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 12/29/2008

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 50 passes, 79 players ranked

Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA Passes Yards EYds TD Catch
Rate
80-A.Johnson HOU 489 1 465 1 22.4% 5 20.4% 170 1575 1,866 9 68%
84-R.White ATL 416 2 361 5 22.1% 6 18.8% 148 1383 1,547 7 59%
11-L.Fitzgerald ARI 410 3 414 2 19.7% 7 20.7% 154 1431 1,615 12 62%
89-S.Smith CAR 379 4 405 3 23.6% 4 26.2% 130 1424 1,408 7 61%
83-V.Jackson SD 375 5 387 4 33.0% 2 35.1% 100 1098 1,212 7 59%
87-R.Wayne IND 329 6 327 6 19.2% 9 18.7% 130 1128 1,335 7 63%
86-H.Ward PIT 289 7 294 7 16.2% 11 16.8% 126 1047 1,240 8 65%
81-A.Boldin ARI 276 8 248 10 13.8% 15 11.8% 126 1038 1,240 11 71%
89-A.Bryant TB 270 9 277 8 13.4% 16 12.7% 138 1253 1,288 7 60%
85-D.Mason BAL 260 10 241 11 13.9% 14 13.0% 121 1048 1,149 6 66%
81-C.Johnson DET 248 11 227 13 9.1% 22 6.6% 150 1331 1,324 13 52%
15-S.Breaston ARI 246 12 222 14 14.0% 13 12.1% 113 1006 1,091 3 68%
85-G.Jennings GB 246 13 256 9 9.6% 21 10.8% 140 1291 1,250 9 57%
11-A.Gonzalez IND 234 14 219 16 26.3% 3 22.5% 79 664 851 5 72%
16-L.Moore NO 228 15 196 19 12.7% 17 8.7% 120 930 1,082 11 66%
83-K.Walter HOU 224 16 229 12 16.8% 10 17.3% 95 899 952 8 63%
Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA Passes Yards EYds TD Catch
Rate
19-D.Henderson NO 213 17 207 18 36.5% 1 34.5% 56 793 670 4 57%
87-B.Berrian MIN 205 18 220 15 12.4% 18 15.3% 95 964 944 8 51%
12-M.Jenkins ATL 185 19 174 23 16.0% 12 15.1% 81 777 783 3 62%
83-L.Evans BUF 185 20 213 17 11.2% 20 13.9% 102 1025 925 3 62%
80-D.Driver GB 183 21 185 22 8.0% 25 7.7% 115 1012 1,008 5 64%
83-W.Welker NE 174 22 195 20 3.5% 31 4.1% 150 1165 1,203 3 75%
84-T.Houshmandzadeh CIN 164 23 118 33 2.4% 34 -1.7% 137 904 1,122 4 67%
88-I.Bruce SF 154 24 194 21 5.9% 28 10.1% 108 835 923 7 56%
87-M.Muhammad CAR 152 25 145 27 5.0% 29 4.1% 108 923 927 5 60%
19-I.Hilliard TB 144 26 156 25 19.5% 8 21.5% 58 424 584 5 81%
87-D.Hixon NYG 141 27 112 34 11.4% 19 6.3% 73 596 686 2 59%
87-L.Coles NYJ 138 28 161 24 2.0% 36 3.8% 115 839 1,000 8 61%
81-R.Moss NE 131 29 134 29 0.5% 41 0.5% 125 1011 1,022 11 55%
82-J.Reed BUF 124 30 148 26 7.6% 26 11.6% 79 597 679 1 71%
18-M.Jones JAC 118 31 127 30 -1.3% 47 2.3% 108 761 864 2 60%
19-E.Royal DEN 118 32 120 32 -1.2% 46 -0.9% 129 980 1,002 5 71%
Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA Passes Yards EYds TD Catch
Rate
12-M.Colston NO 117 33 110 35 2.8% 33 2.8% 88 760 755 5 53%
12-J.Gage TEN 115 34 134 28 6.7% 27 9.7% 74 651 657 6 46%
