Writers of Pro Football Prospectus 2008

printable version

Innovative Statistics

Football Outsiders exclusive statistics



WIDE RECEIVERS 2008

Regular season totals, playoffs not included

Revised as of 7/1/2009

Wide receivers are ranked according to DYAR, or Defense-adjusted Yards Above Replacement. This gives the value of the performance on plays where this WR caught the ball, compared to replacement level, adjusted for situation and opponent and then translated into yardage. DYAR (and its cousin, YAR, which isn't adjusted based on opponent) is further explained here.

The other statistic given is DVOA, or Defense-adjusted Value Over Average. This number represents value, per play, over an average WR in the same game situations. The more positive the DVOA rating, the better the player's performance. DVOA (and its cousin, VOA, which isn't adjusted based on opponent) is further explained here.

Effective Yards, listed in red, translate DVOA into a yards per attempt figure. This provides an easy comparison: in general, players with more Effective Yards than standard yards played better than standard stats would otherwise indicate, while players with fewer Effective Yards than standard yards played worse than standard stats would otherwise indicate. Effective Yards are not the best way to measure total value because they are more dependent on usage than DYAR.

DYAR and DVOA include all passes intended for the receiver, both complete and incomplete. Catch Rate represents the percentage of passes to this receiver completed. This is a reference to incomplete passes, not dropped passes: dropped passes are not specified in publicly available play-by-play, and unfortunately we cannot yet correct for this.

  • We cannot yet fully separate the performance of a receiver from the performance of his quarterback. Be aware that one will affect the other.
  • These statistics measure only passes thrown to a receiver, not performance on plays when he is not thrown the ball, such as blocking and drawing double teams.
  • All fumbles are considered equal, whether recovered by the offense or defense.

The simple version: DYAR means a wide receiver with more total value. DVOA means a wide receiver with more value per play.

