2016 Yards From Scrimmage Leaders (As A Percentage Of Team YFS)

by Chase Stuart on June 8, 2017

Doug Drinen wrote this article 11 years ago, and it serves as a good reminder to always look at offensive numbers in the context of a player’s team. Yesterday, I looked at tackle leaders as a percentage of team tackles. Today we will do the same thing with yards from scrimmage.

Arizona running back David Johnson led the NFL in yards from scrimmage last year with 2,118 yards. The Cardinals as a team gained 6,157 yards of offense (before deducting for sack yards lost), which means Johnson gained 34.4% of his team’s total output. That also led the league. However, Steelers RB Le’Veon Bell missed three games due to suspension and sat out a meaningless week 17 game. Bell averaged 157 yards per game last year, the third-most in NFL history. He was responsible for 30.7% of the Steelers total yards from scrimmage last year, but on a pro-rated basis (i.e., multiplying that by 16/12), that jumps to an insane (although not historically extraordinary) 40.9%.

That’s the column the table is sorted by below. Here’s how to read Bell’s line. He gained 1,884 yards for Pittsburgh, while the Steelers as a team had 6,137 total yards. Bell therefore was responsible for 30.7% of Pittsburgh’s yards, but he only played in 12 games. On a pro-rated basis, he ranks first at 40.9%. The table below shows the top 75 leaders in this metric, minimum 6 games played:

