Average Height & Weight of NFL Players (By Position 2023)
I’ve been a collegiate sports performance coach for 20 years. One thing I always felt was effective was showing guys the heights and weights of players at their position in the NFL.
It helped give many players the extra motivation needed to gain weight when they were able to compare themselves to guys at the next level. Sometimes it was even a stark reality check for, say, defensive backs who thought 175 pounds was ‘about average’ to play in the NFL.
So, this is essentially the same research I would share with players, but now I’m sharing it with you. I took 53-man active rosters for the 2023 season (just after final cuts at the end of preseason), almost 1700 players total and broke them down by position.
For this guide, I took an average of the heights and weights of each position group across the league.
In addition, just for fun, I listed the tallest, shortest, heaviest and lightest players as well regardless of position. Go ahead and impress someone today with your newfound random football knowledge.
Average Height of an NFL Football Player
The average height of an NFL football player is 74.18 inches (just under 6’2 1/4″).
| NFL Average Height By Position (2023) | ||
| Position | Height (in inches) | Height (Feet/Inches*) |
| Overall | 74.18 | 6’2 1/4″ |
| Quarterback | 74.61 | 6’2 1/2″ |
| Running Back | 70.66 | 5’10 3/4″ |
| Wide Receiver | 72.58 | 6’0 1/2″ |
| Tight End | 76.56 | 6’4 1/2″ |
| Tackle | 77.64 | 6’5 3/4″ |
| Guard | 76.36 | 6’4 1/4″ |
| Center | 75.72 | 6’3 3/4″ |
| Defensive Tackle | 75.3 | 6’3 1/4″ |
| Defensive End | 76.15 | 6’4 1/4″ |
| Linebacker | 74.26 | 6’2 1/4″ |
| Cornerback | 71.88 | 6’0″ |
| Safety | 72.16 | 6’0 1/4″ |
Average Weight of an NFL Football Player
The average weight of an NFL football player is 244.56 pounds.
| NFL Average Weight By Position (2023) | |
| Position | Weight (in pounds) |
| Overall | 244.56 |
| Quarterback | 219.03 |
| Running Back | 213.17 |
| Wide Receiver | 199.55 |
| Tight End | 248.68 |
| Tackle | 316.61 |
| Guard | 315.83 |
| Center | 308.09 |
| Defensive Tackle | 309.57 |
| Defensive End | 273.86 |
| Linebacker | 240.91 |
| Cornerback | 193.56 |
| Safety | 203.61 |
Who are the Tallest Players in the NFL?
There are 16 players in the NFL who are listed at 6’8″, but the tallest is Caleb Jones who stands at 6’9″.
These players consist of 14 Offensive Tackles, 2 Tight Ends and 1 Defensive End.
| Name | Position | Height | Weight | Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Caleb Jones | OT | 6’9″ | 370 | Packers |
| Curtis Hodges | TE | 6’8″ | 240 | Commanders |
| Donald Parham | TE | 6’8″ | 237 | Chargers |
| Cornelius Lucas | OT | 6’8″ | 328 | Commanders |
| Stone Forsythe | OT | 6’8″ | 307 | Seahawks |
| Trent Brown | OT | 6’8″ | 370 | Patriots |
| Jordan Mailata | OT | 6’8″ | 365 | Eagles |
| Kolton Miller | OT | 6’8″ | 325 | Raiders |
| Rob Havenstein | OT | 6’8″ | 330 | Rams |
| Luke Tenuta | OT | 6’8″ | 314 | Packers |
| Mike McGlinchey | OT | 6’8″ | 310 | Broncos |
| Matt Waletzko | OT | 6’8″ | 320 | Cowboys |
| Dawand Jones | OT | 6’8″ | 375 | Browns |
| Orlando Brown | OT | 6’8″ | 345 | Bengals |
| Spencer Brown | OT | 6’8″ | 311 | Bills |
| Daniel Faalele | OT | 6’8″ | 380 | Ravens |
| Calais Campbell | DE | 6’8″ | 307 | Falcons |
Who are the Shortest Players in the NFL?
