Writers of Pro Football Prospectus 2008

2011 WIDE RECEIVERS

Regular season totals, playoffs not included

Revised as of 1/2/2012

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.
  • Because they run primarily from the backfield in option formations, Brad Smith and Josh Cribbs have their rushing rated as running backs, not wide receivers.
  • Clicking on a player's name will bring you to his FO player page with advanced stats through 2010.

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, 92 players ranked

Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA Passes Yards EYds TD Catch
Rate
FUM
C.Johnson DET 586 1 594 1 33.2% 7 33.9% 158 1680 1,905 16 61% 1
J.Nelson GB 530 2 537 2 54.1% 1 55.1% 96 1263 1,427 15 71% 0
W.Welker NE 475 3 487 3 22.2% 12 23.1% 173 1569 1,811 9 71% 0
V.Cruz NYG 468 4 465 4 33.3% 6 32.9% 129 1536 1,521 9 64% 1
M.Wallace PIT 410 5 386 6 32.2% 8 29.5% 114 1193 1,349 8 63% 1
M.Colston NO 403 6 455 5 35.4% 5 41.6% 107 1143 1,276 8 75% 1
M.Floyd SD 353 7 344 8 51.9% 2 50.2% 70 856 967 5 61% 0
L.Robinson DAL 343 8 347 7 43.1% 3 43.8% 80 858 1,007 11 68% 0
H.Nicks NYG 304 9 308 10 15.4% 22 15.7% 133 1192 1,331 7 57% 0
A.Green CIN 299 10 288 11 18.5% 16 17.4% 115 1057 1,219 7 57% 0
L.Fitzgerald ARI 297 11 264 13 11.2% 31 8.6% 154 1411 1,451 8 52% 0
G.Jennings GB 286 12 317 9 21.8% 14 25.6% 101 949 1,098 9 66% 0
D.Bryant DAL 274 13 266 12 21.9% 13 21.0% 103 931 1,047 9 61% 1
V.Jackson SD 268 14 257 15 16.7% 19 15.5% 115 1106 1,138 9 52% 0
S.Smith CAR 253 15 256 16 13.5% 24 13.9% 129 1395 1,158 7 61% 3
B.Marshall MIA 251 16 246 18 9.8% 36 9.4% 142 1227 1,279 6 58% 1
Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA Passes Yards EYds TD Catch
Rate
FUM
L.Moore NO 241 17 260 14 27.0% 10 30.0% 73 627 852 8 71% 0
J.Jones GB 240 18 224 19 42.4% 4 38.8% 55 635 708 7 69% 1
R.White ATL 234 19 251 17 3.8% 46 5.0% 180 1296 1,503 8 56% 0
A.Brown PIT 214 20 194 23 10.2% 34 8.0% 124 1108 1,079 2 56% 0
R.Meachem NO 211 21 218 20 31.4% 9 32.9% 60 620 701 6 67% 0
J.Maclin PHI 204 22 194 22 14.9% 23 13.6% 96 859 904 5 66% 1
A.Boldin BAL 201 23 185 25 10.5% 33 8.7% 106 887 1,003 3 54% 0
T.Smith BAL 189 24 180 27 12.9% 25 11.7% 94 841 877 7 53% 1
D.Baldwin SEA 180 25 192 24 15.5% 21 17.3% 85 788 785 4 60% 0
N.Washington TEN 175 26 211 21 6.5% 40 10.5% 121 1023 999 7 61% 0
J.Jones ATL 169 27 160 29 10.6% 32 9.3% 95 959 843 8 57% 1
P.Harvin MIN 167 28 151 33 5.5% 43 3.8% 120 961 994 6 73% 1
M.Crabtree SF 167 29 137 36 6.3% 41 3.0% 114 880 962 4 64% 0
S.Johnson BUF 155 30 154 32 1.6% 51 1.4% 134 1004 1,112 7 57% 0
D.Bowe KC 149 31 172 28 0.5% 54 2.6% 142 1159 1,137 5 57% 1
B.LaFell CAR 148 32 150 34 23.2% 11 23.6% 56 614 554 3 64% 0
Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA Passes Yards EYds TD Catch
Rate
FUM
J.Gaffney WAS 147 33 184 26 3.5% 48 7.6% 115 948 954 5 59% 1
M.Austin DAL 146 34 160 30 12.5% 28 14.9% 73 579 686 7 59% 0
D.Heyward-Bey OAK 145 35 137 37 3.6% 47 2.7% 115 975 942 4 56% 1
R.Wayne IND 144 36 123 46 1.1% 52 -0.9% 132 960 1,063 4 57% 0
D.Nelson BUF 142 37 136 38 6.2% 42 5.4% 97 658 824 5 63% 0
D.Jackson PHI 140 38 157 31 4.6% 45 6.7% 104 961 865 4 56% 0
D.Branch NE 138 39 131 41 6.6% 39 5.6% 90 702 787 5 57% 0
B.Hartline MIA 137 40 135 39 12.6% 27 12.3% 66 549 642 1 53% 0
D.Driver GB 137 41 138 35 18.1% 17 18.5% 56 445 563 6 66% 0
J.Cribbs CLE 134 42 120 49 12.6% 26 10.1% 67 518 628 4 61% 0