RECEIVING: Minimum 50 passes, 79 players ranked

Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA Passes Yards EYds TD Catch
Rate
A.Johnson HOU 491 1 461 1 22.1% 6 20.0% 171 1575 1,872 8 67%
L.Fitzgerald ARI 402 2 414 2 19.7% 7 20.7% 154 1431 1,604 12 62%
R.White ATL 399 3 361 5 22.1% 5 18.8% 148 1383 1,521 7 59%
V.Jackson SD 369 4 387 4 32.9% 2 35.1% 100 1098 1,204 7 59%
S.Smith CAR 365 5 391 3 22.7% 4 25.3% 129 1421 1,378 6 60%
R.Wayne IND 332 6 327 6 19.1% 9 18.7% 130 1128 1,340 6 63%
H.Ward PIT 294 7 299 7 16.9% 10 17.4% 125 1047 1,244 7 66%
A.Bryant TB 284 8 277 8 13.3% 16 12.7% 138 1253 1,309 7 60%
A.Boldin ARI 269 9 248 10 13.9% 14 11.8% 126 1038 1,230 11 71%
C.Johnson DET 256 10 227 13 9.1% 22 6.6% 150 1331 1,335 12 52%
D.Mason BAL 250 11 241 11 13.9% 15 13.0% 121 1048 1,134 5 67%
G.Jennings GB 243 12 256 9 9.6% 21 10.8% 140 1291 1,246 9 57%
A.Gonzalez IND 242 13 219 16 26.2% 3 22.5% 79 664 863 4 72%
S.Breaston ARI 239 14 222 14 14.1% 13 12.1% 113 1006 1,081 3 68%
L.Moore NO 232 15 196 19 12.7% 17 8.7% 120 930 1,089 10 66%
K.Walter HOU 225 16 229 12 16.8% 11 17.3% 95 899 952 8 63%
Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA Passes Yards EYds TD Catch
Rate
D.Henderson NO 215 17 207 18 36.5% 1 34.5% 56 793 674 3 57%
B.Berrian MIN 197 18 220 15 12.4% 18 15.3% 95 964 933 7 51%
L.Evans BUF 191 19 213 17 11.2% 20 13.9% 102 1025 934 3 62%
W.Welker NE 188 20 195 20 3.5% 31 4.1% 150 1165 1,223 3 75%
D.Driver GB 185 21 180 22 7.6% 25 7.2% 116 1012 1,014 5 64%
M.Jenkins ATL 179 22 174 23 16.0% 12 15.1% 81 777 774 3 62%
T.Houshmandzadeh CIN 163 23 118 33 2.5% 34 -1.7% 137 904 1,120 4 67%
M.Muhammad CAR 160 24 154 26 6.1% 28 5.3% 107 923 932 5 61%
I.Bruce SF 159 25 194 21 6.0% 29 10.1% 108 835 930 7 56%
I.Hilliard TB 147 26 156 25 19.5% 8 21.5% 58 424 589 4 81%
L.Coles NYJ 143 27 161 24 2.0% 36 3.8% 115 839 1,007 7 61%
D.Hixon NYG 142 28 112 34 11.5% 19 6.3% 73 596 688 2 59%
R.Moss NE 134 29 134 29 0.5% 41 0.5% 125 1011 1,027 11 55%
J.Reed BUF 123 30 148 27 7.5% 26 11.6% 79 597 677 1 71%
J.Gage TEN 116 31 134 28 6.7% 27 9.7% 74 651 659 6 46%
E.Royal DEN 115 32 120 32 -1.4% 47 -0.9% 129 980 998 5 71%
Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA Passes Yards EYds TD Catch
Rate
M.Colston NO 111 33 110 35 2.8% 33 2.8% 88 760 747 5 53%
M.Jones JAC 102 34 133 30 -0.5% 43 3.2% 107 761 834 2 61%
J.Cotchery NYJ 98 35 124 31 -1.6% 48 1.3% 111 858 869 5 64%
A.Randle El WAS 96 36 78 44 1.4% 37 -1.3% 87 593 699 4 61%
P.Burress NYG 94 37 98 37 4.9% 30 5.6% 66 454 577 4 53%
C.Johnson CIN 91 38 53 55 -1.1% 46 -5.9% 97 540 772 4 55%
H.Baskett PHI 89 39 84 43 8.6% 23 7.4% 51 439 471 3 65%
S.Smith NYG 88 40 89 42 1.0% 39 1.0% 82 577 657 1 70%
J.Urban ARI 88 41 89 41 8.5% 24 8.8% 51 448 468 4 67%
B.Marshall DEN 85 42 105 36 -6.8% 58 -5.4% 181 1265 1,293 6 57%
D.Bess MIA 80 43 91 40 1.3% 38 3.1% 75 554 587 1 72%
A.Toomer NYG 77 44 63 51 -2.3% 49 -4.1% 88 580 715 4 55%
D.Northcutt JAC 76 45 72 47 2.1% 35 1.3% 68 545 535 2 65%
T.Owens DAL 75 46 57 52 -5.7% 56 -7.4% 139 1052 991 10 50%
B.Jones TEN 75 47 75 46 3.2% 32 3.1% 62 449 496 1 66%
S.Moss WAS 73 48 96 38 -6.0% 57 -3.9% 138 1044 998 6 57%
Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA Passes Yards EYds TD Catch
Rate
N.Washington PIT 70 49 51 56 -0.8% 45 -4.0% 78 631 588 3 51%
P.Crayton DAL 70 50 71 48 0.9% 40 1.2% 69 551 524 4 57%
G.Camarillo MIA 64 51 96 39 -2.5% 50 2.5% 83 613 607 2 66%
C.Chambers SD 64 52 71 49 0.3% 42 1.6% 64 462 497 5 52%
B.Johnson SF 54 53 76 45 -3.7% 52 0.0% 75 546 567 3 60%
J.Avant PHI 51 54 43 59 -0.7% 44 -2.6% 57 377 421 2 56%
B.Stokley DEN 47 55 66 50 -5.6% 55 -2.8% 85 525 615 3 58%
J.Gaffney NE 42 56 54 53 -4.5% 53 -2.1% 65 468 481 2 58%
R.Williams JAC 41 57 39 61 -4.8% 54 -5.1% 63 371 480 3 60%
J.Nelson GB 41 58 44 58 -2.6% 51 -1.9% 54 366 389 2 61%
D.Jackson PHI 40 59 43 60 -8.3% 61 -8.1% 120 912 818 2 52%
S.Holmes PIT 39 60 25 64 -8.2% 60 -9.7% 114 821 766 5 48%
M.Clayton BAL 32 61 38 62 -7.6% 59 -6.6% 82 695 562 3 50%
M.Harrison IND 31 62 24 65 -9.2% 63 -9.9% 107 636 763 5 56%
D.Bowe KC 29 63 53 54 -10.3% 66 -8.4% 157 1022 1,069 7 55%
D.Hester CHI 23 64 26 63 -9.5% 64 -9.2% 92 667 642 3 57%
Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA Passes Yards EYds TD Catch
Rate
T.Ginn MIA 19 65 47 57 -10.0% 65 -6.1% 93 791 619 2 60%
M.Clayton TB 18 66 14 68 -8.8% 62 -9.7% 61 484 416 1 62%
T.Holt STL 12 67 14 67 -11.4% 68 -11.1% 119 796 770 3 54%
K.Robinson SEA 7 68 1 69 -11.2% 67 -12.4% 58 400 370 2 53%
D.Branch SEA -7 69 17 66 -14.2% 69 -9.1% 59 412 368 4 51%
K.Curtis PHI -19 70 -13 73 -16.5% 72 -15.2% 63 390 379 2 52%
B.Wade MIN -21 71 -3 70 -15.6% 70 -13.1% 89 645 537 2 60%
R.Davis CHI -23 72 -9 72 -17.0% 74 -14.4% 67 445 402 2 52%
R.Williams DAL -29 73 -74 77 -17.1% 75 -23.6% 82 430 502 2 44%
B.Engram SEA -32 74 -39 74 -17.8% 76 -19.0% 80 489 453 0 59%
D.Avery STL -32 75 -7 71 -16.5% 71 -13.5% 104 684 634 3 52%
M.Bradley KC -37 76 -45 75 -20.0% 77 -21.7% 63 380 356 3 48%
B.Edwards CLE -45 77 -86 78 -16.8% 73 -20.5% 138 873 821 3 40%
S.McDonald DET -55 78 -64 76 -23.3% 78 -25.1% 66 339 338 1 53%
J.McCareins TEN -108 79 -110 79 -31.5% 79 -31.9% 73 416 307 0 42%

