Fast receivers such as Tyreek Hill and DK Metcalf win on curl routes by scaring defenders into playing off coverage. Amari Cooper and Garrett Wilson ate on slant routes despite not necessarily having the best quarterbacks. And receiver screens are generally bad – unless you are the Philadelphia Eagles.
Those are some of the lessons of this year’s look at DVOA by route type. This is one of the big stat projects we regularly ran on an annual basis over at Football Outsiders. This year’s analysis is powered by FTN Data. We can look at which routes players run most often, and at which routes they are the most effective. It helps paint a more complete picture of each receiver’s skill set and usage patterns.
I’ve limited this article to just wide receivers and tight ends, and we’ll look at the eight types of routes that were targeted at least 1,000 times last season, in order of how often they were targeted. For each route, I’m listing roughly the top 20 most frequently targeted receivers.
Tables are sorted by DYAR, but you can also see which receivers ran the routes most often. By the way, this is regular old receiving DYAR, not the special Route DYAR that I introduced in an article earlier this week. We wouldn’t be able to do Route DYAR based on route types because we only have the charting data on what route a receiver ran when he was targeted. Also, remember that the baselines for wide receivers and tight ends are a bit different, so tight ends may be a little less efficient but end up with more DYAR because we’re comparing them to other tight ends.
Numbers below include gains on Defensive Pass Interference.
The most commonly charted route for wide receivers and tight ends was the hitch or curl. Wide receivers averaged -6.4% receiving DVOA on these routes, while tight ends averaged -3.7% receiving DVOA.
Hitch/Curl
Team
DYAR
Tgt
Yds
C%
aDOT
YAC
10-T.Hill
MIA
121
25
303
96%
9.0
3.6
16-T.Lockett
SEA
91
30
251
83%
8.1
1.8
14-D.Metcalf
SEA
84
27
242
93%
7.8
2.1
81-M.Williams
LAC
70
25
243
80%
8.1
3.5
12-C.Olave
NO
64
29
252
83%
8.3
1.4
88-P.Freiermuth
PIT
32
36
282
67%
8.4
4.3
88-C.Lamb
DAL
27
30
256
80%
7.4
3.3
9-J.Smith-Schuster
KC
23
35
285
83%
6.3
4.2
13-M.Evans
TB
22
28
224
79%
7.9
1.5
2-M.Brown
ARI
20
27
194
78%
6.9
2.2
2-R.Woods
TEN
17
28
159
71%
5.6
2.8
5-J.Palmer
LAC
14
32
184
68%
6.7
1.8
6-D.Smith
PHI
13
26
187
69%
9.1
2.1
85-N.Brown
DAL
13
25
132
67%
7.0
0.9
10-D.Hopkins
ARI
3
27
176
93%
6.0
1.6
11-M.Jones
JAX
1
25
152
68%
8.7
0.8
87-T.Kelce
KC
-3
42
246
71%
4.5
2.9
11-M.Pittman
IND
-8
28
176
71%
6.0
2.9
14-S.Diggs
BUF
-11
30
174
63%
6.8
3.3
14-C.Sutton
DEN
-15
26
141
73%
6.3
1.6
18-D.Johnson
PIT
-17
33
219
63%
7.9
1.8
17-D.Adams
LV
-36
28
145
52%
6.7
2.4
One thing I noticed about this year’s hitches and curls is that you have a lot of fast wide receivers at the top. Clearly, the speed of players such as Tyreek Hill and DK Metcalf is scaring off cornerbacks, allowing them to turn around quickly and catch the ball easily. With that in mind, a negative DYAR for Stefon Diggs is a bit of a surprise. And boy oh boy were wires crossed between ex-college teammates Davante Adams and Derek Carr in Las Vegas last year. I have no idea how you end up with a completion rate of only 52% on curl routes.
He’s not listed above because he had only 12 hitch/curl passes, but Rondale Moore was tied for sixth in DYAR on these passes with 64 DYAR. Kendrick Bourne had 44 DYAR on these passes with only six targets. All six of those were first downs with five of them gaining at least 15 yards.
