Tyreek Hill doesn’t have great hands; he drops too many balls. But he also sprinkles in lots of big plays, and it’s nice to have that potential – he’s always capable of turning a lesser game into a good one with a 70-yard touchdown.

Hill caught 7 TDs last year, and they came from an average of 58 yards. That’s the highest average of any wide receiver in this century (among those who caught more than 5 TDs). Hill also scored an 82-yard touchdown on a punt return, which isn’t reflected here.

AVERAGING OVER 40 YARDS ON TD CATCHES
AvgTDYear
58.372017Tyreek Hill
54.862014DeSean Jackson
54.762010DeSean Jackson
52.472008Bernard Berrian
52.092011Victor Cruz
50.262007Joey Galloway
49.182006Lee Evans
48.692013Josh Gordon
45.972002Quincy Morgan
45.692009DeSean Jackson
44.562000Torry Holt
44.182016Brandin Cooks
44.062011Pierre Garcon
43.792005Santana Moss
43.192010Mario Manningham
42.862005Kevin Curtis
42.762016Taylor Gabriel
42.182011Julio Jones
42.062002Joey Galloway
42.062006Santana Moss
41.862009Hakeem Nicks
41.772012Cecil Shorts III
40.862002Corey Bradford
40.862009Mike Wallace
40.7102010Mike Wallace
40.562015Emmanuel Sanders
40.072010Braylon Edwards

At the other end of the scale, we have the wide receiver who’s getting most of the headlines right now. Jarvis Landry probably will wind up with a new team, and he doesn’t almost all of his work on underneath routes. All 9 of his touchdown catches last year came inside 10 yards.

In the last 18 seasons, only three wide receivers have caught more than 5 TDs and averaged under 6 yards on said plays, and they’ve all come from the last three years – Golden Tate, Allen Robinson and Landry. Robinson also is currently a free agent.

This doesn’t mean, of course, that Landry simply can’t run or play. He was fast enough to score on a 69-yard punt return back in 2015. There’s value in having wide receivers who can work the short routes in traffic. Wes Welker, for example. Larry Fitzgerald hasn’t gone downfield much in recent years. But trying to get behind defenses for big strikes hasn’t been a big part of Landry’s game.

AVERAGING UNDER 10 YARDS ON TD CATCHES
AvgTDYear
3.562015Golden Tate
4.992017Jarvis Landry
5.862016Allen Robinson
6.072014Roddy White
6.0102013Wes Welker
6.672010Mike Sims-Walker
6.772016Donte Moncrief
7.172008Dwayne Bowe
7.972008Isaac Bruce
7.972001J.J. Stokes
8.062006Larry Fitzgerald
8.362010Larry Fitzgerald
8.562000Muhsin Muhammad
8.762003Darnerien McCants
8.862015Donte Moncrief
8.862005Keyshawn Johnson
9.062003Ike Hilliard
9.372007Hines Ward
9.372007Torry Holt
9.482011Roddy White
9.492015Larry Fitzgerald
9.5112007Marques Colston
9.762017Jordy Nelson
9.762014James Jones
9.772009Steve Smith (NYG)

—Ian Allan