Stefon Diggs currently ranks 6th in the NFL in receiving yards, which is pretty remarkable given that he’s played on the least pass-happy team in the NFL. Minnesota has played 11 games, and ranks 32nd in pass attempts per game and 26th in total pass attempts. Diggs is averaging 2.75 yards for every Vikings pass attempt, the second-best average in the NFL behind Michael Thomas, who is the best receiver in the NFL.
Courtland Sutton is in a similar situation, except unlike Diggs, he is fighting both low volume and poor quarterback play. A second round pick out of SMU last year, Sutton is having his breakout season with a combination of Joe Flacco and Brandon Allen at quarterback. Denver has thrown just 322 passes this season, but Sutton is one of 10 players who have already hit the 800-yard receiving mark. Sutton is averaging 2.50 yards for every Denver pass attempt; perhaps even more impressive is that he’s responsible for 35% of all Broncos receiving yards, 34% of all Denver first downs, and 44% of Broncos receiving touchdowns.
And then there’s John Brown, the breakout star of the Bills. He has 35% of all Bills receiving yards this season and a whopping 40% of all Bills receiving first downs. He is averaging 2.45 receiving yards per Buffalo pass attempt (817 receiving yards, 333 pass attempts).
The graph below shows every player in the NFL this season. The X-Axis shows the number of pass attempts for that team; the Y-Axis shows the number of receiving yards for that play. As you can see, Diggs, Sutton, and Brown really stand out (and next to them are Tyler Lockett at 793 yards on 327 Seahawks pass attempts and DeAndre Hopkins at 745, 333).
The table below shows the top 50 players this season in Receiving Yards per Team Pass Attempt.
| Rk | Player | Team | Pos | G | Rec Yds | Tm Att | RY/TPA | % of Tm RecYds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michael Thomas | Saints | WR | 10 | 1141 | 369 | 3.09 | 42% |
| 2 | Stefon Diggs | Vikings | WR | 11 | 879 | 320 | 2.75 | 31.9% |
| 3 | Courtland Sutton | Broncos | WR | 10 | 805 | 322 | 2.50 | 35.1% |
| 4 | John Brown | Bills | WR | 10 | 817 | 333 | 2.45 | 35.5% |
| 5 | Mike Evans | Buccaneers | WR | 10 | 993 | 406 | 2.45 | 32.3% |
| 6 | Tyler Lockett | Seahawks | WR | 10 | 793 | 327 | 2.43 | 29.2% |
| 7 | Amari Cooper | Cowboys | WR | 10 | 886 | 366 | 2.42 | 27.5% |
| 8 | Cooper Kupp | Rams | WR | 10 | 846 | 373 | 2.27 | 30.4% |
| 9 | DeAndre Hopkins | Texans | WR | 10 | 745 | 333 | 2.24 | 28.6% |
| 10 | D.J. Chark | Jaguars | WR | 10 | 796 | 362 | 2.20 | 30% |
| 11 | Chris Godwin | Buccaneers | WR | 10 | 887 | 406 | 2.18 | 28.8% |
| 12 | Julio Jones | Falcons | WR | 10 | 882 | 410 | 2.15 | 27.6% |
| 13 | Darren Waller | Raiders | TE | 10 | 666 | 313 | 2.13 | 26.3% |
| 14 | D.J. Moore | Panthers | WR | 10 | 779 | 374 | 2.08 | 31.2% |
| 15 | Mark Andrews | Ravens | TE | 10 | 598 | 293 | 2.04 | 26% |
| 16 | Jarvis Landry | Browns | WR | 10 | 695 | 344 | 2.02 | 28.7% |
| 17 | Kenny Golladay | Lions | WR | 10 | 731 | 363 | 2.01 | 24.6% |
| 18 | Travis Kelce | Chiefs | TE | 11 | 833 | 414 | 2.01 | 24% |
| 19 | Odell Beckham | Browns | WR | 10 | 692 | 344 | 2.01 | 28.6% |
| 20 | Terry McLaurin | Redskins | WR | 9 | 566 | 294 | 1.93 | 28.9% |
| 21 | Keenan Allen | Chargers | WR | 11 | 796 | 417 | 1.91 | 25.1% |
| 22 | Michael Gallup | Cowboys | WR | 8 | 678 | 366 | 1.85 | 21.1% |
| 23 | Allen Robinson | Bears | WR | 10 | 633 | 346 | 1.83 | 31.4% |
| 24 | DK Metcalf | Seahawks | WR | 10 | 595 | 327 | 1.82 | 21.9% |
| 25 | Marvin Jones | Lions | WR | 10 | 655 | 363 | 1.80 | 22% |
| 26 | Jamison Crowder | Jets | WR | 10 | 562 | 314 | 1.79 | 27.8% |
| 27 | Zach Ertz | Eagles | TE | 10 | 621 | 348 | 1.78 | 27% |
| 28 | Julian Edelman | Patriots | WR | 10 | 716 | 408 | 1.75 | 25.5% |
| 29 | George Kittle | 49ers | TE | 8 | 541 | 318 | 1.70 | 21.7% |
| 30 | DeVante Parker | Dolphins | WR | 10 | 604 | 362 | 1.67 | 26.8% |
| 31 | Marquise Brown | Ravens | WR | 8 | 477 | 293 | 1.63 | 20.7% |
| 32 | Austin Ekeler | Chargers | RB | 11 | 667 | 417 | 1.60 | 21% |
| 33 | Mike Williams | Chargers | WR | 10 | 661 | 417 | 1.59 | 20.8% |
| 34 | Davante Adams | Packers | WR | 6 | 537 | 347 | 1.55 | 19.8% |
| 35 | JuJu Smith-Schuster | Steelers | WR | 10 | 524 | 343 | 1.53 | 24.5% |
| 36 | Robert Woods | Rams | WR | 9 | 566 | 373 | 1.52 | 20.3% |
| 37 | A.J. Brown | Titans | WR | 10 | 446 | 295 | 1.51 | 19.1% |
| 38 | Larry Fitzgerald | Cardinals | WR | 11 | 593 | 394 | 1.51 | 21.7% |
| 39 | Calvin Ridley | Falcons | WR | 10 | 614 | 410 | 1.50 | 19.2% |
| 40 | Tyler Boyd | Bengals | WR | 10 | 597 | 399 | 1.50 | 23.6% |
| 41 | Deebo Samuel | 49ers | WR | 9 | 474 | 318 | 1.49 | 19% |
| 42 | Austin Hooper | Falcons | TE | 9 | 608 | 410 | 1.48 | 19% |
| 43 | Tyrell Williams | Raiders | WR | 8 | 462 | 313 | 1.48 | 18.3% |
| 44 | Chris Conley | Jaguars | WR | 10 | 519 | 362 | 1.43 | 19.5% |
| 45 | Dalvin Cook | Vikings | RB | 11 | 455 | 320 | 1.42 | 16.5% |
| 46 | Christian McCaffrey | Panthers | RB | 10 | 517 | 374 | 1.38 | 20.7% |
| 47 | Randall Cobb | Cowboys | WR | 9 | 495 | 366 | 1.35 | 15.4% |
| 48 | Will Fuller | Texans | WR | 7 | 450 | 333 | 1.35 | 17.3% |
| 49 | Cole Beasley | Bills | WR | 10 | 449 | 333 | 1.35 | 19.5% |
| 50 | Tyreek Hill | Chiefs | WR | 7 | 543 | 414 | 1.31 | 15.7% |
What stands out to you?