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checkdown

noun
check·​down | \ˈchek-ˌdau̇n \
plural checkdowns

Definition of checkdown 

American football

: a short pass play to a running back or tight end that the quarterback chooses after reading the defensive coverage and seeing no play downfield I just took what the defense gave me, hit my checkdowns, hit short stuff.— Eli Manning, quoted in Sporting News, 22 Dec. 2008 Running back Warrick Dunn might be the most underrated back in the league. Dunn … is a serious threat as a receiver. He's a dangerous checkdown target …— Brad Biggs, Chicago Sun-Times, 18 Dec. 2005

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First Known Use of checkdown

1981, in the meaning defined above

History and Etymology for checkdown

from the verb phrase check down (to) “move to the next option (on the list of receivers)”

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Time Traveler for checkdown

The first known use of checkdown was in 1981

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