89-J.Cotchery NYJ 106 35 124 31 -1.5% 48 1.3% 111 858 880 6 64%
17-P.Burress NYG 97 36 98 37 4.8% 30 5.6% 66 454 582 5 53%
85-J.Urban ARI 93 37 89 41 8.4% 24 8.8% 51 448 475 4 67%
82-A.Randle El WAS 91 38 78 44 1.3% 38 -1.3% 87 593 691 4 61%
12-S.Smith NYG 88 39 89 42 1.0% 39 1.0% 82 577 657 1 70%
85-C.Johnson CIN 88 40 53 54 -1.2% 45 -5.9% 97 540 769 4 55%
81-T.Owens DAL 86 41 50 56 -6.4% 57 -8.1% 140 1052 1,014 10 49%
84-H.Baskett PHI 85 42 84 43 8.5% 23 7.4% 51 439 464 3 65%
86-D.Northcutt JAC 82 43 72 47 2.1% 35 1.3% 68 545 543 2 65%
89-S.Moss WAS 77 44 96 38 -6.1% 56 -3.9% 138 1044 1,005 6 57%
81-A.Toomer NYG 77 45 63 51 -2.3% 49 -4.1% 88 580 716 5 55%
84-P.Crayton DAL 77 46 71 48 0.8% 40 1.2% 69 551 533 4 57%
81-B.Jones TEN 75 47 75 46 3.2% 32 3.1% 62 449 496 1 66%
15-B.Marshall DEN 74 48 105 36 -6.7% 58 -5.4% 181 1265 1,277 7 57%
Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA Passes Yards EYds TD Catch
Rate
15-D.Bess MIA 68 49 91 40 1.4% 37 3.1% 75 554 569 1 72%
85-N.Washington PIT 65 50 51 55 -0.9% 44 -4.0% 78 631 581 3 51%
89-C.Chambers SD 64 51 71 49 0.3% 42 1.6% 64 462 498 5 52%
82-B.Johnson SF 59 52 76 45 -3.7% 52 0.0% 75 546 574 3 60%
14-B.Stokley DEN 58 53 66 50 -5.6% 55 -2.8% 85 525 631 4 58%
83-G.Camarillo MIA 57 54 96 39 -2.5% 50 2.5% 83 613 596 2 66%
81-J.Avant PHI 50 55 43 60 -0.7% 43 -2.6% 57 377 421 2 56%
11-Re.Williams JAC 47 56 46 58 -3.8% 53 -3.7% 62 371 484 4 61%
87-J.Nelson GB 45 57 44 59 -2.6% 51 -1.9% 54 366 396 2 61%
10-J.Gaffney NE 42 58 54 52 -4.5% 54 -2.1% 65 468 481 2 58%
10-S.Holmes PIT 42 59 25 64 -8.2% 60 -9.7% 114 821 770 6 48%
89-M.Clayton BAL 36 60 38 62 -7.5% 59 -6.6% 82 695 568 3 50%
82-D.Bowe KC 34 61 53 53 -10.3% 66 -8.4% 157 1022 1,077 8 55%
10-D.Jackson PHI 28 62 43 61 -8.4% 61 -8.1% 120 912 799 3 52%
23-D.Hester CHI 21 63 26 63 -9.5% 64 -9.2% 92 667 638 3 57%
88-M.Harrison IND 19 64 24 65 -9.1% 63 -9.9% 107 636 745 6 56%
Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA Passes Yards EYds TD Catch
Rate
81-T.Holt STL 15 65 14 67 -11.4% 68 -11.1% 119 796 775 4 54%
19-T.Ginn MIA 14 66 47 57 -10.0% 65 -6.1% 93 791 612 2 60%
80-M.Clayton TB 10 67 14 68 -8.8% 62 -9.7% 61 484 404 1 62%
18-K.Robinson SEA 7 68 1 69 -11.2% 67 -12.4% 58 400 370 2 53%
19-B.Wade MIN -7 69 -3 70 -15.7% 70 -13.1% 89 645 557 2 60%
83-D.Branch SEA -8 70 17 66 -14.2% 69 -9.1% 59 412 367 4 51%
80-K.Curtis PHI -20 71 -13 73 -16.6% 72 -15.2% 63 390 379 2 52%
83-M.Bradley KC -21 72 -39 75 -18.9% 77 -20.5% 62 380 374 4 48%
