Change is constant in the NFL. Who’s leading an offense this year isn’t necessarily the same as last year and might not be the same as next year. It’s hard staying on top for long.
Consider touchdown passes. There are only five teams that have been led in touchdown catches by the same player in each of the last three years. That includes one tight end (Mark Andrews), and four wide receivers – Ja’Marr Chase, Michael Pittman, Mike Evans and Stefon Diggs. (Diggs, of course, won’t be leading Buffalo in touchdown catches this year.)
Three other players have been team leaders in each of the last three years, but with conditions. Amon-Ra St. Brown led the Lions in 2021-22, but he shared the lead with Sam LaPorta last year. Davante Adams and A.J. Brown also have three-year streaks, but each involve multiple teams, and each had a year where they were co-leaders rather than solo leaders.
Of the league’s 32 teams, on the other hand, 13 haven’t any player lead them in receiving touchdowns more than once in the last three years. They’ve had a different leader three years in a row (and I’ve got those teams in bold in the chart below).
Be aware when drafting that change most certainly will be coming.
TEAMS: TOUCHDOWN CATCH LEADERS | |||
---|---|---|---|
Team | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
Arizona | M.Brown | Ertz | Hopkins |
Atlanta | B.Robinson | London/Pruitt | Patterson |
Baltimore | •Andrews | •Andrews | •Andrews |
Buffalo | •Diggs | •Diggs | •Diggs |
Carolina | Chark | DJ Moore | R.Anderson |
Chicago | DJ Moore | Kmet | Mooney |
Cincinnati | •Chase | •Chase | •Chase |
Cleveland | Njoku | A.Cooper | Njoku |
Dallas | Lamb | Lamb | Cooper/Schltz |
Denver | Sutton | Jeudy | Patrick |
Detroit | LaPorta/•St. B. | •St. Brown | •St. Brown |
Green Bay | Doubs/Reed | C.Watson | •Adams |
Houston | N.Collins | Akins | Cooks |
Indianapolis | •Pittman | •Pittman | •Pittman |
Jacksonville | Ridley | Kirk | M.Jones |
Kansas City | R.Rice | Kelce | Kelce/Hill |
LA Chargers | K.Allen | Ekeler | M.Williams |
LA Rams | Nacua | Kupp | Kupp |
Las Vegas | Meyers/•Adams | •Adams | Renfrow |
Miami | T.Hill | Waddle | Waddle |
Minnesota | Addison | Jefferson | Jeffrsn/Thielen |
New England | H.Henry | Meyers | H.Henry |
New Orleans | Olave/Shaheed | J.Johnson | Callaway |
NY Giants | Barkley/Slayton | James/Hodgins | Engram |
NY Jets | B.Hall | G.Wilson | E.Moore |
Philadelphia | Smith/•Brown | •A.Brown | D.Smith |
Pittsburgh | Pickens/Johnson | Pickens | D.Johnson |
San Francisco | McCaff / 2 WR | Kittle | Kittle/Deebo |
Seattle | Metcalf | Lockett | Metcalf |
Tampa Bay | •M.Evans | •M.Evans | •M.Evans |
Tennessee | Hopkins | Hilliard | •A.Brown |
Washington | 3 WR, RB, TE | Dotson | McLaurin |
—Ian Allan