Depth charts have been used in football since the sport was created.
For the staff, it made sense to list the players in order on a sheet of paper so they can see how the offense or defense is coming along simply by looking at the names and having an idea of which positions they feel good about and which they don’t, and to also give the players an idea of how much playing time to expect. Releasing the depth chart publicly helped reporters covering the game, essentially giving them a cheat sheet to see who was in the game and so forth.
Here’s the thing: it’s not something that is concrete. It can change from week to week, day to day, or even in the middle of the game. So why do coaches get so protective of the information?…