Writers of Pro Football Prospectus 2008

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Innovative Statistics

Football Outsiders exclusive statistics


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Wide Receivers 2008

Regular season totals, through Week 11

Revised as of 11/18/2008

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 (EYds), 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 33 passes, 79 players ranked

Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA Passes Yards EYds TD Catch
Rate
81-A.Boldin ARI 342 1 333 1 38.2% 1 36.9% 83 792 1,060 10 75%
84-R.White ATL 310 2 261 4 28.9% 4 22.4% 98 903 1,062 6 59%
11-L.Fitzgerald ARI 291 3 271 2 23.2% 8 20.9% 101 942 1,089 6 66%
80-A.Johnson HOU 278 4 267 3 18.1% 13 16.8% 107 955 1,146 4 66%
85-G.Jennings GB 254 5 248 5 29.9% 3 28.8% 77 864 862 5 62%
87-R.Wayne IND 225 6 190 8 17.7% 14 13.1% 93 773 933 6 60%
86-H.Ward PIT 199 7 210 6 17.6% 15 19.2% 83 685 830 5 65%
83-V.Jackson SD 199 8 207 7 23.6% 7 25.2% 68 646 739 4 54%
15-S.Breaston ARI 198 9 168 10 23.8% 6 18.3% 68 639 733 1 71%
84-T.Houshmandzadeh CIN 192 10 171 9 11.4% 21 8.6% 102 726 938 4 72%
85-D.Mason BAL 173 11 159 14 16.6% 17 13.9% 78 688 742 3 68%
83-K.Walter HOU 168 12 162 12 21.6% 10 20.5% 61 574 647 6 66%
87-B.Berrian MIN 165 13 160 13 16.2% 18 15.3% 67 667 710 5 49%
11-A.Gonzalez IND 159 14 143 17 24.0% 5 20.3% 56 473 586 3 71%
81-C.Johnson DET 157 15 144 15 9.8% 23 7.9% 89 839 799 8 51%
83-L.Evans BUF 145 16 165 11 17.3% 16 21.8% 61 708 604 3 61%
Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA Passes Yards EYds TD Catch
Rate
16-L.Moore NO 135 17 119 24 9.9% 22 7.2% 77 611 686 6 68%
18-M.Jones JAC 135 18 143 16 8.8% 27 9.7% 81 586 718 2 62%
89-A.Bryant TB 132 19 137 19 8.2% 29 9.1% 80 625 708 2 63%
84-H.Baskett PHI 129 20 122 22 36.3% 2 34.0% 32 358 403 3 69%
44-D.Clark IND 118 21 94 33 12.4% 19 7.3% 61 459 555 3 64%
19-E.Royal DEN 117 22 124 21 6.2% 35 7.2% 77 659 682 4 73%
89-J.Cotchery NYJ 117 23 132 20 8.3% 28 11.0% 70 597 627 5 69%
19-D.Henderson NO 113 24 106 29 20.9% 12 18.9% 43 554 439 4 51%
87-L.Coles NYJ 110 25 140 18 6.7% 34 12.0% 67 525 623 6 69%
80-D.Driver GB 107 26 99 31 7.2% 32 5.8% 68 572 592 3 66%
19-I.Hilliard TB 106 27 111 26 21.5% 11 22.9% 39 280 411 3 87%
82-A.Randle El WAS 106 28 107 28 12.1% 20 12.3% 54 455 505 1 69%
83-W.Welker NE 104 29 120 23 1.6% 41 3.9% 93 718 743 1 78%
17-P.Burress NYG 103 30 103 30 6.9% 33 6.7% 65 454 586 5 54%
89-S.Smith CAR 90 31 112 25 2.2% 39 5.7% 76 681 629 4 53%
82-J.Reed BUF 90 32 107 27 21.8% 9 28.7% 33 288 345 0 79%
Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA Passes Yards EYds TD Catch
Rate
12-M.Jenkins ATL 77 33 73 39 7.9% 30 6.7% 49 450 419 3 59%
88-I.Bruce SF 75 34 93 34 5.0% 37 9.4% 53 431 455 4 47%
81-B.Jones TEN 73 35 66 41 9.8% 24 7.6% 42 321 375 1 69%