RECEIVING, OTHERS: 10-49 passes

Player Team DYAR YAR DVOA VOA Passes Yards EYds TD Catch
Rate
M.Floyd SD 200 203 58.9% 59.9% 37 465 522 4 73%
C.Stuckey NYJ 131 137 24.0% 25.8% 45 359 484 3 71%
R.Meachem NO 114 110 64.0% 61.9% 20 289 288 3 60%
M.Austin DAL 106 99 48.7% 45.1% 23 278 296 3 57%
A.Battle SF 75 97 11.0% 17.9% 42 318 367 0 57%
J.Jones GB 73 92 18.2% 26.4% 30 274 299 1 67%
J.Hill SF 72 82 9.5% 12.7% 40 317 369 2 75%
S.Moss NYG 67 67 46.0% 46.1% 15 153 191 2 80%
D.Anderson HOU 59 52 13.1% 9.8% 29 241 275 2 66%
S.Johnson BUF 44 55 24.5% 33.0% 14 102 162 2 71%
D.Patten NO 42 36 14.4% 10.7% 20 162 190 1 55%
G.Lewis PHI 41 45 1.8% 3.3% 35 247 292 1 54%
M.Walker JAC 38 18 3.7% -4.7% 30 217 243 0 53%
Player Team DYAR YAR DVOA VOA Passes Yards EYds TD Catch
Rate
R.Brown PHI 33 21 -0.9% -5.2% 35 252 274 1 51%
H.Douglas ATL 31 18 -2.2% -6.6% 39 320 283 1 59%
J.Higgins OAK 29 36 -3.6% -1.4% 42 366 304 4 52%
B.Lloyd CHI 26 37 -6.0% -3.1% 49 364 355 2 53%
S.Rice MIN 23 26 -3.8% -2.9% 31 141 250 4 48%
D.Jackson DEN 22 21 -0.1% -0.5% 21 190 174 1 57%
N.Burleson SEA 20 21 14.4% 15.4% 9 60 90 1 56%
S.Aiken NE 18 16 7.0% 5.7% 11 101 98 0 73%
A.Allison MIN 15 21 -4.5% -1.0% 21 109 169 0 48%
E.Doucet ARI 12 12 -4.4% -3.9% 17 90 131 0 82%
C.Henry CIN 10 -20 -10.1% -17.8% 46 220 325 2 41%
D.Hall STL 9 11 -5.6% -4.0% 18 105 119 0 67%
L.Naanee SD 8 9 -3.3% -1.7% 11 64 79 0 73%
Player Team DYAR YAR DVOA VOA Passes Yards EYds TD Catch
Rate
R.Martin GB 6 7 -9.8% -9.0% 26 149 170 1 58%
J.Walker OAK 4 -8 -11.0% -15.7% 32 196 216 1 47%
C.Schilens OAK 2 2 -11.8% -11.7% 32 226 216 2 47%
D.Darling KC 1 -5 -12.1% -14.8% 33 247 203 1 52%
D.Jarrett CAR 1 9 -11.8% -6.5% 19 119 121 0 53%
A.Davis HOU -1 1 -13.3% -12.3% 28 213 176 0 46%
D.Williams BAL -3 1 -14.6% -12.2% 23 180 138 1 57%
L.Hawkins TEN -4 -4 -16.9% -17.3% 12 68 72 0 58%
M.Furrey DET -10 -22 -16.7% -21.5% 35 181 188 0 51%
J.Morgan SF -12 -1 -16.3% -13.1% 43 319 256 3 47%
J.Porter JAC -13 -16 -17.7% -19.2% 29 181 186 1 38%
D.Stanley STL -15 -17 -29.3% -31.0% 12 119 52 1 50%
D.Hackett CAR -20 -21 -21.7% -22.4% 28 190 148 0 46%
Player Team DYAR YAR DVOA VOA Passes Yards EYds TD Catch
Rate
A.Chatman CIN -22 -21 -21.7% -21.1% 31 194 167 0 68%
L.Sweed PIT -24 -21 -46.7% -42.0% 10 64 22 0 60%
K.Colbert DET -26 -34 -25.2% -28.6% 27 116 132 1 44%
A.Caldwell CIN -27 -36 -30.5% -36.7% 19 78 82 0 58%
B.Finneran ATL -27 -38 -22.0% -25.7% 36 169 199 1 58%
G.Holt CIN -28 -34 -42.5% -49.2% 11 26 35 1 27%
K.Burton STL -30 -26 -26.7% -24.7% 29 172 131 1 45%
B.McMullen SEA -32 -21 -35.2% -27.3% 18 124 68 0 39%
D.Thomas WAS -33 -45 -28.4% -34.3% 27 120 121 0 56%
T.Williamson JAC -33 -37 -45.0% -49.7% 13 30 34 1 38%
J.Standeford DET -37 -52 -26.6% -32.5% 34 244 161 0 44%
M.Kelly WAS -41 -43 -62.2% -64.7% 11 18 7 0 27%
J.Hardy BUF -43 -31 -38.6% -31.1% 24 87 71 2 38%
Player Team DYAR YAR DVOA VOA Passes Yards EYds TD Catch
Rate
J.Webb KC -46 -39 -52.9% -47.0% 13 46 25 0 38%
J.Thrash WAS -50 -52 -43.8% -45.3% 22 81 57 1 41%
W.Franklin KC -50 -44 -53.1% -48.1% 17 83 27 0 41%
J.Galloway TB -55 -58 -40.2% -41.8% 28 138 82 0 46%
B.Smith NYJ -59 -54 -53.8% -50.5% 19 71 29 0 63%
R.Parrish BUF -64 -45 -30.1% -24.9% 45 232 204 1 53%
C.Taylor SEA -67 -64 -46.7% -45.0% 25 98 61 0 36%
D.Looker STL -67 -55 -31.9% -28.4% 47 271 186 2 49%
R.Curry OAK -75 -79 -33.0% -34.3% 47 181 188 2 38%
S.Steptoe CLE -81 -97 -40.4% -46.0% 41 182 118 0 46%
D.Stallworth CLE -91 -101 -40.0% -43.2% 45 170 136 1 38%
A.Lelie OAK -91 -91 -38.0% -37.9% 45 197 159 2 24%
M.Booker CHI -122 -127 -44.7% -46.1% 49 211 129 2 29%