The lowest receivers in DYAR on hitch/curls are not listed here because they didn’t have enough routes to be listed. The big shock is A.J. Brown at -51 DYAR on 20 hitch/curls with just a 35% catch rate. That’s some fluky stuff right there. Tyler Conklin was even lower, with -68 DYAR on 22 hitch/curls for the Jets.
Next comes the quick out. These shorter routes are not overall efficient compared to other routes. Wide receivers averaged a dismal -19.8% DVOA and tight ends averaged -12.2% DVOA.
Quick Out
Team
DYAR
Tgt
Yds
C%
aDOT
YAC
13-K.Allen
LAC
77
23
159
87%
4.5
3.8
18-J.Jefferson
MIN
77
38
284
89%
3.3
5.0
87-T.Kelce
KC
50
21
181
86%
4.0
6.3
88-C.Otton
TB
45
25
170
88%
2.2
5.3
17-D.Adams
LV
36
21
136
86%
4.3
3.3
17-E.Engram
JAX
35
22
177
86%
3.5
6.2
85-C.Kmet
CHI
28
23
140
74%
3.9
4.9
83-T.Conklin
NYJ
23
27
163
81%
3.0
4.6
14-A.St. Brown
DET
4
33
162
69%
4.1
3.7
85-G.Kittle
SF
4
24
154
71%
2.1
7.6
89-M.Andrews
BAL
-1
22
131
91%
3.5
3.5
7-G.Everett
LAC
-3
26
189
81%
2.3
6.6
85-R.Tonyan
GB
-4
21
130
86%
0.6
7.3
88-H.Hurst
CIN
-7
28
137
82%
1.9
3.6
14-C.Godwin
TB
-11
24
124
83%
2.6
4.0
16-T.Lockett
SEA
-16
24
144
92%
3.8
2.6
85-H.Henry
NE
-22
21
111
71%
3.5
4.1
82-L.Thomas
WAS
-22
22
107
77%
3.0
3.4
86-D.Schultz
DAL
-27
22
87
64%
2.8
3.5
13-C.Kirk
JAX
-33
32
143
59%
3.8
3.1
89-T.Higbee
LAR
-35
40
193
75%
2.6
4.0
1-J.Chase
CIN
-44
23
105
61%
3.7
3.9
87-T.Hockenson
2TM
-46
37
178
73%
2.8
3.6
This route looks like it rewards tight ends and crisp route-runners at the wide receiver position. Stefon Diggs didn’t have enough quick outs for our table but was third with 54 DYAR on 18 quick outs. Players at the bottom of DYAR who are not listed on the table include DJ Moore (-51 on 16), Jauan Jennings (-53 on 13) and Ben Skowronek (-55 on 16).
There’s a big gap between the top two routes and the next two routes as far as overall frequency. In-breaking routes and digs are very effective overall. The average wide receiver had 16.7% DVOA on these routes while the average tight end had 17.4% DVOA. (Again, wide receivers and tight ends are compared to different baselines, so the higher DVOA does not mean that tight ends are more effective on these routes than wide receivers.)