87-M.Muhammad CAR 72 36 70 40 0.2% 43 -0.1% 70 561 561 3 59%
83-A.Battle SF 70 37 97 32 9.5% 26 17.9% 42 318 361 2 57%
89-C.Chambers SD 69 38 73 38 9.7% 25 11.2% 38 294 352 5 50%
89-S.Moss WAS 62 39 89 35 -3.1% 48 0.8% 84 701 629 5 58%
81-R.Moss NE 61 40 75 37 -2.6% 47 -0.3% 76 619 586 5 61%
85-N.Washington PIT 58 41 58 43 5.0% 36 5.1% 43 393 353 3 53%
85-C.Johnson CIN 55 42 38 53 -3.3% 49 -6.3% 73 383 571 4 56%
12-J.Gage TEN 54 43 55 45 1.7% 40 2.0% 47 376 385 4 45%
81-A.Toomer NYG 53 44 57 44 -0.9% 44 0.1% 52 365 441 3 58%
87-J.Nelson GB 51 45 44 48 7.3% 31 4.7% 34 247 282 1 62%
14-B.Stokley DEN 45 46 54 46 -1.1% 45 1.1% 50 319 384 2 62%
11-Ro.Williams DAL 42 47 34 55 -2.2% 46 -4.3% 49 306 394 3 47%
82-B.Johnson SF 41 48 60 42 3.1% 38 10.3% 33 281 274 2 70%
Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA Passes Yards EYds TD Catch
Rate
10-J.Gaffney NE 37 49 38 51 0.2% 42 0.5% 37 240 292 2 62%
12-S.Smith NYG 36 50 42 49 -3.7% 51 -2.6% 53 360 391 1 70%
15-B.Marshall DEN 35 51 83 36 -8.6% 56 -3.5% 111 803 783 5 57%
23-D.Hester CHI 33 52 28 57 -3.6% 50 -4.9% 45 318 347 2 60%
84-P.Crayton DAL 26 53 31 56 -5.5% 52 -4.2% 49 381 341 2 55%
81-R.Davis CHI 25 54 34 54 -6.4% 54 -4.0% 50 369 360 2 58%
80-M.Clayton TB 21 55 15 59 -5.9% 53 -7.9% 39 289 278 0 69%
19-T.Ginn MIA 19 56 39 50 -8.6% 55 -4.2% 60 509 404 1 63%
17-D.Avery STL 18 57 38 52 -9.2% 57 -5.0% 62 495 433 3 56%
83-G.Camarillo MIA 15 58 52 47 -10.2% 58 -3.6% 76 538 491 1 64%
10-D.Jackson PHI 7 59 19 58 -11.6% 60 -9.6% 80 652 512 2 53%
83-M.Bradley KC 6 60 -9 61 -10.9% 59 -15.5% 39 250 264 2 56%
82-D.Bowe KC 4 61 3 60 -12.3% 61 -12.3% 106 666 689 6 52%
10-S.Holmes PIT -1 62 -16 63 -12.6% 62 -15.5% 71 482 442 3 48%
84-S.McDonald DET -14 63 -33 68 -16.1% 64 -20.3% 54 274 327 1 54%
88-M.Harrison IND -16 64 -15 62 -15.3% 63 -15.2% 77 434 483 5 51%
Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA Passes Yards EYds TD Catch
Rate
87-M.Furrey DET -18 65 -22 66 -19.9% 67 -21.5% 35 181 177 1 51%
18-K.Robinson SEA -23 66 -30 67 -20.9% 70 -23.4% 37 231 193 2 51%
80-K.Curtis PHI -23 67 -18 64 -20.7% 69 -18.8% 36 217 198 1 53%
11-R.Parrish BUF -34 68 -19 65 -26.2% 72 -20.1% 32 185 159 2 56%
81-T.Holt STL -35 69 -39 70 -19.1% 65 -19.9% 70 412 391 2 54%
19-B.Wade MIN -40 70 -50 72 -20.4% 68 -22.5% 65 399 360 1 58%
89-R.Curry OAK -42 71 -34 69 -29.0% 74 -26.2% 32 147 146 1 44%
17-B.Edwards CLE -45 72 -62 75 -19.3% 66 -21.6% 86 576 494 3 41%
84-B.Engram SEA -46 73 -59 74 -26.7% 73 -30.6% 43 222 201 0 51%
84-J.Morgan SF -49 74 -42 71 -30.4% 75 -27.7% 35 214 155 2 43%
81-T.Owens DAL -68 75 -59 73 -23.1% 71 -21.9% 82 505 419 6 49%
19-J.McCareins TEN -87 76 -91 77 -38.9% 77 -40.0% 42 208 142 0 33%
89-M.Clayton BAL -88 77 -81 76 -36.7% 76 -35.2% 47 235 161 1 45%
87-A.Lelie OAK -107 78 -108 78 -50.8% 79 -51.3% 35 105 70 1 20%
86-M.Booker CHI -117 79 -131 79 -48.7% 78 -53.2% 42 153 91 2 24%

