Decker after another score

For his career, Eric Decker has 5,222 receiving yards and 52 receiving touchdowns.  That means he’s grabbed one touchdown catch for every 100.4 receiving yards, an incredible ratio for a non-tight end.  And while touchdons can be fluky, that doesn’t feel the way with Decker, who has been a touchdown machine for his entire career across two teams and multiple quarterbacks.

To put this into perspective, I looked at all wide receivers who entered the NFL since 1978 who have at least 2,000 receiving yards through the end of the 2015 season.  Decker has the third lowest (i.e., most touchdown-heavy) rate at a touchdown every 100.4 receiving yards ^[1]For Decker, I included 2016, but for every other player, I have not updated their numbers, if any, with the results of this year.  The only two players ahead of him? Randy Moss and Dez Bryant.

In the graph below, I’ve plotted career receiving yards (’78-’15) on the X-Axis, and Receiving Yards/Receiving Touchdowns( ’78-’15) on the Y-Axis. In that case, lower = more of a touchdown machine.

The top players in receiving yards/touchdown: Moss (98.0), Bryant (98.7, through 2015), Decker (100.4), Terrell Owens (104.1), and Mike Quick (106.0). On the other side? Lawrence Dawsey, a third round pick out of Florida State in 1991 who mostly played with the Bucs, had just 6 touchdowns against 3,271 receiving yards.

If we don’t exclude tight ends, the top players since ’78 are Dave Moore (72.4), Bubba Franks (73.3), Rob Gronkowski (85.5 through 2015), Rickey Dudley (91.6), and Kevin Boss (92.4).

And if we include pre-1978 players, the AAFC’s Alyn Beals (60.2) becomes the top player, followed by Moore and Ken Kavanaugh (72.5).

And the worst? Well, running back Chuck Muncie has 2,323 receiving yards and just three touchdowns (774.3). Thomas Jones (674.3) and Ottis Anderson (612.4).