Directional passing update for Week 12

During the NFL season, we’re going to use the Directional Passing Tool to break down how different offenses are utilizing their weapons all over the field. As the year goes on, patterns begin to emerge that will allow us to anticipate and exploit mismatches between a defense and an offense that we’re targeting. 

Short Passing

The short left zone seems to bring out most of the best wide receivers in the league. Cooper Kupp continues to lap the field in production within this zone. He’s over 100 yards beyond anyone else here. Najee Harris remains as the only running back in this zone. He’s turned -16 air yards into 201 receiving yards. Deebo Samuel is enjoying another breakout season and doing much of his damage here. 

Jaylen Waddle is being overshadowed in a lot of ways by some of the other young receivers, but he’s been excellent despite playing with multiple quarterbacks this season. DeVonta Smith and Ja’Marr Chase are two rookies who’ve also been enjoying breakouts of their own and thriving in the short right section of the field. We also see three tight ends make their way onto this list.