D.Briscoe TB 127 43 127 43 17.9% 18 18.0% 51 387 525 6 69% 0
A.Johnson HOU 124 44 132 40 18.9% 15 20.8% 51 492 504 2 65% 0
J.Knox CHI 121 45 128 42 10.2% 35 11.4% 69 729 610 2 54% 1
P.Parker TB 120 46 123 47 11.3% 30 11.9% 64 554 584 3 63% 0
D.Henderson NO 112 47 115 50 16.7% 20 17.5% 50 503 476 2 64% 1
S.Breaston KC 108 48 126 44 1.8% 50 4.1% 98 785 772 2 62% 0
Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA Passes Yards EYds TD Catch
Rate
FUM
M.Jenkins MIN 104 49 109 52 11.9% 29 13.3% 55 468 495 3 69% 2
R.Williams CHI 102 50 126 45 7.8% 38 12.4% 63 507 559 2 59% 0
K.Walter HOU 100 51 114 51 8.6% 37 11.6% 59 474 531 3 66% 0
J.Avant PHI 95 52 120 48 2.6% 49 6.7% 81 680 647 1 64% 2
D.Moore OAK 84 53 73 58 0.9% 53 -0.8% 76 618 627 5 43% 0
S.Rice SEA 81 54 84 55 5.1% 44 5.8% 57 484 490 2 56% 0
T.Young DET 74 55 96 54 -1.6% 55 1.6% 85 607 656 6 56% 0
N.Burleson DET 70 56 80 56 -4.5% 60 -3.3% 110 757 802 3 66% 1
P.Burress NYJ 69 57 108 53 -3.8% 58 1.2% 96 612 739 8 47% 0
J.Simpson CIN 57 58 37 64 -5.5% 64 -8.0% 105 725 734 4 48% 0
M.Manningham NYG 53 59 58 59 -4.2% 59 -3.3% 77 523 584 4 51% 0
J.Jones HOU 50 60 56 60 -2.8% 56 -1.7% 64 515 488 2 50% 0
S.Holmes NYJ 50 61 77 57 -6.6% 65 -3.2% 101 654 739 8 50% 2
D.Thomas DEN 42 62 45 61 -4.9% 62 -4.5% 70 551 506 4 46% 0
H.Douglas ATL 40 63 40 62 -3.8% 57 -4.0% 62 498 431 1 63% 0
B.Obomanu SEA 37 64 39 63 -4.9% 61 -4.4% 61 436 441 2 61% 0
Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA Passes Yards EYds TD Catch
Rate
FUM
A.Benn TB 28 65 26 65 -5.5% 63 -5.9% 51 441 357 3 59% 0
E.Decker DEN 24 66 8 67 -9.4% 66 -11.6% 96 612 646 8 46% 1
B.Lloyd DEN 17 67 -11 75 -11.1% 71 -13.6% 147 966 957 5 48% 1
E.Doucet ARI 15 68 23 66 -10.7% 69 -9.7% 97 689 634 5 56% 1
B.Gibson STL 12 69 -2 70 -10.5% 68 -13.0% 71 431 463 1 51% 0
J.Hill JAC 10 70 -4 71 -10.3% 67 -13.5% 55 367 368 3 45% 0
A.Collie IND 10 71 4 69 -11.4% 73 -12.1% 96 514 624 1 56% 0
H.Ward PIT 8 72 -10 74 -11.2% 72 -14.5% 63 381 426 2 73% 1
J.Dillard JAC 7 73 -4 72 -11.0% 70 -13.7% 50 292 331 1 58% 0
D.Alexander STL 5 74 6 68 -11.5% 74 -11.3% 60 431 407 2 43% 0
G.Tate SEA -4 75 -13 77 -13.7% 75 -15.6% 59 377 357 3 61% 1
L.Naanee CAR -10 76 -7 73 -14.5% 76 -13.8% 76 483 440 1 58% 0
D.Sanzenbacher CHI -15 77 -20 79 -16.3% 80 -17.4% 54 276 314 3 50% 0
A.Roberts ARI -17 78 -34 81 -14.8% 77 -17.0% 97 586 618 2 53% 1
A.Caldwell CIN -19 79 -50 83 -16.4% 81 -22.3% 67 317 393 3 55% 0
S.Moss WAS -26 80 -13 76 -16.2% 79 -14.4% 95 584 562 4 48% 0
Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA Passes Yards EYds TD Catch
Rate
FUM
P.Garcon IND -27 81 -38 82 -15.2% 78 -16.2% 134 950 836 6 52% 2
D.Williams TEN -27 82 -16 78 -16.5% 82 -14.8% 93 592 541 5 48% 0
M.Williams TB -46 83 -55 85 -17.3% 83 -18.2% 124 773 743 3 52% 2
L.Hawkins TEN -51 84 -31 80 -21.4% 85 -17.9% 76 472 395 1 62% 1
G.Little CLE -60 85 -77 87 -18.8% 84 -20.5% 120 709 703 2 51% 0
D.Hester CHI -65 86 -52 84 -28.3% 88 -25.2% 56 367 241 1 46% 1
D.Bess MIA -68 87 -67 86 -23.1% 86 -22.9% 86 537 428 3 59% 2
M.Massoquoi CLE -69 88 -86 88 -24.7% 87 -27.6% 74 384 367 2 42% 0
J.Baldwin KC -94 89 -94 89 -36.5% 91 -36.7% 52 254 182 1 40% 0
E.Royal DEN -124 90 -147 90 -44.2% 92 -49.9% 50 155 137 1 38% 0
M.Thomas JAC -149 91 -184 92 -33.3% 89 -38.1% 92 408 368 1 48% 0
D.Aromashodu MIN -152 92 -156 91 -36.0% 90 -36.6% 84 468 307 1 31% 1

