T.Y. Hilton, I think, doesn’t get enough attention in the discussion of the elite receivers. He’s very good, and they were able to consistently get him the ball last year.
Hilton had some injury issues early (he also didn’t practice much late in the year because of an ankle injury). But in the final eight games of the season, Hilton caught 50 passes for 917 yards – 134 more receiving yards than any other player.
So when drawing up the list of potential leaders in receiving yards, Hilton looks about as likely as anyone to be the overall leader.
| RECEIVING YARDS (final 8 games) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | No | Yards | Avg | TD |
| T.Y. Hilton, Ind. | 50 | 917 | 18.3 | 2 |
| DeAndre Hopkins, Hou. | 62 | 783 | 12.6 | 5 |
| Tyreek Hill, K.C. | 43 | 774 | 18.0 | 5 |
| JuJu Smith-Schuster, Pitt. | 58 | 754 | 13.0 | 5 |
| Julio Jones, Atl. | 53 | 744 | 14.0 | 7 |
| Mike Evans, T.B. | 39 | 738 | 18.9 | 4 |
| Antonio Brown, Pitt. | 53 | 703 | 13.3 | 6 |
| Amari Cooper, 2 tms | 48 | 677 | 14.1 | 5 |
| Davante Adams, G.B. | 53 | 656 | 12.4 | 6 |
| Julian Edelman, N.E. | 49 | 599 | 12.2 | 4 |
| Keenan Allen, LAC | 50 | 566 | 11.3 | 5 |
| Brandin Cooks, LAR | 45 | 561 | 12.5 | 3 |
| Tyler Lockett, Sea. | 29 | 549 | 18.9 | 4 |
| Robert Woods, LAR | 40 | 547 | 13.7 | 3 |
| Kenny Golladay, Det. | 37 | 540 | 14.6 | 2 |
| Michael Thomas, N.O. | 55 | 525 | 9.5 | 4 |
| Robert Foster, Buff. | 25 | 511 | 20.4 | 3 |
| Alshon Jeffery, Phil. | 36 | 502 | 13.9 | 2 |
Hilton has not been as reliable as a touchdown scorer. He’s scored only 5, 6, 4 and 6 TDs in his last four seasons. He tends to be busier and more productive between the 20s, where there’s more room to work.
Over the last four years, 26 wide receivers have gained at least 3,000 receiving yards. Of that group, only one receiver (Julio Jones) has tended to score on fewer of his pass plays. Hilton has averaged a touchdown for every 229 receiving yards. (Jones ranks last, with just a touchdown every 256 yards.)
Three wide receivers over the last four years have averaged a touchdown every 113 yards (or fewer), but two of them aren’t on rosters right now – Doug Baldwin and Michael Crabtree (who trail only the leader, Davante Adams).
| YARDS PER TOUCHDOWN (2015-18) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | No | Yds | TD | Yd/TD |
| Davante Adams | 310 | 3,751 | 36 | 104.2 |
| Doug Baldwin | 297 | 3,806 | 34 | 111.9 |
| Michael Crabtree | 286 | 3,150 | 28 | 112.5 |
| Allen Robinson | 209 | 3,054 | 24 | 127.3 |
| Antonio Brown | 447 | 5,948 | 46 | 129.3 |
| Tyreek Hill | 223 | 3,255 | 25 | 130.2 |
| Odell Beckham | 299 | 4,171 | 32 | 130.3 |
| DeAndre Hopkins | 400 | 5,425 | 39 | 139.1 |
| A.J. Green | 273 | 4,033 | 28 | 144.0 |
| Stefon Diggs | 302 | 3,493 | 24 | 145.5 |
| Marvin Jones | 216 | 3,355 | 22 | 152.5 |
| Larry Fitzgerald | 394 | 4,128 | 27 | 152.9 |
| Alshon Jeffery | 228 | 3,260 | 21 | 155.2 |
| Amari Cooper | 278 | 3,908 | 25 | 156.3 |
| Brandin Cooks | 307 | 4,597 | 29 | 158.5 |
| Michael Thomas | 321 | 3,787 | 23 | 164.7 |
| Mike Evans | 327 | 5,052 | 28 | 180.4 |
| Demaryius Thomas | 337 | 4,013 | 21 | 191.1 |
| Golden Tate | 347 | 3,688 | 19 | 194.1 |
| Jarvis Landry | 397 | 4,256 | 21 | 202.7 |
| Adam Thielen | 285 | 3,760 | 18 | 208.9 |
| Robert Woods | 240 | 3,165 | 15 | 211.0 |
| Keenan Allen | 272 | 3,377 | 16 | 211.1 |
| Emmanuel Sanders | 273 | 3,590 | 17 | 211.2 |
| T.Y. Hilton | 293 | 4,808 | 21 | 229.0 |
| Julio Jones | 420 | 6,401 | 25 | 256.0 |
—Ian Allan