Every now and then you come across some next-level statistic, metric, or film-ability that changes your mind, viewpoint, or general outlook on a player. It’s not often that you’re invited onto the field in order to gather information, but NFL’s NextGenStats are doing just that. They have a chip implanted somewhere in the player’s uniform that allows them to track player speed, distance, and yards of separation.
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Since I’m a stat junkie that’s always looking for ways to learn more, these stats are particularly useful in learning the little things. Like for instance, did you know that Jay Cutler had the longest completed pass in the air last year? It went 65 yards in the air before being caught. Impressive, right? While that particular stat isn’t going to give you an edge in fantasy football, the stats I’ve pulled from it below just might. If anything, they’ll give you arguments or counterarguments to make when discussing a player. Remember, understanding more about the game in general will make you a better fantasy player. After reading about my findings, check out the full list of stats right here.
Quarterbacks
Time to Throw
On average, it took Tyrod Taylor 3.12 seconds to throw the ball, which was more than any other quarterback in the NFL. You’d expect that from a mobile quarterback, but his was by far the longest. In fact, his time was 0.23 seconds (or 7.4 percent) longer than the next closest. Should anything go wrong with his left tackle Cordy Glenn, Taylor won’t have this luxury. The fastest quarterback to get the ball out of his hands was Alex Smith, who took just 2.38 seconds. That makes sense when you see that he averaged just 5.6 air yards per completed pass. This bodes well for Travis Kelce, who averaged just 7.2 air yards per target, which was the lowest among the prevalent pass catchers on the team. Drew Brees was the third-fastest with a time to throw of just 2.42 seconds.
Average Completed Air Yards/Average Intended Yards
This stat should show how aggressive a quarterback is in his attempts, and those who are willing to take shots down the field much more, and not rely on so much dink-and-dunk, allowing their receivers to create after the catch. So when you see Cam Newton at the top of this list, it furthers my concern about Christian McCaffrey. Newton averaged 8.6 air yards per completion, though that number is likely come down with the loss of Ted Ginn. He also ranked atop the list of intended air yards with 11.2 yards per attempt. The closest quarterbacks to him in this category were Matt Barkley and Jay Cutler, which bodes well for guys like Kenny Stills and Devante Parker, who are downfield receivers.
On the flip side, Sam Bradford‘s 5.4 air yards per completion was the lowest in the NFL, as was his 7.1 air intended yards. It also gives you an idea as to how Bradford broke the record for highest completion percentage in a season. Stefon Diggs and Kyle Rudolph should continue to thrive. Jared Goff, Alex Smith, and Joe Flacco were the three behind Bradford. Goff and Smith should surprise no one, but Flacco being there bodes well for Danny Woodhead and Jeremy Maclin, who are the possession receivers on the team.
Aggressiveness
This stat shows how risky the quarterback in his attempts, as it shows the percent of his attempts that there was a defender within one yard of the complete or incomplete pass. Again, Cam Newton rocks the top of the chart, willing to throw into tight coverage 24.7 percent of the time. This is likely why the Panthers have surrounded him with big wide receivers like Kelvin Benjamin, Greg Olsen, and Devin Funchess. Meanwhile, Colin Kaepernick (13.3 percent) and Kirk Cousins (14.0 percent) threw into tight coverage just 14 percent of the time. This does not bode well for Terrelle Pryor, because slot wide receivers tend to get the most separation (as evidenced in the wide receiver section of this article). This bodes very well for Jamison Crowder. With stats like this, it makes me wonder where the ‘greats’ are at on the list: Aaron Rodgers 16.4 percent, Tom Brady 17.6 percent, and Drew Brees 17.5 percent. Stop throwing into tight coverage, Mr. Newton.
Running Backs
Efficiency
This was a very interesting stat and one that cannot be found elsewhere. It measures the distance a running back travels per yard gained on rushing plays. Running sideways gets you no yards gained, so the higher the number, the more east/west the running back is. The lower the number, the more they are straight to the point, north/south. As crazy as it might sound, little DeAndre Washington is straight and to the point, averaging one rushing yard every 3.14 yards traveled, which was the best (lowest mark) in the league. The closest running back to him was Bilal Powell, who was at 3.26 yards per rushing yard. On the other side, we have the running backs who dance a little bit too much for a rushing yard. The Lions Dwayne Washington traveled 5.37 yards in order to gain just one rushing yard, which doesn’t sound efficient at all. The running back with significant carries that was close to him was Doug Martin, who traveled 5.17 yards to move the ball one yard. I wish we could see these numbers from 2015 to compare where Martin was then. If he doesn’t stop dancing, Dirk Koetter will have no issue handing the keys to Jacquizz Rodgers, who averaged just 3.67 yards traveled, which ranked No. 8 among running backs charted.
8-Plus Defenders in the Box
This is the one most fantasy players are likely concerned with. How many times does a running back see a ‘stacked’ box of eight or more defenders? The Titans duo of running backs were the No. 1 and No. 2 on this list, with Derrick Henry leading the league by a wide margin at 52.7 percent. Murray came in at 46.8 percent, so it should now make sense why the Titans went out and got all the wide receiver help that they did. They needed playmakers to ease the load on their running game. Outside of them, Latavius Murray was the next highest on the list, seeing stacked boxes 45.6 percent of the time. Most people who mock Mike Gillislee do so because he was the “backup running back” and probably saw different defenders than LeSean McCoy. Not so fast, buckos, as Gillislee ranked fourth at 45.5 percent, while McCoy was 17th at 26.9 percent.
