What is the pin-pull blocking concept?

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.