NFL 2024 – Wide Receivers When Open Split – Yardage Created Stat
I was poking around Next Gen Stats and found a split that has stats for wide receivers when they are open by 3+ yards. So in the spirit of “Throw me the damn ball”, I though it would be interesting to see who is creating wide open targets, how often, and what they do if/when they are targeted. Then I got sidetracked and started working on a new receiving metric called Yardage Created, which in turn led to a few other metrics that are derivative.
The one issue we have is that running backs create noise in this split because they are almost always wide open when coming out of the backfield. In fact you can see proof of this in the fact that many of the high volume pass catching RBs have YAC values HIGHER than their actual yardage values. This is because they are catching the ball behind the line of scrimmage. They get YAC for all the yards post catch, but only receiving yards for gains past the line of scrimmage.
2024 Wide Receivers When Open
Jayden Reed, Metcalf, Nabers, Collins, Jameson Williams are the top 5 in yardage when open by 3+ yards. The stats have all been conditionally formatted, but keep in mind they top 50 are conditionally formatted against each other, not against all receivers. The red you see in the chart is because it is a low value compared to the other top 50 receivers when open, not against all receivers. This will hold true for any conditional formatting you see; it is formatted against only the other data in the chart.
Yardage Created Metric
The idea behind the Yardage Created metric was to see how much separation a WR got on average, and how much YAC they created post catch. Since they are creating separation and yards after catch, hence the name Yardage Created.
In theory, Yardage Created should help identify receivers who consistently get separation and yards after the catch. A receiver who can get a large amount of separation consistently and then do damage after catching the ball should be one of the best. Let’s see who Yardage created picks out.
Yardage Created = (Targets * Avg Separation) + YAC
It should follow that we can then use this new value to create other stats. The one that naturally follows is:
Yardage Created % = (Yardage Created / Receiving Yardage)
In theory, Yardage Created % should show who are the most elusive receivers, both before and after the catch. Yardage Created % should show which WR are game wreckers on their own, and which are more a product of their QB.
Receivers who run/catch shorter routes will typically have a higher Yardage Created %. Receivers that catch/run longer routes have more reliance on the QB getting the ball to them over a long air distance. This in return, reduces the amount of potential YAC available.
A quick example. A team is on the 50 yard line. A WR catches a 40 yard pass at the 10 yd line and scores. He would get 50 receiving yards and 10 YAC yards. From the same spot, a WR catches a 10yd pass at the 40 yard line and runs it in from there. He would receive the same 50 receiving yards, but 40 YAC yards.
If separation is equal, the latter receiver will have a higher Yards Created %. If (targets*separation) is equal for two receivers, then Yardage Created % is just YAC / Receiving Yards, so the receiver with higher YAC will have a higher Yardage Created %.
Since we only have 4 weeks of stats there are going to be outliers and noise, but let’s see where this takes us. Let’s stay on topic and look at Yardage Created by receivers when they are open by 3+ yards. I’ve tried to strip aout the RBs unless noted.
2024 Wide Receivers When Open Yardage Created
2024 Wide Receiver Yardage Created
So let’s apply Yardage Created & Yardage Created % to the receivers full 2024 stats and not just when they are open. This should help it pass or fail the eye/smell test. First, the Yardage Created metric.
2024 Wide Receiver Yardage Created %
Here are the Yardage Created % values for the season through 4 weeks.
2024 Receiver Yardage Created When Open Chart
To help clarify matters a bit more, let’s find out what the Separation Yardage values are for each receiver.
Separation Yardage = Created Yardage – YAC
This will let us know how much of the Yardage Created is Separation Yardage.
We can also see the breakdown of YAC/Separation that make up Created Yardage: YAC % & Separation %
2024 Receivers Yardage Created When Open Chart Minus RBs
2024 Receivers Yardage Created Chart Through 4 Weeks
Finally here is the same chart with all 2024 stats as opposed to the “When Open” split.