There are 9 players in the league that are 5’7″ or shorter.
They consist of 4 Wide Receivers, 4 Running Backs and a Kicker.
| Name | Position | Height | Weight | Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deuce Vaughn | RB | 5’5″ | 180 | Cowboys |
| Boston Scott | RB | 5’6″ | 203 | Eagles |
| Deonte Harty | WR | 5’6″ | 170 | Bills |
| Blake Grupe | K | 5’7″ | 156 | Saints |
| Devin Singletary | RB | 5’7″ | 203 | Texans |
| Clyde Edwards-Helaire | RB | 5’7″ | 207 | Chiefs |
| Greg Dortch | WR | 5’7″ | 175 | Cardinals |
| Rondale Moore | WR | 5’7″ | 180 | Cardinals |
| KaVontae Turpin | WR | 5’7″ | 155 | Cowboys |
Who are the Heaviest Players in the NFL?
The five heaviest players in the NFL all weigh 370 pounds or more.
These five guys consist of 4 Offensive Tackles and 1 Guard.
| Name | Position | Height | Weight | Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daniel Faalele | OT | 6’8″ | 380 | Ravens |
| Dawand Jones | OT | 6’8″ | 375 | Browns |
| Caleb Jones | OT | 6’9″ | 370 | Packers |
| Trent Brown | OT | 6’8″ | 370 | Patriots |
| Ben Cleveland | G | 6’6″ | 370 | Ravens |
Who are the Lightest Players in the NFL?
The 8 lightest guys in the league all weigh under 170 pounds.
This group consists of 6 Wide Receivers and 2 Kickers.
| Name | Position | Height | Weight | Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| KaVontae Turpin | WR | 5’7″ | 155 | Cowboys |
| Deven Thompkins | WR | 5’8″ | 155 | Buccaneers |
| Blake Grupe | K | 5’7″ | 156 | Saints |
| Calvin Austin III | WR | 5’9″ | 162 | Steelers |
| Derius Davis | WR | 5’8″ | 165 | Chargers |
| Tutu Atwell | WR | 5’9″ | 165 | Rams |
| Tank Dell | WR | 6’0″ | 165 | Texans |
| Jake Elliott | K | 5’9″ | 167 | Eagles |
2022 Data
This is the second season that I’ve posted this data and I thought it would be interesting to keep an ‘archive’, if you will, of past seasons to watch how the sizes of players evolve over the years.
So here are the numbers for the 2022 season including 1694 active players:
Average Size of NFL Players by Year
| Year | Height (inches) | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 74.15 | 244.83 |
| 2023 | 74.18 | 244.56 |
| NFL Average Height By Position (2022) | ||
| Position | Height (in inches) | Height (Feet/Inches*) |
| Overall | 74.15 | 6’2 1/4″ |
| Quarterback | 74.56 | 6’2 1/2″ |
| Running Back | 70.93 | 5’11” |
| Wide Receiver | 72.53 | 6’0 1/2″ |
| Tight End | 76.53 | 6’4 1/2″ |
| Tackle | 77.71 | 6’5 3/4″ |
| Guard | 76.39 | 6’4 1/2″ |
| Center | 75.91 | 6’4″ |
| Defensive Tackle | 75.31 | 6’3 1/4″ |
| Defensive End | 76.06 | 6’4″ |
| Linebacker | 74.22 | 6’2 1/4″ |
| Cornerback | 71.88 | 6’0″ |
| Safety | 72.01 | 6’0″ |
*Rounded to the nearest quarter of an inch.
Average Weight of an NFL Football Player
| NFL Average Weight By Position (2022) | |
| Position | Weight (in pounds) |
| Overall | 244.83 |
| Quarterback | 219.80 |
| Running Back | 213.92 |
| Wide Receiver | 199.35 |
| Tight End | 248.65 |
| Tackle | 317.07 |
| Guard | 315.88 |
| Center | 306.19 |
| Defensive Tackle | 309.75 |
| Defensive End | 277.38 |
| Linebacker | 240.70 |
| Cornerback | 193.53 |
| Safety | 203.50 |
Tallest
There were 19 players listed at 6’8″ in 2022 including 16 tackles, 2 tight ends and 1 defensive end.
