Catch rate over expected

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NFL Next Gen Stats ranks Tee Higgins as the #1 receiver making difficult catches (and Ja'marr is on the list too!). https://www.nfl.com/news/next-gen-stats-top-10-pass-catchers-by-croe-tee-higgins-christian-kirk-top-the-b

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Tee Higgins
Cincinnati Bengals · Age 23
Catch rate: 67.3%
xCatch: 57.5%
CROE: +9.8%


We spent much of 2021 raving about the record-breaking debut season for Ja'Marr Chase, but the Bengals didn't get to the Super Bowl on the strength of the rookie alone. While Chase victimized defenders down the sideline, Higgins played an important role in the often-overlooked (but ever-important) intermediate portion of Cincinnati's passing attack.



Higgins' catch rate didn't land near the top of the league, but the most important metric in these rankings -- catch rate over expected -- separates him from the rest. As a receiver who operates in the most congested area of the field, Higgins consistently exceeded expectations, finishing with the sixth-most receiving yards (503) and fourth-most expected points added on intermediate targets. And in that traffic-filled region of the field, Higgins proved to be an ideal target to find open space, settle in and catch accurate passes for positive gains, with 73 percent of his total receiving yards coming via air yards (801).



All of this combined to help Higgins post the league's top catch rate over expected at +9.8 percent. It certainly helps to have Joe Burrow as your quarterback, but Higgins proved he's pretty darn good at playing the position, too.