After last week’s look at running backs, this week in 32 Observations we move onto those players who make their living catching the ball. As always there is an interesting tidbit about how a player is used or in what situations they succeed.
AFC East
Buffalo Bills: Receiver Sammy Watkins is one of seven players with two touchdowns from slant passes. He also has 123 yards on six slant passes which is fourth most receiving yards on slants in the league.
Miami Dolphins: Of Jarvis Landry’s 25 catches, he has 10 or more yards after the catch on nine of them. That is a rate of 36%, which is the best for wide receivers.
New England Patriots: Tight end Tim Wright is one of two players to see two targets from the 1-yard line and convert both into touchdowns. No player has more than two targets.
New York Jets: There have been 72 catches by rookie tight ends so far. Of those, 32 were caught by Jace Amaro. He has more than 20 catches more than any other rookie tight end.
AFC North
Baltimore Ravens: Each one of Torrey Smith’s catches has gone for at least 7 yards. He is the only receiver with more than 10 catches that this is true for.
Cincinnati Bengals: The current leader in Yards Per Route Run this season is A.J. Green at 3.53.
Cleveland Browns: Taylor Gabriel, who went undrafted, has a Yards Per Route Run of 2.26, which is the second highest rate among rookie wide receivers.
Pittsburgh Steelers: There have been 26 plays this year where the Steelers have thrown the ball to Antonio Brown where the time to throw was within 1.5 seconds of the snap. No other receiver has been targeted more than 20 times on those types of throws. On those passes, Brown has 22 catches for 135 yards and one touchdown.
AFC South
Houston Texans: Wide Receiver DeAndre Hopkins has 2.47 Yards Per Route Run when lining up in the slot, which is the third best rate in the league.
Indianapolis Colts: On plays where the quarterback holds on to the ball for at least 3 seconds before throwing, T.Y. Hilton has 21 catches for 493 yards and two touchdowns. The next most for any receiver is 318 yards.
Jacksonville Jaguars: Rookie Allen Robinson has 26 targets on passes thrown to the left and outside the numbers which is the third most in the league. On those passes he has 18 catches for 181 yards and a touchdown.
Tennessee Titans: Of Justin Hunter’s 20 catches, he has gotten 12 yards on 14 of those catches. That is a rate of 70% which is the best in the league.
AFC West
Denver Broncos: No receiver has more red zone receiving yards than Demaryius Thomas. He has 82 yards on ten catches for three touchdowns.
Kansas City Chiefs: Tight end Travis Kelce has 2.69 Yards Per Route run, which is the second best rate among tight ends behind Rob Gronkowski.
Oakland Raiders: James Jones leads the league in receiving yards on passes thrown to the right on the sidelines at 137. He has done this on five catches, and also has a touchdown. No other receiver has over 100 receiving yards on passes to the right sidelines.
San Diego Chargers: When the Chargers are within 10 yards of scoring, they have thrown to Antonio Gates 11 times which are the most in the league. On those 11 targets, Gates has six catches for 39 yards and six touchdowns.
NFC East
Dallas Cowboys: When quarterbacks throw at Terrance Williams, they have an NFL Passer Rating of 143.8. That is the third highest for a wide receiver in the league.
New York Giants: Tight end Larry Donnell has 33 catches and no drops. No other tight end has more than 20 catches with no drops.
Philadelphia Eagles: Receiver Jeremy Maclin has yet to drop a pass this season. No other wide receiver has as many catches as Maclin’s 39 while also not dropping a pass.
Washington: On deep passes, DeSean Jackson has 351 yards on 7 catches and two touchdowns. He leads the league in Deep Receiving Yards even though 15 receivers have more targets on deep passes than Jackson.
NFC North
Chicago Bears: Tight end Martellus Bennett has 82 yards on 13 catches from quick outs. No other player has more than eight catches on quick outs.
Detroit Lions: Receiver Golden Tate leads all wide receiver in catches on slant routes at 11. He also leads the league in yards on slants at 185.
Green Bay Packers: When the Packers have been within 3 yards of a touchdown, they have thrown to Randall Cobb four times which is the most in the league. They have converted all four targets into touchdowns.
Minnesota Vikings: Of Jarius Wright’s 286 receiving yards, 173 have come after the catch. That is a rate of 60.5% which is the third highest among wide receivers in the league.
NFC South
Atlanta Falcons: No receiver has more catches or yards on wide receiver screens than Julio Jones. He has caught 16 of 17 passes thrown his way on screen routes for 149 yards. Only one other receiver has more than 100 yards on receiver screens this season.
Carolina Panthers: Kelvin Benjamin has been targeted on “go routes” 17 times which is the most in the league. He has only converted six into catches, but that also leads the league as well as his three touchdowns on go routes. He has 148 receiving yards on those six catches.
New Orleans Saints: There have been 12 times this year when the Saints have thrown a pass within a second of the snap and Brandin Cooks has been the target. On those passes Cooks has 11 catches for 47 yards.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: No other receiver has more targets when their quarterback is blitzed than Vincent Jackson at 37. Only one other receiver is within 10 targets of Jackson. On those passes he has 14 catches for 223 yards and a touchdown.
NFC West
Arizona Cardinals: Receiver John Brown has a Yards Per Route Run of 2.75 when lining up in the slot. That is the best rate in the league for those with at least 75 routes run from the slot.
St. Louis Rams: No receiver has more targets on passes from formations with no wide receivers than Lance Kendricks. He has three targets, and all three went for touchdowns.
San Francisco 49ers: Even though three receivers on his team have received more snaps than him, Stevie Johnson has 3.18 Yards Per Route Run this season which is the second best in the league.
Seattle Seahawks: Doug Baldwin has 125 yards on catches from four receiver sets which is the second highest amount in the league. He has seven catches on passes from four receiver sets.
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