RECEIVING, OTHERS: 6-32 passes

Player Team DYAR YAR DVOA VOA Passes Yards EYds TD Catch
Rate
80-M.Floyd SD 133 130 81.3% 79.0% 18 266 313 3 78%
17-R.Meachem NO 111 103 102.4% 93.6% 12 244 243 2 67%
83-C.Stuckey NYJ 103 114 31.3% 36.1% 29 228 341 4 69%
19-M.Austin DAL 102 94 52.5% 47.2% 21 255 279 3 57%
87-D.Hixon NYG 88 96 43.9% 48.8% 20 245 257 1 75%
80-B.Lloyd CHI 84 73 26.0% 20.8% 27 266 300 1 63%
18-S.Rice MIN 58 43 35.3% 23.0% 13 70 184 3 54%
89-D.Anderson HOU 49 46 21.8% 19.5% 17 118 188 2 71%
85-J.Urban ARI 46 42 9.3% 7.0% 27 215 241 2 70%
89-J.Hill SF 43 51 16.1% 21.6% 19 155 183 1 68%
83-G.Lewis PHI 43 49 6.7% 9.8% 27 225 242 0 59%
81-D.Patten NO 42 36 14.2% 10.7% 20 162 189 1 55%
86-D.Northcutt JAC 38 32 2.6% 0.0% 32 223 263 0 59%
Player Team DYAR YAR DVOA VOA Passes Yards EYds TD Catch
Rate
83-S.Moss NYG 36 37 45.2% 47.2% 8 70 103 2 75%
81-M.Walker JAC 30 14 3.2% -5.0% 24 176 199 0 58%
81-N.Burleson SEA 22 21 17.6% 15.4% 9 60 93 1 56%
15-D.Bess MIA 22 34 -2.2% 4.0% 26 188 199 1 73%
13-St.Johnson BUF 22 27 19.4% 27.9% 8 72 87 0 75%
86-R.Brown PHI 20 14 -2.5% -5.3% 24 192 186 1 54%
81-J.Avant PHI 15 10 -6.5% -8.6% 32 203 214 1 56%
84-C.Davis SD 14 17 13.4% 18.3% 7 59 66 0 57%
83-H.Douglas ATL 13 4 -3.9% -10.0% 21 160 143 0 57%
16-M.Bumpus SEA 12 15 4.2% 9.5% 8 48 74 1 63%
82-D.Hall STL 10 11 -5.5% -4.0% 18 105 120 1 67%
80-E.Doucet ARI 9 6 0.5% -3.9% 9 50 74 0 89%
11-Re.Williams JAC 6 18 -10.0% -5.6% 30 180 215 1 67%
Player Team DYAR YAR DVOA VOA Passes Yards EYds TD Catch
Rate
82-D.Jackson DEN 5 3 -7.9% -10.1% 12 99 90 1 50%
84-J.Walker OAK 5 -8 -10.8% -15.7% 32 196 217 1 47%
84-A.Allison MIN 4 6 -10.1% -9.3% 21 109 148 0 48%
11-A.Davis HOU 3 -3 -10.5% -14.7% 16 123 107 0 44%
87-D.Williams BAL 2 1 -11.0% -12.2% 23 180 146 1 57%
19-D.Stanley STL 0 0 -12.0% -12.9% 8 113 53 1 63%
15-J.Higgins OAK 0 -11 -12.5% -19.9% 20 170 124 1 40%
80-D.Jarrett CAR -1 0 -13.5% -12.3% 13 78 82 0 46%
89-J.Jones GB -3 7 -15.7% -6.0% 14 69 83 1 57%
16-J.Cribbs CLE -5 -7 -21.4% -26.0% 7 18 38 1 29%
87-L.Hawkins TEN -7 -7 -21.2% -20.8% 10 54 56 0 60%
12-M.Colston NO -7 -15 -15.5% -18.5% 31 252 203 0 48%
84-T.Williamson JAC -10 -16 -26.7% -35.2% 9 27 42 1 44%
Player Team DYAR YAR DVOA VOA Passes Yards EYds TD Catch
Rate
11-D.Thomas WAS -10 -10 -20.8% -21.3% 16 77 84 0 69%
82-R.Martin GB -12 -8 -26.7% -21.7% 11 61 53 0 45%
83-D.Branch SEA -15 -13 -27.2% -25.3% 13 85 63 0 54%
81-D.Darling KC -16 -22 -25.8% -30.5% 17 121 76 0 41%
80-J.Porter JAC -22 -26 -25.2% -27.9% 19 101 106 1 37%
83-A.Chatman CIN -24 -21 -21.9% -21.1% 31 194 165 0 68%
14-K.Burton STL -24 -22 -34.7% -32.3% 15 86 54 0 40%
14-L.Sweed PIT -24 -22 -60.3% -56.4% 7 39 6 0 57%
85-W.Franklin KC -31 -26 -65.5% -57.9% 8 50 2 0 25%
80-J.Webb KC -32 -32 -48.1% -48.3% 10 38 26 0 40%
16-B.Smith NYJ -32 -26 -57.5% -49.2% 10 43 11 0 60%
17-B.McMullen SEA -33 -21 -36.1% -27.3% 18 124 67 1 39%
83-J.Thrash WAS -33 -35 -40.2% -41.4% 17 69 49 1 41%
Player Team DYAR YAR DVOA VOA Passes Yards EYds TD Catch
Rate
86-B.Finneran ATL -34 -36 -29.7% -30.6% 25 109 113 0 52%
85-M.Stovall TB -38 -35 -85.7% -80.2% 7 25 -14 0 43%
18-D.Hackett CAR -39 -35 -32.0% -29.8% 26 153 107 0 42%
81-J.Hardy BUF -40 -26 -37.8% -28.8% 23 87 71 2 39%
81-C.Schilens OAK -43 -43 -40.2% -40.3% 20 124 64 0 40%
13-K.Colbert SEA -43 -41 -42.6% -40.9% 18 52 53 1 39%
82-J.Kent SEA -44 -44 -99.2% -100.0% 7 0 -24 0 0%
84-J.Galloway TB -45 -47 -37.2% -38.4% 26 134 83 0 46%
86-C.Taylor SEA -48 -48 -52.5% -52.1% 16 57 27 0 38%
18-D.Stallworth CLE -49 -40 -40.7% -35.4% 24 104 70 1 46%
15-C.Henry CIN -52 -58 -40.9% -43.9% 23 82 74 0 35%
12-S.Steptoe CLE -58 -59 -42.7% -43.3% 27 155 72 1 48%
89-D.Looker STL -59 -56 -42.0% -40.4% 26 137 77 2 38%

