Yesterday I posted the chart showing receiving stats for tight ends inside the 10. I’ve got the sister chart today. Just wide receivers on this one, and showing all of their work over the last four years. There are 54 of them that have seen at least 15 passes in that part of the field.
They’re in order of targets. Brandon Marshall, Jordy Nelson, Dez Bryant, A.J. Green and Demaryius Thomas have been most heavily used. No surprises there.
Of this group of 54, 11 have caught at least 60 percent of the passes thrown to them. Almost all of these guys are smaller, slot-type receivers. Emmanuel Sanders and Randall Cobb are the only two over 70 percent. I’ve got all of these high-efficiency receivers in bold.
A similar number of receivers have caught under 40 percent of their targets. I’ve flagged those guys with black dots. That includes Marshall, who’s caught only 18 of the 49 passes sent his way. Not that all of those incompletions were his fault. No doubt some were off target, or maybe he faced more double coverage than some of the effective guys (like Jerricho Cotchery and James Jones). But numbers is numbers.
Five guys who you would figure are among the biggest, best receivers in the game are in the bottom 20 in efficiency – A.J. Green, Calvin Johnson, Demaryius Thomas, Julio Jones and Marshall. While it’s easy to talk in the offseason about how guys are “unstoppable” because of their size and athleticism, those fade-route type balls aren’t easy to execute. The throw and route have to be accurate and timed right (and even then, guys are tough to beat).
By my count, there are only three of those “butt kicker” type receivers who’ve caught over 50 percent of their balls in this part of the field. Dez Bryant, Larry Fitzgerald and Jordy Nelson.
For scores, I’m including both touchdowns and 2-point conversions (“EZ” = end zone).
The overall list is in order of targets (with busiest guys listed first). Let me know if you see anything of note in here that you’d like to elaborate on.
| WIDE RECEIVERS INSIDE 10 (since 2011) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Com | Att | Pct | EZ |
| • Brandon Marshall, Mia.-Chi. | 18 | 49 | 37% | 16 |
| Jordy Nelson, G.B. | 23 | 44 | 52% | 15 |
| Dez Bryant, Dall. | 24 | 43 | 56% | 22 |
| A.J. Green, Cin. | 18 | 43 | 42% | 11 |
| Demaryius Thomas, Den. | 18 | 43 | 42% | 14 |
| Calvin Johnson, Det. | 17 | 41 | 41% | 14 |
| Eric Decker, Den.-NYJ | 20 | 39 | 51% | 14 |
| Roddy White, Atl. | 20 | 39 | 51% | 16 |
| Wes Welker, N.E.-Den. | 25 | 37 | 68% | 18 |
| Larry Fitzgerald, Ariz. | 18 | 33 | 55% | 7 |
| Andre Johnson, Hou. | 16 | 32 | 50% | 9 |
| Antonio Brown, Pitt. | 16 | 32 | 50% | 11 |
| • Alshon Jeffery, Chi. | 11 | 31 | 35% | 9 |
| James Jones, G.B.-Oak. | 19 | 30 | 63% | 16 |
| Emmanuel Sanders, Pit.-Den. | 21 | 29 | 72% | 13 |
| • Mike Williams, T.B.-Buf. | 11 | 29 | 38% | 10 |
| • Reggie Wayne, Ind. | 9 | 26 | 35% | 7 |
| Marques Colston, N.O. | 14 | 25 | 56% | 12 |
| Anquan Boldin, Blt.-S.F. | 10 | 25 | 40% | 6 |
| Vincent Jackson, S.D.-T.B. | 10 | 25 | 40% | 10 |
| Randall Cobb, G.B. | 17 | 24 | 71% | 13 |
| Julian Edelman, N.E. | 15 | 24 | 63% | 11 |
| Victor Cruz, NYG | 13 | 24 | 54% | 7 |
| Mike Wallace, Pit.-Mia. | 11 | 24 | 46% | 10 |
| Pierre Garcon, Ind.-Was. | 11 | 24 | 46% | 8 |
| • Hakeem Nicks, NYG-Ind. | 9 | 24 | 38% | 7 |
| • Cecil Shorts III, Jac. | 7 | 24 | 29% | 5 |
| Lance Moore, N.O.-Pit. | 12 | 23 | 52% | 12 |
| • Julio Jones, Atl. | 9 | 23 | 39% | 5 |
| • Stevie Johnson, Buf.-S.F. | 9 | 23 | 39% | 9 |
| • Steve Smith, Car.-Blt. | 6 | 23 | 26% | 5 |
| Michael Crabtree, S.F. | 12 | 22 | 55% | 9 |
| Greg Jennings, G.B.-Min. | 14 | 21 | 67% | 11 |
| Harry Douglas, Atl. | 11 | 20 | 55% | 4 |
| Miles Austin, Dal.-Cle. | 10 | 20 | 50% | 7 |
| Darrius Heyward-Bey, Oak.-Ind. | 9 | 20 | 45% | 5 |
| Golden Tate, Sea.-Det. | 12 | 19 | 63% | 7 |
| Torrey Smith, Balt. | 12 | 19 | 63% | 10 |
| DeSean Jackson, Phi.-Was. | 8 | 19 | 42% | 5 |
| Brandon LaFell, Car.-N.E. | 9 | 18 | 50% | 7 |
| Denarius Moore, Oak. | 8 | 18 | 44% | 8 |
| Dwayne Bowe, K.C. | 8 | 18 | 44% | 5 |
| Jeremy Maclin, Phil. | 11 | 17 | 65% | 8 |
| David Nelson, Buff.-NYJ | 10 | 17 | 59% | 7 |
| Rueben Randle, NYG | 8 | 17 | 47% | 6 |
| T.Y. Hilton, Ind. | 8 | 17 | 47% | 5 |
| • Brian Hartline, Mia. | 4 | 17 | 24% | 4 |
| Jerricho Cotchery, Pit.-Car. | 10 | 16 | 63% | 8 |
| Riley Cooper, Phil. | 10 | 16 | 63% | 8 |
| Eddie Royal, Den.-S.D. | 9 | 16 | 56% | 7 |
| • Santana Moss, Wash. | 6 | 16 | 38% | 6 |
| • Jeremy Kerley, NYJ | 3 | 16 | 19% | 2 |
| Danny Amendola, St.L.-N.E. | 7 | 15 | 47% | 4 |
| • Greg Little, Clev. | 5 | 15 | 33% | 5 |
—Ian Allan