Read this first
- Routes are only known for the targeted receiver. nflverse records the route of the player who was thrown to. Route charts therefore show the routes a player was targeted on, not every route he ran.
- Formation and personnel describe the whole offense, not the player. "Shotgun" or "12 personnel" is how the unit lined up on that snap. No free data source says whether a tight end was inline, in the slot or out wide, so nothing on this page is player alignment.
- Small samples. Every percentage carries its target count. Cells with fewer than 10 targets are greyed and flagged. Coverage-type cells are often 1 to 5 targets and should be read as anecdotes, not tendencies.
- Season status.
- Participation data.
- Next Gen Stats are season averages. Separation, cushion and YAC-over-expected come from NFL Next Gen Stats' season summary rows. Their target counts can differ slightly from play-by-play counts.
Pick at least two players to compare.
Week by week
Table
Targets by route
Share of a player's targets on which he ran each route. Route is charted only for the targeted receiver (see note above). Faded bars have fewer than 10 targets.
Table
Targets by offensive formation
Team formation at the snap (shotgun, under center, pistol), not the player's alignment. The table also shows how often the player was targeted per pass play he was on the field for in that formation.
Table
Targets by personnel grouping
Offensive personnel on the play, written the usual way: first digit running backs, second digit tight ends (11 = 1 RB, 1 TE, 3 WR). This is the unit's grouping, not where the player lined up.
Table
EPA per target by coverage type
Very small samples. Most coverage cells hold 1 to 5 targets; a single big play moves them a lot. Faded bars have fewer than 10 targets and the table flags them.
Table
Man vs zone
Where the targets go
From play-by-play only, so available for every season: pass direction, pass length as classified in the official play description, and down.
Table
Metric definitions
- Targets
- Regular-season pass plays (sacks excluded) where the player was the intended receiver, from nflfastR play-by-play.
- Catch rate
- Receptions divided by targets.
- aDOT
- Average depth of target: mean air yards on the player's targets.
- YAC per reception
- Yards after the catch, summed over receptions, divided by receptions.
- EPA per target
- Mean expected points added on the player's targets (nflfastR model). Positive is good for the offense.
- Success rate
- Share of targets with positive EPA.
- Target share
- Targets divided by the team's non-sack pass plays in the games the player appeared in.
- Targets per on-field pass play
- Targets divided by the pass plays the player was on the field for, using nflverse participation data. Only counts plays that have participation rows.
- Games
- Games with at least one on-field pass snap when participation data exists; otherwise games with at least one target.
- Deep targets
- Targets labelled "deep" in the official play description.
- Cushion (NGS)
- The distance (in yards) measured between a WR/TE and the defender they're lined up against at the time of snap on all targets.
- Separation (NGS)
- The distance (in yards) measured between a WR/TE and the nearest defender at the time of catch or incompletion.
- Intended air yards (NGS)
- Average air yards on all attempted passes to the player.
- Share of intended air yards (NGS)
- The sum of the receiver's total intended air yards over the sum of his team's total intended air yards, as a percentage.
- Expected YAC (NGS)
- Average expected yards after catch, based on tracking data such as how open the receiver is, how fast he is travelling, and how many defenders and blockers are in space.
- YAC above expectation (NGS)
- A receiver's YAC compared to his expected YAC.