In/Dig
Team
DYAR
Tgt
Yds
C%
aDOT
YAC
18-J.Jefferson
MIN
155
25
327
75%
12.2
4.6
17-J.Waddle
MIA
112
29
357
61%
13.7
6.8
11-A.Brown
PHI
103
24
314
79%
8.8
7.9
11-D.Peoples-Jones
CLE
99
23
275
78%
12.0
2.4
14-A.St. Brown
DET
98
21
274
71%
11.7
6.5
5-D.London
ATL
91
21
248
76%
10.1
3.3
11-B.Aiyuk
SF
80
27
318
68%
11.4
5.5
19-A.Thielen
MIN
72
22
202
73%
11.0
1.5
87-T.Kelce
KC
68
26
278
65%
10.2
5.8
14-C.Godwin
TB
64
18
218
83%
10.6
3.6
10-M.Hollins
LV
51
21
207
67%
12.1
4.6
10-T.Hill
MIA
51
19
185
68%
12.6
2.8
17-D.Adams
LV
49
25
251
54%
13.9
6.5
87-T.Hockenson
2TM
43
18
155
75%
10.2
1.8
11-M.Pittman
IND
39
28
248
68%
9.3
4.5
2-D.Moore
CAR
25
20
183
50%
12.8
3.9
13-G.Davis
BUF
22
20
205
60%
14.7
1.6
17-G.Wilson
NYJ
22
22
201
52%
11.8
5.6
18-I.Hodgins
2TM
17
18
153
65%
10.6
2.0
19-D.Samuel
SF
6
18
138
39%
8.7
11.7
89-M.Andrews
BAL
4
19
144
58%
10.4
2.1
14-A.Pierce
IND
-48
20
89
40%
8.5
1.1
Those poor numbers for Deebo Samuel and Mark Andrews are certainly a surprise. This is a route where most of the players with negative DYAR on the year did not have enough routes targeted to make the table above. Marcus Johnson of the Giants ran seven dig routes and all seven were incomplete, giving him -51 DYAR. A.J. Green (-26 DYAR on 6) and Julio Jones (-25 DYAR on 5) also were poor on this route in 2022.
Next up is the classic go route, good old No. 9. Wide receivers averaged 11.6% DVOA on these routes while tight ends (who didn’t run them very often) averaged 13.8% DVOA. Look at that average depth of target for Scary Terry McLaurin!
Go
Team
DYAR
Tgt
Yds
C%
aDOT
YAC
11-A.Brown
PHI
181
29
558
46%
29.9
10.5
13-M.Evans
TB
169
29
442
48%
25.1
5.6
14-G.Pickens
PIT
159
29
426
52%
24.8
3.3
10-T.Hill
MIA
133
19
342
47%
29.4
8.8
85-T.Higgins
CIN
121
22
360
48%
24.1
6.8
17-T.McLaurin
WAS
108
17
332
44%
34.2
2.3
1-J.Chase
CIN
56
26
263
38%
22.0
5.0
17-D.Adams
LV
50
40
377
34%
21.3
4.2
13-B.Cooks
HOU
42
17
220
36%
27.5
2.8
88-C.Lamb
DAL
38
17
137
33%
27.6
2.6
13-A.Lazard
GB
29
22
250
29%
28.5
6.7
81-M.Williams
LAC
25
21
179
38%
26.2
1.3
12-C.Olave
NO
23
18
239
35%
31.6
6.3
2-A.Cooper
CLE
23
24
202
32%
22.3
4.3
2-D.Moore
CAR
14
20
220
26%
28.8
2.4
5-D.London
ATL
-13
17
138
25%
23.4
3.3
14-C.Sutton
DEN
-13
24
203
19%
23.0
3.5
14-D.Metcalf
SEA
-18
25
214
28%
19.7
6.3
2-M.Brown
ARI
-25
20
187
18%
28.5
1.3
11-M.Jones
JAX
-66
19
67
12%
24.2
2.0
17-G.Wilson
NYJ
-82
18
78
11%
20.6
13.5
18-D.Johnson
PIT
-87
25
123
13%
25.5
3.0
There’s another drop in frequency after the go route until we get to our next four routes. Slants are not as effective as deep routes but valuable overall. The average wide receiver had 6.7% DVOA on these routes while the average tight end had 2.4% DVOA.
Slant
Team
DYAR
Tgt
Yds
C%
aDOT
YAC
2-A.Cooper
CLE
124
24
229
79%
7.8
3.9
17-G.Wilson
NYJ
120
24
325
74%
9.8
7.7
11-B.Aiyuk
SF
77
19
140
79%
6.0
2.9
5-D.London
ATL
75
14
119
86%
7.0
2.8
14-S.Diggs
BUF
67
28
249
75%
6.6
5.4
1-J.Chase
CIN
66
16
130
88%
6.1
3.5
13-A.Lazard
GB
51
19
142
61%
6.4
5.2
11-A.Brown
PHI
50
33
320
67%
6.5
6.7
83-T.Boyd
CIN
48
13
141
77%
4.8
8.4
17-J.Waddle
MIA
46
13
131
54%
10.1
8.4
88-C.Lamb
DAL
39
17
150
82%
5.9
4.4
14-A.St. Brown
DET
25
16
124
75%
6.3
3.8
14-C.Godwin
TB
21
15
90
67%
7.0
3.0
84-C.Davis
NYJ
21
14
107
64%
7.7
4.0
11-M.Pittman
IND
11
20
118
75%
4.8
3.1
14-D.Metcalf
SEA
11
21
168
80%
8.3
1.8
14-C.Sutton
DEN
10
13
104
67%
7.8
3.8
18-R.Cobb
GB
5
15
135
73%
6.8
5.8
That’s right, not one receiver who qualified to be ranked on the table above had negative DYAR on slant routes. The worst DYAR on slants belonged to Braxton Berrios, with -40 DYAR on five routes, four incomplete and a four-yard catch on third-and-11.
