[HUbison]

Originally Posted by UtterBlitz

Can I get a definition for a slot receiver? When are they put in, and where do they line up? What is a slot exactly? Is a slot similar to a gap?

Here's the response from the institute.

Originally Posted by CIAFT

The slot receiver lines up between the line and a wide receiver. Typically, but certainly not always, the slot receiver runs short crisp routes to either swallow up zone defenders to open up the wide receivers or slot receivers will run short and intermediate routes as a "sure thing" to gain the first down. They won't gain as many yards as the wideouts, but their short routes end in a higher percentage of completions. A good example of a pure slot-possession receiver was Ricky Proehl. He wasn't a burner, but he had great hands and managed to move the chains when he was thrown at.

In the modern NFL, the slot receiver sees nearly as much time on the field as either the #1 or #2 receiver, especially on teams with a lesser TE. As well, slot receivers are almost a given on 3rd-and-short for a team that doesn't run the ball well.