RECEIVING, OTHERS: 10-49 passes

Player Team DYAR YAR DVOA VOA Passes Yards EYds TD Catch
Rate
FUM
R.Cobb GB 130 135 43.4% 45.4% 31 375 381 1 81% 0
K.Britt TEN 97 92 34.4% 31.7% 26 290 311 3 65% 1
C.Schilens OAK 76 63 15.9% 11.0% 34 271 328 2 68% 0
J.Norwood CLE 75 66 13.9% 10.7% 34 268 339 1 68% 0
J.Morgan SF 73 84 33.2% 39.9% 20 220 238 1 75% 0
J.Cotchery PIT 70 58 16.6% 11.5% 30 237 300 2 53% 0
K.Williams SF 61 55 12.3% 9.9% 31 241 287 3 65% 0
P.Crayton SD 60 45 9.3% 4.0% 34 248 308 1 68% 1
V.Brown SD 50 53 3.3% 3.9% 40 329 332 2 48% 0
E.Bennett CHI 44 49 1.6% 3.1% 43 381 319 1 56% 1
N.Roosevelt BUF 38 40 6.0% 7.3% 26 257 220 1 62% 0
R.Cooper PHI 36 37 0.5% 0.8% 35 315 276 1 46% 0
D.Stallworth WAS 36 56 -0.2% 6.6% 37 309 287 2 59% 0
T.Copper KC 34 35 24.5% 25.6% 12 114 126 0 67% 0
Player Team DYAR YAR DVOA VOA Passes Yards EYds TD Catch
Rate
FUM
J.Ford OAK 31 25 -0.9% -3.4% 33 279 262 1 58% 2
D.Hagan BUF 27 44 -4.6% 0.2% 42 252 316 1 57% 0
A.Hawkins CIN 26 22 -1.8% -3.5% 34 263 237 0 68% 0
M.Willis DEN 26 32 -3.4% -1.3% 36 267 266 1 50% 0
C.Ochocinco NE 25 33 -2.7% 0.8% 32 276 238 1 47% 0
L.Hankerson WAS 24 22 2.8% 1.6% 20 163 162 0 65% 0
M.Williams SEA 23 26 -5.6% -4.3% 38 236 291 1 47% 0
E.Sanders PIT 19 28 -6.6% -4.0% 43 288 289 2 51% 0
T.Houshmandzadeh OAK 17 5 0.0% -9.2% 19 146 134 1 58% 0
J.Kerley NYJ 13 35 -9.3% -3.3% 47 314 325 1 62% 0
P.Turner NYJ 12 9 -1.8% -4.2% 15 96 108 1 53% 0
D.Avery TEN 10 6 -2.1% -6.6% 11 45 93 1 27% 0
T.Ginn SF 10 12 -8.7% -8.0% 33 220 222 0 58% 0
E.Weems ATL 9 9 -3.6% -3.9% 14 90 99 0 79% 0
Player Team DYAR YAR DVOA VOA Passes Yards EYds TD Catch
Rate
FUM
B.Johnson HOU 8 11 -4.0% -1.0% 12 90 90 1 50% 0
L.Murphy OAK 6 13 -10.1% -7.3% 33 241 212 0 45% 0
S.Smith PHI -3 -1 -14.5% -13.1% 20 124 115 1 55% 0
C.West JAC -6 9 -15.7% -8.3% 27 163 153 2 48% 0
D.Anderson HOU -8 -10 -18.9% -21.3% 16 79 87 1 44% 0
K.Ogletree DAL -8 -8 -16.8% -16.9% 26 173 152 0 58% 1
R.Martin BUF -14 -12 -23.2% -21.6% 16 82 86 0 44% 0
S.Hurd CHI -14 -20 -25.4% -30.7% 15 109 70 0 53% 1
G.Camarillo MIN -22 -34 -25.4% -32.0% 24 121 110 0 38% 0
R.Barden NYG -24 -28 -29.1% -31.3% 19 94 84 0 47% 0
K.Colbert KC -26 -13 -41.8% -27.2% 12 89 35 0 75% 1
L.Williams BAL -33 -36 -45.3% -47.7% 12 46 34 0 33% 0
B.Edwards SF -34 -43 -25.0% -28.3% 34 181 173 0 44% 0
A.Pettis STL -34 -40 -21.7% -23.1% 48 256 257 0 56% 0
Player Team DYAR YAR DVOA VOA Passes Yards EYds TD Catch
Rate
FUM
C.Shorts JAC -36 -36 -52.4% -52.5% 11 30 20 1 18% 0
B.Smith BUF -36 -52 -24.0% -29.0% 42 240 205 1 55% 0
K.Osgood JAC -37 -30 -56.8% -48.9% 11 42 14 0 45% 0
J.Urban KC -43 -57 -55.5% -68.9% 13 35 18 1 31% 0
M.Mariani TEN -50 -48 -64.3% -61.5% 12 24 5 0 42% 0
E.Gates MIA -53 -56 -72.7% -75.8% 12 19 -6 0 17% 0
D.Mason HOU -53 -49 -31.5% -30.0% 35 170 152 0 54% 0
A.Armstrong WAS -64 -56 -44.2% -40.6% 27 103 70 2 26% 0
G.Salas STL -65 -53 -36.3% -32.1% 38 265 126 0 71% 2
B.Berrian MIN -70 -82 -53.2% -60.2% 23 91 37 0 30% 0
M.Sims-Walker JAC -76 -78 -41.8% -42.4% 33 150 100 0 36% 0
T.Austin WAS -79 -72 -50.7% -47.5% 26 137 52 0 46% 1
D.Jones BUF -80 -75 -35.0% -33.5% 46 231 174 1 50% 0
L.Evans BAL -112 -114 -66.8% -67.8% 26 74 3 0 15% 0