Deep outs are generally not as effective as other deep routes. The average wide receiver had 6.2% DVOA on these routes while the average tight end was at 3.1%.
Deep Out
Team
DYAR
Tgt
Yds
C%
aDOT
YAC
2-A.Cooper
CLE
97
15
204
73%
12.5
6.0
14-S.Diggs
BUF
86
12
156
83%
11.9
2.4
12-C.Olave
NO
74
23
263
77%
13.1
1.6
18-D.Johnson
PIT
62
24
213
70%
11.2
1.4
7-Z.Jones
JAX
52
15
144
80%
11.7
0.7
14-A.St. Brown
DET
45
14
116
64%
11.9
0.8
13-G.Davis
BUF
45
19
171
50%
15.3
0.8
6-D.Smith
PHI
42
17
160
59%
12.1
4.4
13-M.Evans
TB
37
13
119
69%
13.0
0.8
10-J.Jeudy
DEN
37
12
112
58%
12.5
2.6
18-J.Jefferson
MIN
32
26
218
50%
13.0
1.6
13-K.Allen
LAC
29
12
120
67%
12.7
2.8
85-T.Higgins
CIN
26
21
138
62%
11.7
0.5
83-T.Boyd
CIN
9
12
82
58%
9.6
2.6
10-T.Hill
MIA
6
16
164
56%
12.8
2.2
13-B.Cooks
HOU
6
16
107
44%
11.2
3.6
14-D.Metcalf
SEA
5
12
78
58%
10.5
0.0
17-G.Wilson
NYJ
3
15
103
47%
14.7
-0.3
2-R.Woods
TEN
-1
12
85
58%
13.3
0.9
19-A.Thielen
MIN
-21
15
82
40%
12.3
1.7
17-D.Adams
LV
-28
18
89
33%
11.8
4.8
Here’s another surprisingly low performance for Davante Adams. Another surprising low: the worst DYAR on deep outs actually belonged to Pittsburgh rookie George Pickens, who had -36 DYAR on 10 deep outs. He caught only three of those, and two of them were short of a first down.
Next come shallow crosses and drags. The average wide receiver had -4.5% DVOA on these routes while the average tight end was at 2.8% DVOA.
Shallow Cross/Drag
Team
DYAR
Tgt
Yds
C%
aDOT
YAC
81-M.Williams
LAC
70
11
115
91%
2.6
9.7
87-T.Kelce
KC
60
15
140
87%
3.3
7.3
17-T.McLaurin
WAS
47
14
123
79%
3.7
7.9
16-J.Meyers
NE
33
10
98
90%
5.1
5.6
88-C.Lamb
DAL
32
10
97
70%
5.2
9.0
17-E.Engram
JAX
28
14
112
79%
3.0
7.8
87-T.Hockenson
2TM
28
12
157
83%
5.6
10.0
11-M.Pittman
IND
10
18
136
83%
5.2
4.3
14-C.Godwin
TB
4
15
116
60%
4.7
6.0
9-J.Smith-Schuster
KC
3
14
110
86%
5.1
5.0
10-C.Samuel
WAS
1
12
75
67%
3.0
8.0
14-A.St. Brown
DET
0
16
98
69%
2.7
6.8
18-D.Johnson
PIT
-1
11
63
73%
4.3
4.6
7-Z.Jones
JAX
-1
16
84
69%
2.9
5.2
10-M.Hollins
LV
-1
10
47
70%
3.9
2.9
10-T.Hill
MIA
-2
15
86
87%
3.5
3.1
16-Q.Watkins
PHI
-11
10
56
80%
-0.1
7.8
Some of the highest and lowest DYAR totals on drag routes are not listed above. Will Dissly had 59 DYAR on seven drags and Brock Wright had 54 DYAR on only five drag routes. Cooper Kupp was only charted with two drag routes in his half-season and had 42 DYAR on those two plays! He converted third-and-11 in Week 3 and then took a drag upfield for a 75-yard touchdown (71 YAC) on a third-and-2 in Week 5.