81-R.Davis CHI -25 73 -9 72 -17.0% 74 -14.4% 67 445 399 2 52%
84-B.Engram SEA -32 74 -39 74 -18.0% 76 -19.0% 80 489 452 0 59%
17-D.Avery STL -36 75 -7 71 -16.5% 71 -13.5% 104 684 629 4 52%
11-Ro.Williams DAL -39 76 -74 77 -17.1% 75 -23.6% 82 430 488 3 44%
17-B.Edwards CLE -40 77 -84 78 -16.7% 73 -20.4% 138 877 828 4 40%
84-S.McDonald DET -49 78 -64 76 -23.4% 78 -25.1% 66 339 348 2 53%
19-J.McCareins TEN -101 79 -110 79 -31.5% 79 -31.9% 73 416 317 0 42%

RECEIVING, OTHERS: 10-49 passes

Player Team DYAR YAR DVOA VOA Passes Yards EYds TD Catch
Rate
80-M.Floyd SD 196 203 58.9% 59.9% 37 465 517 4 73%
83-C.Stuckey NYJ 132 137 24.1% 25.8% 45 359 485 4 71%
17-R.Meachem NO 116 110 64.0% 61.9% 20 289 292 3 60%
19-M.Austin DAL 108 99 48.7% 45.1% 23 278 300 3 57%
89-J.Hill SF 72 82 9.4% 12.7% 40 317 369 2 75%
83-A.Battle SF 71 97 11.0% 17.9% 42 318 362 2 57%
89-J.Jones GB 71 92 18.2% 26.4% 30 274 297 1 67%
83-S.Moss NYG 67 67 46.0% 46.1% 15 153 191 2 80%
89-D.Anderson HOU 58 52 13.2% 9.8% 29 241 273 2 66%
13-St.Johnson BUF 45 55 24.5% 33.0% 14 102 163 2 71%
81-D.Patten NO 41 36 14.4% 10.7% 20 162 187 1 55%
81-M.Walker JAC 38 18 3.8% -4.7% 30 217 244 0 53%
80-B.Lloyd CHI 38 37 -6.0% -3.1% 49 364 373 2 53%
Player Team DYAR YAR DVOA VOA Passes Yards EYds TD Catch
Rate
83-H.Douglas ATL 37 18 -2.3% -6.6% 39 320 293 1 59%
83-G.Lewis PHI 34 45 1.8% 3.3% 35 247 281 2 54%
86-R.Brown PHI 32 21 -0.8% -5.2% 35 252 273 2 51%
15-J.Higgins OAK 30 36 -3.7% -1.4% 42 366 306 4 52%
18-S.Rice MIN 30 26 -3.8% -2.9% 31 141 260 4 48%
82-D.Jackson DEN 23 21 0.0% -0.5% 21 190 175 1 57%
81-N.Burleson SEA 22 21 14.4% 15.4% 9 60 92 1 56%
88-S.Aiken NE 18 16 7.0% 5.7% 11 101 99 0 73%
84-A.Allison MIN 15 21 -4.4% -1.0% 21 109 169 0 48%
80-E.Doucet ARI 11 12 -4.4% -3.9% 17 90 131 0 82%
15-C.Henry CIN 8 -20 -10.1% -17.8% 46 220 322 3 41%
82-D.Hall STL 8 11 -5.7% -4.0% 18 105 117 1 67%
84-J.Walker OAK 7 -8 -11.0% -15.7% 32 196 221 1 47%
Player Team DYAR YAR DVOA VOA Passes Yards EYds TD Catch
Rate
80-D.Jarrett CAR 7 9 -11.8% -6.5% 19 119 129 0 53%
11-L.Naanee SD 6 9 -3.3% -1.7% 11 64 77 0 73%
82-R.Martin GB 4 7 -9.8% -9.0% 26 149 167 1 58%
81-D.Darling KC 3 -5 -12.1% -14.8% 33 247 206 1 52%
81-C.Schilens OAK 1 2 -11.8% -11.7% 32 226 214 2 47%
87-D.Williams BAL 0 1 -14.4% -12.2% 23 180 143 1 57%
11-A.Davis HOU -2 1 -13.2% -12.3% 28 213 176 0 46%
87-L.Hawkins TEN -5 -4 -16.9% -17.3% 12 68 71 0 58%
84-J.Morgan SF -6 -1 -16.4% -13.1% 43 319 265 3 47%
19-D.Stanley STL -17 -17 -29.2% -31.0% 12 119 49 1 50%
87-M.Furrey DET -18 -22 -16.7% -21.5% 35 181 177 1 51%
