2014 Yards Per Target All-Stars

One of the best ways to determine the efficiency of a wide receiver is by looking at their yards per target. Using this data, we can see where targets are possibly being wasted, and where they are being maximized. Let’s see what this means for 2015.

Here’s a look at the yards per target of each wide receiver with at least 200 receiving yards in 2014:

Rk	Player	Age	Tm	G	Tgt	Rec	Yds	TD	Y/T	+/-
1	DeSean Jackson	28	WAS	15	95	56	1169	6	12.31	4.48
2	T.Y. Hilton	25	IND	15	131	82	1345	7	10.27	2.44
3	Randall Cobb	24	GNB	16	127	91	1287	12	10.13	2.31
4	Jordy Nelson	29	GNB	16	151	98	1519	13	10.06	2.23
5	Odell Beckham	22	NYG	12	130	91	1305	12	10.04	2.21
6	Emmanuel Sanders	27	DEN	16	141	101	1404	9	9.96	2.13
7	Julio Jones	25	ATL	15	163	104	1593	6	9.77	1.95
8	Dez Bryant	26	DAL	16	136	88	1320	16	9.71	1.88
9	DeAndre Hopkins	22	HOU	16	127	76	1210	6	9.53	1.70
10	Terrance Williams	25	DAL	16	66	37	621	8	9.41	1.58
11	Antonio Brown	26	PIT	16	181	129	1698	13	9.38	1.55
12	Malcom Floyd	33	SDG	16	92	52	856	6	9.30	1.48
13	Golden Tate	26	DET	16	144	99	1331	4	9.24	1.42
14	Jeremy Maclin	26	PHI	16	143	85	1318	10	9.22	1.39
15	Marques Colston	31	NOR	16	100	59	902	5	9.02	1.19
16	Nate Washington	31	TEN	16	72	40	647	2	8.99	1.16
17	Jeremy Ross	26	DET	16	35	24	314	1	8.97	1.14
18	Kenny Britt	26	STL	16	84	48	748	3	8.90	1.08
19	A.J. Green	26	CIN	13	117	69	1041	6	8.90	1.07
20	Demaryius Thomas	27	DEN	16	184	111	1619	11	8.80	0.97
21	Steve Johnson	28	SFO	13	50	35	435	3	8.70	0.87
22	Mike Evans	21	TAM	15	122	68	1051	12	8.61	0.79
23	Eddie Royal	28	SDG	16	91	62	778	7	8.55	0.72
24	Michael Floyd	25	ARI	16	99	47	841	6	8.49	0.67
25	Jordan Matthews	22	PHI	16	103	67	872	8	8.47	0.64
26	Doug Baldwin	26	SEA	16	98	66	825	3	8.42	0.59
27	Calvin Johnson	29	DET	13	128	71	1077	8	8.41	0.59
28	Brandon Lloyd	33	SFO	14	35	14	294	1	8.40	0.57
29	Eric Decker	27	NYJ	15	115	74	962	5	8.37	0.54
30	Kamar Aiken	25	BAL	16	32	24	267	3	8.34	0.52
31	Torrey Smith	25	BAL	16	92	49	767	11	8.34	0.51
32	Victor Cruz	28	NYG	6	41	23	337	1	8.22	0.39
33	Anquan Boldin	34	SFO	16	130	83	1062	5	8.17	0.34
34	Greg Jennings	31	MIN	16	92	59	742	6	8.07	0.24
35	Mohamed Sanu	25	CIN	16	98	56	790	5	8.06	0.23
36	Brandon LaFell	28	NWE	16	119	74	953	7	8.01	0.18
37	Brandin Cooks	21	NOR	10	69	53	550	3	7.97	0.14
38	Steve Smith	35	BAL	16	134	79	1065	6	7.95	0.12
39	Dwayne Bowe	30	KAN	15	95	60	754	0	7.94	0.11
40	Alshon Jeffery	24	CHI	16	145	85	1133	10	7.81	-0.01
41	Jermaine Kearse	24	SEA	15	69	38	537	1	7.78	-0.04
42	Miles Austin	30	CLE	12	73	47	568	2	7.78	-0.05
43	Kendall Wright	25	TEN	14	93	57	715	6	7.69	-0.14
44	Sammy Watkins	21	BUF	16	128	65	982	6	7.67	-0.16
45	Larry Fitzgerald	31	ARI	14	103	63	784	2	7.61	-0.22
46	Brian Hartline	28	MIA	16	63	39	474	2	7.52	-0.30
47	Harry Douglas	30	ATL	12	74	51	556	2	7.51	-0.31
48	Mike Wallace	28	MIA	16	115	67	862	10	7.50	-0.33
49	Markus Wheaton	23	PIT	16	86	53	644	2	7.49	-0.34
50	Derek Hagan	30	TEN	16	34	19	254	1	7.47	-0.36
51	Preston Parker	27	NYG	16	56	36	418	2	7.46	-0.36
52	Jerricho Cotchery	32	CAR	15	78	48	580	1	7.44	-0.39
53	Justin Hunter	23	TEN	12	67	28	498	3	7.43	-0.39
54	Rueben Randle	23	NYG	16	127	71	938	3	7.39	-0.44
55	Roddy White	33	ATL	14	125	80	921	7	7.37	-0.46
56	Andrew Hawkins	28	CLE	15	112	63	824	2	7.36	-0.47
57	Julian Edelman	28	NWE	14	134	92	972	4	7.25	-0.57
58	Pierre Garcon	28	WAS	16	105	68	752	3	7.16	-0.67
59	Vincent Jackson	31	TAM	16	142	70	1002	2	7.06	-0.77
60	Andre Holmes	26	OAK	16	99	47	693	4	7.00	-0.83
61	Allen Hurns	23	JAX	16	97	51	677	6	6.98	-0.85
62	Kelvin Benjamin	23	CAR	16	145	73	1008	9	6.95	-0.88
63	Brandon Marshall	30	CHI	13	106	61	721	8	6.80	-1.03
64	Louis Murphy	27	TAM	11	56	31	380	2	6.79	-1.04
65	Jarvis Landry	22	MIA	16	112	84	758	5	6.77	-1.06
66	Davante Adams	22	GNB	16	66	38	446	3	6.76	-1.07
67	Robert Woods	22	BUF	16	104	65	699	5	6.72	-1.11
68	Reggie Wayne	36	IND	15	116	64	779	2	6.72	-1.11
69	Keenan Allen	22	SDG	14	121	77	783	4	6.47	-1.36
70	Michael Crabtree	27	SFO	16	108	68	698	4	6.46	-1.36
71	Andre Johnson	33	HOU	15	146	85	936	3	6.41	-1.42
72	Percy Harvin	26	2TM	13	78	51	483	1	6.19	-1.63
73	Paul Richardson	22	SEA	15	44	29	271	1	6.16	-1.67
74	Marqise Lee	23	JAX	13	69	37	422	1	6.12	-1.71
75	Riley Cooper	27	PHI	16	95	55	577	3	6.07	-1.75
76	Hakeem Nicks	26	IND	16	68	38	405	4	5.96	-1.87
77	James Jones	30	OAK	16	112	73	666	6	5.95	-1.88
78	Brandon Gibson	27	MIA	14	51	29	295	1	5.78	-2.04
79	Cordarrelle Patterson	23	MIN	16	67	33	384	1	5.73	-2.10
80	Jason Avant	31	2TM	16	62	34	353	1	5.69	-2.13
81	Tavon Austin	23	STL	15	44	31	242	0	5.50	-2.33
82	Jeremy Kerley	26	NYJ	16	75	38	409	1	5.45	-2.37
83	Cecil Shorts	27	JAX	13	110	53	557	1	5.06	-2.76