Some of the information in terms of stacked boxes comes down to the type of offense that a team employs, like the New York Giants who run a lot of three-wide receiver sets. Because of that, Paul Perkins and Rashad Jennings saw stacked boxes on just over six percent of the carries in New York. They ranked No. 1 and No. 3 in terms of the lowest percentage, while Giovani Bernard was stuck in between them at No. 2. This is unlikely to change in 2017 with the additions of Brandon Marshall and Evan Engram. Bilal Powell was the next on the list, as he saw a stacked box on just 9.2 percent of his carries, while Matt Forte was also on the low end at 14.2 percent. The offense has changed this offseason with the firing of Chan Gailey, so you will likely see those numbers rise in 2017.
Time Behind the Line of Scrimmage
You may think that this one aligns with the efficiency numbers from above, but not necessarily. This stat comes down to how patient a runner is. How many times have you heard, “Le’Veon Bell is a patient runner?” They say that because he has no issue waiting behind the line of scrimmage for his holes to open. It should come as no coincidence that he leads the league in this category at 3.09 seconds. Right behind him was his teammate DeAngelo Williams, which should help you understand just how good the Steelers offensive line is. LeSean McCoy came in at No. 3 at 2.96 seconds, another running back behind a stellar offensive line. Those at the bottom of the list are guys who often just run into the pile as fast as possible, so seeing Matt Asiata at the very bottom should come as no surprise. He spent an average of just 2.29 seconds behind the line of scrimmage. Up next was Frank Gore at just 2.40 seconds. One worth noting is Todd Gurley who was fourth-lowest at 2.50 seconds, so maybe he should be more patient for his blocks? With some upgrades to his offensive line, we should see that number increase.
Wide Receivers and Tight Ends
Cushion
I can recall hearing this stat from NFL.com’s Matt Harmon in-season last year and thinking, “Man, I wish I could get my hands on those stats.” After a few months of the offseaon, it’s happened. Though they aren’t sortable by week (my next wish), we can still learn from them. While the yards of separation stat that follows is the one that most intrigues me, the cushion stats shows how concerned opponents are with a receivers ability to burn them. It should come as no shock that Tyreek Hill is atop the list, as defenders gave him an 8.0 yard cushion on average. Side note: Hill also recorded the fastest speed as a ball carrier last year, at 23.25 mph. The Chargers Travis Benjamin was second on the cushion list with 7.6 yards in between him and the defender. As for the smallest gap and those who see the most press coverage, Marvin Jones, DeAndre Hopkins, Brandon Marshall, Amari Cooper, and Allen Robinson top the list. Jones saw an average of just 3.8 yards of cushion between him and the cornerback, while the rest of those guys saw at least a 4.4-yard gap. The name that stands out here is Cooper, as he put on 10 pound of muscle this offseason in order to help against press coverage.
Yards of Separation
This is the stat that intrigues me most, as you’re able to find out who sheds their defenders the most. It tracks the distance between the receiver and the defender at time of catch or incompletion. Naturally, slot wide receivers and tight ends who match up with linebackers at times will have the highest numbers. That’s why Martellus Bennett and Jamison Crowder are atop the list with 3.8 and 3.6 yards of separation. But finding the receivers who aren’t in those primary slot or tight end roles, there were some interesting names towards the top of the list. Cordarrelle Patterson averaged 3.2 yards of separation, which bodes well for a guy who played the slot just 25 percent of the time. Taylor Gabriel was right in line with Patterson at 3.2 yards of separation. Another name that might surprise you is Travis Benjamin. We saw him towards the leaders in the cushion stat, but also seeing him create 3.0 yards of separation is impressive. It’s no secret that I like John Brown, so seeing him create 3.0 yards of separation despite having just a 5.9-yard cushion in 2016 while playing hurt, speaks volumes about him. He can’t get healthy soon enough.
Those who struggled to get separation are probably the bigger story of this statistic, as they were almost always draped by a defender and/or their quarterback had no issue targeting them while covered. Seeing Kelvin Benjamin at just 1.8 yards of separation doesn’t surprise me, but Dez Bryant at that same mark does. They were at the bottom of the list in terms of yards of separation. When I see this statistic, maybe it’s best to move Bryant into the slot a bit more often to get him that separation. Allen Robinson and Marvin Jones were also near the bottom of this list while averaging just 2.0 yards of separation, though part of that has to do with the lack of cushion they received. Mike Evans was also near the bottom, averaging 2.1 yards of separation. Again, some of these guys are the primary red zone option on their team, which could skew the numbers just a tad, as you’ll always have a defender on you around the goal-line.
Targeted Air Yards
The last statistic shows how the average of how deep a wide receiver or tight end was when they were targeted. This may not have a massive fantasy impact, but it can help you understand why some receivers have a lower catch rate than others. For instance, Sammy Coates led the NFL in targeted air yards with 22.2 yards per target. Umm, what? The closest to him was J.J. Nelson at 17.9 yards, so when you see his catch rate at just 43 percent, you can understand why. Seeing DeSean Jackson‘s catch rate of 56 percent despite seeing 16.3 air yards per target is quite ridiculous. There was no one who was targeted over 14.3 yards who had a higher catch rate. Julio Jones was another player who jumped off the page with an averaged target of 14.3 air yards, but hauling in 64.3 percent of his passes. There’s good reason why I consider him the best in the league. Those towards the bottom of this category are again limited to those who play the slot and tight ends. Lance Kendricks averaged just 5.6 air yards per target, the lowest in the league. One that surprised me towards the bottom 20 percent was Michael Thomas, who saw just 8.4 air yards per target, which is likely why his catch rate (76 percent) was so astronomical.
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Mike Tagliere is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Mike, check out his archive and follow him @MikeTagliereNFL.