RUSHING BY WIDE RECEIVERS: Minimum 3 carries

Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA Rk Runs Yards EYds Rk TD FUM
16-B.Smith NYJ 82 1 86 1 89.4% 5 94.1% 4 10 116 195 1 0 0
10-D.Jackson PHI 63 2 63 2 100.5% 3 100.2% 3 12 80 125 3 1 0
16-J.Cribbs CLE 61 3 59 3 73.5% 6 68.7% 7 8 69 146 2 1 0
89-M.Clayton BAL 47 4 46 4 141.0% 2 135.5% 2 5 69 111 4 1 0
17-D.Avery STL 33 5 32 6 92.9% 4 86.4% 5 5 51 78 5 1 0
81-A.Boldin ARI 32 6 34 5 53.2% 9 57.6% 8 7 60 77 6 0 0
19-T.Ginn MIA 30 7 30 7 156.5% 1 153.1% 1 3 44 71 7 1 0
81-T.Owens DAL 28 8 25 8 71.9% 7 55.6% 9 5 25 68 8 0 0
19-D.Henderson NO 19 9 18 9 71.8% 8 70.8% 6 3 36 44 9 0 0
83-H.Douglas ATL 15 10 12 10 2.9% 11 -6.9% 11 8 51 40 10 0 0
85-N.Washington PIT 10 11 7 11 44.0% 10 22.4% 10 3 8 25 11 0 0
82-D.Hall STL 4 12 2 13 -28.1% 12 -33.4% 13 4 9 12 12 0 0
19-E.Royal DEN 3 13 5 12 -31.0% 13 -22.0% 12 6 22 9 13 0 0
81-C.Johnson DET -27 14 -28 14 -202.6% 14 -205.2% 14 3 -4 -61 14 0 1