Rk	Player	Pos	Team	YFS	Team YFS	Perc	G	Pro-Rated
1	Le'Veon Bell	RB	PIT	1884	6137	30.7%	12	40.9%
2	David Johnson	RB	ARI	2118	6157	34.4%	16	34.4%
3	Ezekiel Elliott	RB	DAL	1994	6195	32.2%	15	34.3%
4	Melvin Gordon	RB	SDG	1416	5896	24%	13	29.6%
5	LeSean McCoy	RB	BUF	1623	5880	27.6%	15	29.4%
6	Jordan Howard	RB	CHI	1611	5874	27.4%	15	29.3%
7	DeMarco Murray	RB	TEN	1664	5907	28.2%	16	28.2%
8	Spencer Ware	FB	KAN	1368	5662	24.2%	14	27.6%
9	Jay Ajayi	RB	MIA	1423	5540	25.7%	15	27.4%
10	Carlos Hyde	RB	SFO	1151	5185	22.2%	13	27.3%
11	Lamar Miller	RB	HOU	1261	5277	23.9%	14	27.3%
12	Todd Gurley	RB	LAR	1212	4565	26.5%	16	26.5%
13	A.J. Green	WR	CIN	964	5975	16.1%	10	25.8%
14	Odell Beckham	WR	NYG	1376	5439	25.3%	16	25.3%
15	C.J. Anderson	RB	DEN	565	5398	10.5%	7	23.9%
16	T.Y. Hilton	WR	IND	1448	6119	23.7%	16	23.7%
17	Isaiah Crowell	RB	CLE	1271	5405	23.5%	16	23.5%
18	Kenny Britt	WR	LAR	1002	4565	21.9%	15	23.4%
19	Julio Jones	WR	ATL	1409	6888	20.5%	14	23.4%
20	Mike Evans	WR	TAM	1321	5781	22.9%	16	22.9%
21	Matt Forte	RB	NYJ	1076	5447	19.8%	14	22.6%
22	Antonio Brown	WR	PIT	1293	6137	21.1%	15	22.5%
23	Devonta Freeman	RB	ATL	1541	6888	22.4%	16	22.4%
24	Frank Gore	RB	IND	1302	6119	21.3%	16	21.3%
25	Stefon Diggs	WR	MIN	913	5324	17.1%	13	21.1%
26	Jarvis Landry	WR	MIA	1153	5540	20.8%	16	20.8%
27	Theo Riddick	RB	DET	728	5637	12.9%	10	20.7%
28	Jordy Nelson	WR	GNB	1257	6146	20.5%	16	20.5%
29	Bilal Powell	RB	NYJ	1110	5447	20.4%	16	20.4%
30	Demaryius Thomas	WR	DEN	1083	5398	20.1%	16	20.1%
31	Latavius Murray	RB	OAK	1052	6059	17.4%	14	19.8%
32	Travis Kelce	TE	KAN	1120	5662	19.8%	16	19.8%
33	Mark Ingram	RB	NOR	1362	7000	19.5%	16	19.5%
34	Doug Martin	RB	TAM	555	5781	9.6%	8	19.2%
35	Emmanuel Sanders	WR	DEN	1036	5398	19.2%	16	19.2%
36	Golden Tate	WR	DET	1081	5637	19.2%	16	19.2%
37	Amari Cooper	WR	OAK	1153	6059	19%	16	19%
38	Terrelle Pryor	WR	CLE	1028	5405	19%	16	19%
39	LeGarrette Blount	RB	NWE	1199	6328	18.9%	16	18.9%
40	Jonathan Stewart	RB	CAR	884	5776	15.3%	13	18.8%
41	Doug Baldwin	WR	SEA	1130	6013	18.8%	16	18.8%
42	Alshon Jeffery	WR	CHI	821	5874	14%	12	18.6%
43	Greg Olsen	TE	CAR	1073	5776	18.6%	16	18.6%
44	Adam Thielen	WR	MIN	982	5324	18.4%	16	18.4%
45	Julian Edelman	WR	NWE	1163	6328	18.4%	16	18.4%
46	Matt Jones	RB	WAS	533	6644	8%	7	18.3%
47	Jacquizz Rodgers	RB	TAM	658	5781	11.4%	10	18.2%
48	Jeremy Hill	RB	CIN	1013	5975	17%	15	18.1%
49	DeAndre Hopkins	WR	HOU	954	5277	18.1%	16	18.1%
50	Mike Wallace	WR	BAL	1048	5806	18.1%	16	18.1%
51	Giovani Bernard	RB	CIN	673	5975	11.3%	10	18%
52	Rashad Jennings	RB	NYG	794	5439	14.6%	13	18%
53	Tyrell Williams	WR	SDG	1059	5896	18%	16	18%
54	Marvin Jones	WR	DET	933	5637	16.6%	15	17.7%
55	Terrance West	RB	BAL	1010	5806	17.4%	16	17.4%
56	Cameron Meredith	WR	CHI	894	5874	15.2%	14	17.4%
57	Michael Thomas	WR	NOR	1137	7000	16.2%	15	17.3%
58	Brandin Cooks	WR	NOR	1203	7000	17.2%	16	17.2%
59	Rob Gronkowski	TE	NWE	540	6328	8.5%	8	17.1%
60	Ryan Mathews	RB	PHI	776	5611	13.8%	13	17%
61	Tevin Coleman	RB	ATL	941	6888	13.7%	13	16.8%
62	Christine Michael	RB	SEA	565	6013	9.4%	9	16.7%
63	Larry Fitzgerald	WR	ARI	1028	6157	16.7%	16	16.7%
64	Zach Ertz	TE	PHI	816	5611	14.5%	14	16.6%
65	Michael Crabtree	WR	OAK	1003	6059	16.6%	16	16.6%
66	Darren Sproles	RB	PHI	865	5611	15.4%	15	16.4%
67	Jordan Matthews	WR	PHI	804	5611	14.3%	14	16.4%
68	Chris Ivory	RB	JAX	625	5556	11.2%	11	16.4%
69	Kelvin Benjamin	WR	CAR	941	5776	16.3%	16	16.3%
70	Devontae Booker	RB	DEN	877	5398	16.2%	16	16.2%
71	Davante Adams	WR	GNB	997	6146	16.2%	16	16.2%
72	DeSean Jackson	WR	WAS	1005	6644	15.1%	15	16.1%
73	Duke Johnson	RB	CLE	872	5405	16.1%	16	16.1%
74	Rishard Matthews	WR	TEN	945	5907	16%	16	16%
75	Quincy Enunwa	WR	NYJ	869	5447	16%	16	16%

Some thoughts:

Among wide receivers, only Odell Beckham gained at least 25% of his team’s total yards from scrimmage, although A.J. Green did so on a pro-rated basis.

Travis Kelce and Greg Olsen were the two tight ends to crack the 1,000-yard mark, and they check in at #32 and #43 respectively. Rob Gronkowski is down at #59 even on the pro-rated list, but that’s probably misleading: he played in 8 games In two of his 8 games, he played in just 21 snaps combined, and a third game came with a third string quarterback. Gronkowski averaged 67.5 yards per game last year in 8 games, but he averaged 105.8 yards per game in his other five games.

Carlos Hyde, Lamar Miller, and Todd Gurley rank 10-11-12, and they also played on the three teams with the lowest offensive output. This analysis obviously helps them: the real question is how much of their lack of raw success was due to them, and how much to their team? In all three cases, it seems more reasonable to blame their teammates than them.

What stands out to you?

Tagged as: Yards From Scrimmage

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