83-A.Chatman CIN -21 -21 -22.0% -21.1% 31 194 168 0 68%
80-J.Porter JAC -22 -25 -21.0% -22.3% 30 181 181 1 37%
Player Team DYAR YAR DVOA VOA Passes Yards EYds TD Catch
Rate
18-D.Hackett CAR -23 -21 -21.6% -22.4% 28 190 143 0 46%
14-L.Sweed PIT -24 -21 -46.5% -42.0% 10 64 23 0 60%
87-A.Caldwell CIN -25 -36 -30.4% -36.7% 19 78 85 0 58%
16-G.Holt CIN -25 -34 -42.4% -49.2% 11 26 39 1 27%
16-J.Standeford DET -25 -45 -24.3% -30.2% 33 244 172 0 45%
86-B.Finneran ATL -29 -38 -22.0% -25.7% 36 169 197 1 58%
13-K.Colbert DET -29 -34 -25.2% -28.6% 27 116 129 1 44%
84-T.Williamson JAC -31 -37 -45.0% -49.7% 13 30 36 1 38%
17-B.McMullen SEA -34 -21 -35.2% -27.3% 18 124 65 1 39%
11-D.Thomas WAS -34 -45 -28.5% -34.3% 27 120 118 0 56%
14-K.Burton STL -35 -26 -26.7% -24.7% 29 172 124 1 45%
12-M.Kelly WAS -40 -43 -62.3% -64.7% 11 18 8 0 27%
80-J.Webb KC -43 -39 -52.9% -47.0% 13 46 29 0 38%
Player Team DYAR YAR DVOA VOA Passes Yards EYds TD Catch
Rate
81-J.Hardy BUF -46 -31 -38.6% -31.1% 24 87 67 2 38%
83-J.Thrash WAS -53 -52 -43.9% -45.3% 22 81 52 1 41%
85-W.Franklin KC -53 -44 -53.1% -48.1% 17 83 23 0 41%
84-J.Galloway TB -56 -58 -40.2% -41.8% 28 138 81 0 46%
16-B.Smith NYJ -62 -54 -53.7% -50.5% 19 71 25 0 63%
11-R.Parrish BUF -66 -45 -30.1% -24.9% 45 232 201 2 53%
86-C.Taylor SEA -67 -64 -46.7% -45.0% 25 98 61 0 36%
89-D.Looker STL -69 -55 -31.9% -28.4% 47 271 183 2 49%
89-R.Curry OAK -81 -79 -33.0% -34.3% 47 181 179 2 38%
12-S.Steptoe CLE -86 -97 -40.4% -46.0% 41 182 111 1 46%
87-A.Lelie OAK -91 -91 -38.1% -37.9% 45 197 160 2 24%
18-D.Stallworth CLE -95 -101 -40.1% -43.2% 45 170 129 2 38%
86-M.Booker CHI -126 -127 -44.8% -46.1% 49 211 123 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
16-J.Cribbs CLE 122 1 109 1 33.1% 7 24.7% 10 29 163 298 1 1 0
10-D.Jackson PHI 67 2 66 3 50.5% 5 44.7% 6 17 96 137 4 1 0
16-B.Smith NYJ 61 3 66 2 43.0% 6 48.7% 5 12 113 148 2 0 1
89-M.Clayton BAL 59 4 56 4 155.9% 2 147.2% 2 6 81 138 3 1 0
19-T.Ginn MIA 50 5 50 5 162.8% 1 166.4% 1 5 73 117 5 2 0
23-D.Hester CHI 46 6 45 6 131.7% 3 134.6% 3 5 61 109 6 0 0
83-H.Douglas ATL 38 7 35 9 23.2% 11 21.0% 11 12 69 93 7 1 0
19-E.Royal DEN 35 8 41 7 21.3% 13 28.7% 7 11 109 86 8 0 0
17-D.Avery STL 33 9 31 10 32.8% 8 28.4% 8 9 59 82 9 1 0
81-T.Owens DAL 31 10 24 11 31.8% 9 19.2% 12 7 33 76 10 0 0
87-A.Caldwell CIN 31 11 35 8 69.0% 4 83.9% 4 5 53 74 11 0 0
89-S.Smith CAR 20 12 19 12 26.4% 10 25.5% 9 5 40 49 12 0 0
85-N.Washington PIT 14 13 10 14 23.0% 12 8.1% 13 5 18 36 13 0 0
81-A.Boldin ARI 12 14 16 13 -9.8% 14 -3.5% 14 9 67 32 14 0 1