What is the pin-pull blocking concept?

Let’s define something you hear about, but might not fully understand

The pin-pull blocking concept is a common power-gap rushing style often employed in the NFL and college football. It’s an excellent way for an offense to get one or multiple linemen pulling into space against smaller defenders.

It’s exactly how it sounds. Player A pins a defender, and Player B pulls around that block into space. The pulling offensive lineman is often “covered” by the defender, but it can also be a shaded defender that the pinner can access. Here is an illustration, courtesy of X&O Labs:

The tight end (Y) pins the 5-technique, and the play side tackle pulls around that block as the play side guard pins the nose shade to allow the center to pull up to the MIKE. Here is an example from Week 11 against Washington:

I’ll try not to steal too much of Da Vinci’s thunder with this work of art, but we see the anatomy of the play and how it can give the offense an advantage. The Giants pulled center John Michael Schmitz along with play side guard Justin Pugh on the play, but pin-pull plays can consist of any singular or combination of puller(s) from the offensive line. The play design is best used when the pullers are light-footed and quick to orient to the target.