San Diego’s Danario Alexander caught 37 passes for 658 yards and 7 touchdowns in 10 games last year. Those might not look like great numbers, but when Philip Rivers looked his way, Alexander tended to produce. Alexander only saw 62 targets last season, but led the league with a 10.6 yards-per-target average (minimum 50 targets). Since 2000, there have been 21 receivers to average at least 11 yards per target on 50 targets.
Rank | Player | Year | Tm | Age | G | Tar | Rec | Yds | Y/T | R/T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2008 | 13.9 | 56.1% | |||||||
| 2 | 2006 | 13.8 | 59.3% | |||||||
| 3 | Jordy Nelson | 2011 | GNB | 26 | 16 | 96 | 68 | 1263 | 13.2 | 70.8% |
| 4 | Mike Wallace | 2010 | PIT | 24 | 16 | 99 | 60 | 1257 | 12.7 | 60.6% |
| 5 | Malcom Floyd | 2011 | SDG | 30 | 12 | 70 | 43 | 856 | 12.2 | 61.4% |
| 6 | Antonio Gates | 2010 | SDG | 30 | 10 | 65 | 50 | 782 | 12 | 76.9% |
| 7 | Dennis Northcutt | 2002 | CLE | 25 | 13 | 50 | 39 | 591 | 11.8 | 78% |
| 8 | Torry Holt | 2000 | STL | 24 | 16 | 140 | 82 | 1643 | 11.7 | 58.6% |
| 9 | Victor Cruz | 2011 | NYG | 25 | 16 | 132 | 83 | 1545 | 11.7 | 62.9% |
| 10 | James Jones | 2011 | GNB | 27 | 16 | 55 | 38 | 635 | 11.5 | 69.1% |
| 11 | Plaxico Burress | 2004 | PIT | 27 | 11 | 61 | 35 | 698 | 11.4 | 57.4% |
| 12 | Robert Meachem | 2009 | NOR | 25 | 16 | 64 | 45 | 726 | 11.3 | 70.3% |
| 13 | Anthony Gonzalez | 2007 | IND | 23 | 13 | 51 | 37 | 576 | 11.3 | 72.5% |
| 14 | Lee Evans | 2004 | BUF | 23 | 16 | 75 | 48 | 843 | 11.2 | 64% |
| 15 | Randy Moss | 2000 | MIN | 23 | 16 | 129 | 78 | 1438 | 11.1 | 60.5% |
| 16 | Steve Smith | 2008 | CAR | 29 | 14 | 129 | 78 | 1432 | 11.1 | 60.5% |
| 17 | Santana Moss | 2005 | WAS | 26 | 16 | 134 | 84 | 1485 | 11.1 | 62.7% |
| 18 | DeSean Jackson | 2010 | PHI | 24 | 14 | 96 | 47 | 1060 | 11 | 49% |
| 19 | Santonio Holmes | 2007 | PIT | 23 | 13 | 86 | 53 | 942 | 11 | 61.6% |
| 20 | Greg Jennings | 2007 | GNB | 24 | 13 | 84 | 53 | 920 | 11 | 63.1% |
| 21 | Joe Horn | 2006 | NOR | 34 | 10 | 62 | 38 | 679 | 11 | 61.3% |
I’ve blanked out the first two rows, because the same player has recorded the two highest yards/target seasons over the last thirteen years. Can you guess who it is?
| Trivia hint 1 | Show |
|---|---|
| Trivia hint 2 | Show |
|---|---|
| Trivia hint 3 | Show |
|---|---|
| Click 'Show' for the Question | Show |
|---|---|
{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
In the second sentence, I think you mean Alexander instead of Thomas.
Thanks Bob. Were you able to guess it?
Yes, but I had looked at PFR’s list of (active) leaders in yards/reception just the other day… between that and the hints it was fresh in mind.
http://www.pro-football-reference.com/leaders/rec_yds_per_rec_active.htm
It took me a little bit of thought, but I got it mostly by thinking about the years. I’ve also just always found him interesting–statistically, he’s almost like a wideout from 1960 dropped into the mid-2000s.
I actually knew what the answer was before I ever even saw the years, let alone the hints… but that’s only because I used to be extremely interested in per-target efficiency metrics. Devery Henderson is pretty much a per-target all star.
With that said, in my mind, the greatest per-target season of all time is Marc Boerigter’s 2002 campaign. 20 receptions, 430 yards, and 8 TDs… on just 33 targets. The yards and ypt are both inflated by a 99 yard TD (removing that drops him from 12.7 ypt to 10.0 ypt), but even without that, he still had 7 scores on 32 targets. All told, he averaged better than 3 fantasy points per target. For some perspective, during Randy Moss’s 2007 season, he averaged 1.8 fantasy points per target.
I immediately thought of Devin Hester and none of the clues changed my conviction.
I guess I wass a year or two off in career trajectory.
How far from Gates to next TE? That number seems unreal for that position.
Rob Gronkowski was at 10.7 in 2012 and then 10.0 last year. Jeb Putzier (name from the past!) was at 10.6 in 2004 and Scheffler at 10.6 in 2008 for Denver.
That completely stumped me. I spent a lot of time trying to decide if this player had 32 catches those seasons because he only caught a couple passes per game, or because he was hurt. Henderson never crossed my mind.
This one took about thirty seconds. It was key to think about guys with low catch totals but nice yardage for multiple seasons.