The “+/-“ column refers to how many yards each receiver is above or below the average yards per target among all wide receivers with at least 200 receiving yards. The average for all qualifying receivers is 7.83 yards per target.

Firstly, it is abundantly clear a quarterback’s accuracy greatly affects a wide receiver’s yards per target. This is partially exemplified with Randall Cobb and Jordy Nelson both finishing with over 10 yards per target.

Secondly, the depth of a wide receiver’s routes also greatly impacts their yards per target. For example, someone like DeSean Jackson who does most of his work deep down the field will compare favorably to someone like Julian Edelman who gobbles up most of his targets closer to the line of scrimmage.

We see elite numbers from DeSean Jackson, TY Hilton, Randall Cobb, Jordy Nelson, and Odell Beckham. These were the only wide receivers to top 10 yards per target.

Emmanuel Sanders, Julio Jones, and Dez Bryant follow closely. All three showed what happens when a talented wide receiver is paired with a solid quarterback.

DeAndre Hopkins comes in at 9.53 yards per target, lending some credence to those who believe he should be targeted more frequently. With Andre Johnson off to Indianapolis, his skills will be put to the test in 2015.

After averaging 9.93 yards per target over the past three seasons, Calvin Johnson fell to 8.41 yards per target. Was that was due to his ankle injury or decline? Your guess is as good as mine.

Alshon Jeffery was almost exactly average (7.81) last season. It’s a little alarming after he finished with 9.47 yards per target in 2013. This could also be attributable to his midseason hamstring injury but is worth considering with the relatively large amount of draft capital required to get him in drafts. But it would be remiss to forget about the effects of the inefficiency and inaccuracy of Jay Cutler when analyzing Jeffrey.

Mike Evans (8.61) and Jordan Matthews (8.47) both look ready for increased targets. Kelvin Benjamin, on the other hand, was terribly inefficient with just 6.95 yards per target.

Roddy White (7.37), Vincent Jackson (7.06), and Brandon Marshall (6.8) all showed signs of being on the wrong side of 30. Whether they’ll bounce back or not is up in the air, but father time is working against them.

Andre Johnson averaged just 6.41 yards per target and is another player that is on the wrong side of 30. He’s likely to improve with Andrew Luck, but it’s a question of whether he’ll improve enough to outperform his average draft position.

Out of players with at least 100 targets, Cecil Shorts (5.06) and James Jones (5.95) were the worst. They are examples of the marriage between questionable talent and below average quarterback play.

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