RUSHING BY WIDE RECEIVERS: Minimum 5 carries

Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA Rk Runs Yards EYds Rk TD FUM
J.Cribbs CLE 127 1 113 1 35.2% 7 26.7% 9 29 167 311 1 1 0
D.Jackson PHI 70 2 66 3 50.5% 5 44.7% 6 17 96 143 3 1 0
B.Smith NYJ 62 3 66 2 43.1% 6 48.7% 5 12 113 150 2 0 1
M.Clayton BAL 59 4 56 4 155.9% 2 147.2% 2 6 81 139 4 1 0
T.Ginn MIA 50 5 50 5 164.3% 1 166.4% 1 5 73 117 5 2 0
D.Hester CHI 44 6 45 6 131.6% 3 134.6% 3 5 61 104 6 0 0
H.Douglas ATL 36 7 35 9 23.2% 11 21.0% 11 12 69 91 7 1 0
E.Royal DEN 36 8 41 7 21.1% 13 28.7% 7 11 109 89 8 0 0
D.Avery STL 33 9 31 10 32.8% 8 28.4% 8 9 59 82 9 1 0
A.Caldwell CIN 30 10 35 8 69.0% 4 83.9% 4 5 53 73 10 0 0
T.Owens DAL 29 11 24 11 31.7% 9 19.2% 12 7 33 71 11 0 0
S.Smith CAR 20 12 19 12 26.5% 10 25.5% 10 5 40 48 12 0 0
N.Washington PIT 14 13 10 14 23.1% 12 8.1% 13 5 18 34 14 0 0
A.Boldin ARI 13 14 16 13 -9.7% 14 -3.5% 14 9 67 35 13 0 1