Two guys stood alone at 6’9″ as the tallest players in the league.
| Tallest Players in the NFL | |||
| Player | Height | Position | Team |
| Dan Skipper | 6’9″ | Guard | Lions |
| Caleb Jones | 6’9″ | Tackle | Packers |
Shortest
There were 21 players listed at 5’8″ including 11 wide receivers, 6 running backs, 2 corners, 1 safety and 1 kicker.
Only 3 players, though, were under 5’8″.
| Shortest Players in the NFL | |||
| Player | Height | Position | Team |
| Boston Scott | 5’6″ | Running Back | Eagles |
| Devin Singletary | 5’7″ | Running Back | Bills |
| Greg Dortch | 5’7″ | Wide Receiver | Cardinals |
Heaviest
The ten heaviest players in the league weighed in at over 345 pounds and, as you might expect, come from the offensive and defensive lines.
| Heaviest Players in the NFL | |||
| Player | Weight | Position | Team |
| Daniel Faalele | 380 | Offensive Tackle | Ravens |
| Marquan McCall | 379 | Defensive Tackle | Panthers |
| Caleb Jones | 370 | Offensive Tackle | Packers |
| Trent Brown | 370 | Offensive Tackle | Patriots |
| Ben Cleveland | 370 | Guard | Ravens |
| Jordan Mailata | 365 | Offensive Tackle | Eagles |
| Quinton Bohanna | 360 | Defensive Tackle | Cowboys |
| Evan Neal | 350 | Offensive Tackle | Giants |
| Mike Onwenu | 350 | Guard | Patriots |
| Vita Vea | 347 | Nose Tackle | Bucs |
Lightest
There were only 27 players (out of nearly 1700) that weighed less than 180 pounds in the NFL (and 2 of those were kickers).
The 10 lightest guys in the league all weighed less than 174 pounds.
| Lightest Players in the NFL | |||
| Player | Weight | Position | Team |
| KaVontae Turpin | 153 | Wide Receiver | Cowboys |
| Deven Thompkins | 155 | Wide Receiver | Bucs |
| Tutu Atwell | 165 | Wide Receiver | Rams |
| Jake Elliott | 167 | Kicker | Eagles |
| Marquise Brown | 170 | Wide Receiver | Cardinals |
| Montrell Washington | 170 | Wide Receiver | Broncos |
| DeVonta Smith | 170 | Wide Receiver | Eagles |
| Britain Covey | 173 | Wide Receiver | Eagles |
| Isaiah McKenzie | 173 | Wide Receiver | Bills |
| Jaelon Darden | 173 | Wide Receiver | Browns |
Notes
The running back data does not include players listed as fullbacks. As one would expect, fullbacks are considerably bigger and I felt it would skew the numbers from their intended purpose.
Final Thoughts
So, what have I learned?
I didn’t expect there to be a lot of difference in the heights of weights of positions in just one season.
However, there is possibly a reason that it moves even less than perhaps it should. I’ve noticed that many guys don’t have their weights updated… at all. Once your weight is in the program, no one comes asking for an updated number going forward.
Offensive Tackles are the biggest position group in the NFL, averaging almost 6’6″ and 317 pounds per player.
On average, corners are the smallest position group in the NFL, however, all of the lightest players in the league (except for one kicker) are all wide receivers. Really shows the range of sizes you see at the wide receiver position.
Quarterbacks aren’t as tall as many people probably assume. Yes, there are some really tall Quarterbacks, but the position only averages about 6’2 1/2″ and there are 19 guys that are 6’1″ or shorter.
Other Positions
I’ve done the same height and weight breakdown for individual position groups too, including:
