. Usually extra defensive backs, such as a nickelback, are substituted into the defense in situations where the opposing offense is likely to attempt a forward pass, such as 3rd-and-long, or when extra receivers are substituted into the opposing offense.
The nickelback is the third cornerback on the depth chart. The nicklelback is not considered a starting position. While the starting formation for a defense has only two cornerbacks. Defensive formations with three or more cornerbacks are used often enough that a nickelback will usually see moderate playing time as well as subbing in for the starting corners.
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