• Justin Jefferson leads the way: The third-year wideout earned a 90.2 PFF grade that ranked third among all wide receivers a season ago, and he went 89-of-128 for 1,140 yards from his snaps on the outside.
• Don’t test Jaylen Waddle: Waddle has the kind of special stop-start ability that is a nightmare to cover one-on-one. On just nine catches against single coverage last season, five of them resulted in a gain of 15 or more yards.
• Different uniform, same 17: Davante Adams’ 92.6 PFF receiving grade against single coverage on the outside ranked top-five among all wide receivers. All 27 of his receptions in these situations resulted in either a first down (21) or a touchdown (6).
Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
The NFL has become a pass-centric league, so having a wide receiver who can win on the outside and beat single coverage is now more important than ever.
Here, we use PFF Premium Stats to identify 10 wide receivers who lined up on the outside on 65% or more of their snaps and still eclipsed 2.00 yards per route run over the season.
Justin Jefferson, Minnesota Vikings
Percentage of snaps from a wide alignment: 70.0%
Yards per route run: 2.55
Jefferson is a true alpha WR1, the guy defensive coaches try to key in on when they line up against the Vikings. But as we know it, some wide receivers will just win regardless of how hard teams try to stop it.
The third-year wideout earned a 90.2 PFF grade that ranked third among all wide receivers a season ago, and he went 89-of-128 for 1,140 yards from his snaps on the outside.
JUSTIN JEFFERSON WITH ONE-HAND ???? pic.twitter.com/3wLjjXYcWH
— PFF (@PFF) November 13, 2022
A.J. Brown, Philadelphia Eagles
Percentage of snaps from a wide alignment: 74.1%
Yards per route run: 2.47
Brown led the league in receiving grade (94.5) against single coverage lined up out wide. His ability to get in and out of breaks at 6-foot-1, 226 is unfair for corners trying to cover him one-on-one. His 866 receiving yards against single coverage on the outside ranked first at the position, and you can argue he is the perfect prototype for an outside wide receiver.
Safe to say the A.J. Brown trade has worked out
pic.twitter.com/PEqTWqSKlb— PFF (@PFF) February 13, 2023
Jaylen Waddle, Miami Dolphins
Percentage of snaps from a wide alignment: 73.2%
Yards per route run: 2.46
Waddle has the kind of special stop-start ability that is a nightmare to cover one-on-one, and on just nine catches against single coverage last season, five of them resulted in a gain of 15 or more yards.
No one has great answers on how to stop the electric duo of Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle, but using single coverage is almost certainly not the best plan.
JAYLEN WADDLE TO THE HOUSE
pic.twitter.com/LyDlAEvBXz— PFF (@PFF) December 25, 2022
Davante Adams, Las Vegas Raiders
Percentage of snaps from a wide alignment: 69.6%
Yards per route run: 2.45
Different uniform, same 17.
Adams has been one of the best in the league for some time now. His releases are second to none, and when you match that with his exceptional understanding of the art of route running, he can produce in any environment. His 92.6 PFF receiving grade against single coverage on the outside ranked top-five among all wide receivers. All 27 of his receptions in these situations resulted in either a first down (21) or a touchdown (6).
DAVANTE ADAMS CALLED GAME pic.twitter.com/R7BxJHb064
— PFF (@PFF) November 21, 2022
Chris Olave, New Orleans Saints
Percentage of snaps from a wide alignment: 66.0%
Yards per route run: 2.42
Olave entered the league with a great feel for route running. As a rookie, he drew over 100 targets, finishing the year as the sixth-most-productive receiver in the league on a per-route basis.
The Ohio State product caught 48 of his 76 targets for 666 yards, two scores and 28 first downs from an outside alignment last year.
Look at Chris Olave man, so inspirational ????pic.twitter.com/JRQwknFZxJ
— PFF Fantasy Football (@PFF_Fantasy) November 20, 2022
Stefon Diggs, Buffalo Bills
Percentage of snaps from a wide alignment: 65.8%
Yards per route run: 2.40
Diggs is one of the best in the game, and he has been dominant in Buffalo as Josh Allen’s favorite target. His 92.8 receiving grade against single coverage on the outside ranked top-five among all wide receivers a season ago, and he tied for the league lead in touchdowns (7) in these situations.
Stefon Diggs vs Jalen Ramsey ????
pic.twitter.com/PRKsYAyHEk— PFF (@PFF) September 9, 2022
Drake London, Atlanta Falcons
Percentage of snaps from a wide alignment: 78.4%
Yards per route run: 2.07
London is a big-bodied wideout who knows how to use his size to his advantage. He played 78.4% of his snaps out wide a season ago, the highest rate among all rookies.
London also posted a 91.1 receiving grade against single coverage from that alignment, which ranked top-10 in the NFL. As he will continue to be a focal point of that offense, London could take an even bigger step in Year 2.
Drake London is finding a knack for the endzone ????pic.twitter.com/X6SGPedTV7
— PFF Fantasy Football (@PFF_Fantasy) September 25, 2022
Amari Cooper, Cleveland Browns
Percentage of snaps from a wide alignment: 75.0%
Yards per route run: 2.06
One of the better route-runners in the league, Cooper has continually performed at a high level on the outside. He averaged 2.06 yards per route run in 2022, the second-highest mark of his career, trailing his 2019 season in Dallas.
Cooper put up 668 yards against single coverage last season, top-five among all wide receivers.
Amari Cooper cooked J.C. Jackson ????????
pic.twitter.com/fTzF5lcVxE— PFF (@PFF) October 9, 2022
Terry McLaurin, Washington Commanders
Percentage of snaps from a wide alignment: 78.9%
Yards per route run: 2.04
McLaurin leads all the players on this list in wide snap percentage. And among the 26 wide receivers who saw over 100 snaps of single coverage on the outside last season, the Commanders star ranked second in average depth of target (19.0 yards downfield).
He can create plays down the football field, and he plays bigger than his size, as his 64.3% contested catch rate also ranked second among that same group of players.
Terry McLaurin vs Jaire Alexander ????
pic.twitter.com/rSFbyOdvrD— PFF (@PFF) October 23, 2022
DeVonta Smith, Philadelphia Eagles
Percentage of snaps from a wide alignment: 75.0%
Yards per route run: 2.00
At 6 feet and 170 pounds, Smith constantly has to win with his route running and releases. He excels at creating separation regardless of the coverage he is facing, and he is the final wideout on this list who saw 100-plus targets this season while playing over 65% of his snaps from a wide alignment.
The Eagles pass-catcher went 75-of-102 for 875 yards, five touchdowns and 34 first downs from the outside last season, generating a 115.4 passer rating.
DEVONTA SMITH ON 4TH DOWN ‼️
pic.twitter.com/EckCUgTLT8— PFF (@PFF) December 11, 2022
Honorable Mentions
- Ja’Marr Chase, Cincinnati Bengals
- D.K. Metcalf, Seattle Seahawks
- Brandon Aiyuk, San Francisco 49ers
- Tee Higgins, Cincinnati Bengals
- Mike Evans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The five receivers above just missed the cut due to one of the metric thresholds. All are phenomenal wide receivers in their own right and also have had great success on the outside.
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