As I pick through the stats and research these guys, it seems like the tall wide receivers are always less productive than you would expect around the end zone. Calvin Johnson, Demaryius Thomas, Julio Jones and Jordy Nelson come to mind.
The shorter wide receivers, meanwhile tend to have more success.
I think it ties in with the fade route. It’s hard, I think, to execute that play around the end zone, even if you have a good quarterback and great receiver. The throw needs to be accurate and precise, and the receiver needs to time his leap correctly and also sometimes get the right position against the cornerback. If the defender throws off the timing with a jam or can get up at the right time to counter, it all goes to pot.
Anyway, here are the stats for inside the 10 receiving over the last three years. I see more short guys at the top, and I see most of the taller-type receivers closer to the bottom.
I’m listing all wide receivers with at least 20 pass attempts. For touchdowns, those actually aren’t “touchdowns” but a combination of touchdowns and 2-point conversions, which I treat as the same. If a guy caught a 2-point conversion, it’s represented by a black ball. (Randall Cobb, for example, shows as “13•”, meaning he caught 12 TDs plus one 2-point conversion).
| RECEIVING INSIDE 10 SINCE 2012 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Height | size | Player | Com | Att | TD | EZ% |
| 5-10 | short | Randall Cobb, G.B. | 16 | 23 | 13• | 57% |
| 6-2 | -- | Dez Bryant, Dall. | 20 | 36 | 18• | 50% |
| 6-1 | -- | James Jones, Oak. | 17 | 28 | 14 | 50% |
| 6-4 | tall | Marques Colston, N.O. | 11 | 21 | 10 | 48% |
| 5-9 | short | Wes Welker, Den. | 21 | 30 | 14 | 47% |
| 5-10 | short | Julian Edelman, N.E. | 15 | 24 | 11•• | 46% |
| 5-11 | short | Emmanuel Sanders, Den. | 20 | 27 | 12• | 44% |
| 6-0 | -- | Mike Wallace, Mia. | 10 | 21 | 9 | 43% |
| 6-4 | tall | Brandon Marshall, Chi. | 18 | 39 | 16•• | 41% |
| 6-0 | -- | Roddy White, Atl. | 14 | 25 | 10 | 40% |
| 6-3 | tall | Eric Decker, NYJ | 18 | 33 | 13 | 39% |
| 5-10 | short | Antonio Brown, Pitt. | 15 | 27 | 10• | 37% |
| 6-2 | -- | Mike Williams, Buff. | 7 | 21 | 7 | 33% |
| 6-4 | tall | A.J. Green, Cin. | 15 | 31 | 10 | 32% |
| 6-0 | -- | Reggie Wayne, Ind. | 8 | 20 | 6• | 30% |
| 6-3 | tall | Demaryius Thomas, Den. | 16 | 40 | 12• | 30% |
| 6-5 | tall | Calvin Johnson, Det. | 11 | 27 | 8 | 30% |
| 6-3 | tall | Jordy Nelson, G.B. | 17 | 34 | 10• | 29% |
| 6-3 | tall | Alshon Jeffery, Chi. | 11 | 31 | 9• | 29% |
| 6-3 | tall | Andre Johnson, Hou. | 13 | 26 | 7 | 27% |
| 6-1 | -- | Anquan Boldin, S.F. | 7 | 20 | 5• | 25% |
| 6-3 | tall | Larry Fitzgerald, Ariz. | 14 | 26 | 6 | 23% |
| 6-3 | tall | Julio Jones, Atl. | 9 | 22 | 5 | 23% |
| 6-0 | -- | Cecil Shorts III, Jac. | 7 | 24 | 5 | 21% |
| 5-9 | short | Steve Smith, Balt. | 5 | 21 | 4 | 19% |
—Ian Allan