RUSHING BY WIDE RECEIVERS: Minimum 5 carries

Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA Rk Runs Yards EYds Rk TD FUM
P.Harvin MIN 188 1 192 1 32.0% 12 33.9% 11 52 345 452 1 2 0
N.Burleson DET 59 2 54 2 49.1% 7 41.2% 10 11 85 144 2 0 0
L.Murphy OAK 53 3 54 3 136.3% 2 137.3% 2 6 69 126 3 1 0
D.Moore OAK 44 4 45 5 168.8% 1 172.1% 1 5 61 104 5 1 0
T.Ginn SF 44 5 46 4 63.1% 5 68.6% 5 8 68 105 4 0 0
M.Wallace PIT 39 6 37 7 111.8% 3 105.3% 3 5 57 92 6 0 0
S.Smith CAR 38 7 38 6 91.1% 4 92.4% 4 6 56 90 7 0 0
E.Royal DEN 34 8 34 9 44.2% 8 44.5% 8 7 48 81 8 0 0
J.Jones ATL 33 9 34 8 43.5% 9 48.8% 7 6 56 79 9 0 0
Player Team DYAR Rk YAR Rk DVOA Rk VOA Rk Runs Yards EYds Rk TD FUM
D.Jackson PHI 27 10 24 12 39.8% 10 30.8% 12 7 41 55 13 0 0
A.Hernandez NE 25 11 26 11 53.0% 6 55.8% 6 5 45 60 10 0 0
A.Hawkins CIN 23 12 26 10 36.6% 11 44.4% 9 5 25 57 11 0 0
A.Brown PIT 23 13 23 13 24.1% 13 23.8% 13 7 41 56 12 0 0
S.Logan DET 14 14 13 14 -12.4% 15 -12.7% 15 9 32 37 14 0 0
J.Kerley NYJ 11 15 12 15 -1.9% 14 1.0% 14 6 30 29 15 0 0
A.Green CIN 9 16 11 16 -19.1% 16 -13.4% 16 5 53 25 16 0 1
A.Benn TB -26 17 -24 17 -135.0% 17 -126.6% 17 6 -7 -57 17 0 0