On the other side of the coin, you’ve got Parris Campbell (-39 DYAR on 8 drags) and Robert Woods (-32 DYAR on 9 drags). Campbell caught 7 of 9 drag routes but only one of them was a first down and one of them was a fumble with a loss of 7 yards (against Houston in Week 18).
Finally, let’s talk about wide receiver and tight end screens. Anecdotally, we all remember some very good screens that gained major yardage and moved the chains. Statistically, they are generally failures. This is not a case of “shorter routes are less efficient because deep receivers were covered and the quarterback had to check down.” These are plays that are designed to be this short. And, as a group, they suck. The average wide receiver screen earned -33.8% receiving DVOA and the average tight end screen earned -22.2% DVOA. The average wide receiver screen gained 5.0 yards with 9.9 yards to go. On third or fourth down, that average was 4.7 yards gained with 11.5 yards to go. Ugh. This is not unique to 2022. Screens have the worst DVOA of any receiver route in every season.
Screens
Team
DYAR
Tgt
Yds
C%
aDOT
YAC
6-D.Smith
PHI
37
22
173
95%
-2.3
10.4
88-D.Goedert
PHI
29
16
174
100%
-2.9
13.8
89-T.Higbee
LAR
29
19
166
63%
-2.5
16.3
14-A.St. Brown
DET
4
13
78
85%
-2.1
9.4
19-B.Powell
LAR
2
14
83
79%
-3.6
11.2
10-J.Jeudy
DEN
1
13
68
85%
-2.7
8.9
10-C.Kupp
LAR
-5
20
118
95%
-2.1
8.2
11-K.Raymond
DET
-6
12
70
100%
-2.2
8.0
18-J.Jefferson
MIN
-6
19
106
95%
-1.1
7.2
7-Z.Jones
JAX
-12
12
61
92%
-2.1
7.6
14-C.Godwin
TB
-13
30
179
93%
-2.1
8.5
5-D.London
ATL
-14
12
53
75%
-1.9
7.9
87-T.Kelce
KC
-16
12
57
92%
-2.6
8.0
1-P.Campbell
IND
-20
14
92
71%
-2.4
10.9
19-D.Samuel
SF
-21
25
146
72%
-2.6
10.7
83-G.Dortch
ARI
-31
12
55
100%
-1.8
6.3
10-T.Hill
MIA
-31
13
56
85%
-2.2
7.5
88-C.Lamb
DAL
-40
13
40
92%
-3.1
6.4
1-J.Chase
CIN
-40
15
58
87%
-2.4
6.8
10-C.Samuel
WAS
-40
16
61
100%
-2.7
6.5
4-R.Moore
ARI
-46
12
40
92%
-3.4
7.3
87-R.Doubs
GB
-48
14
66
86%
-1.1
6.8
11-D.Mooney
CHI
-49
13
37
77%
-2.6
6.4
13-B.Cooks
HOU
-70
12
16
92%
-2.2
3.5
Well, at least the Eagles seem to be good at screen passes. This is the second straight year that Chris Godwin both led the league in screen passes and had negative DYAR on screen passes. Tampa, please, knock it off.
The DYAR leader in screens is not listed here. That’s because he only caught three passes. New England cornerback/gadget receiver Marcus Jones had 46 DYAR on his three screen receptions last year. Devin Duvernay of the Ravens was also high with 34 DYAR on seven screens.
