Let’s once again use the Offensive Value Metric (OVM), a grading system created by the (Bx) Movement to evaluate players based on how well they performed relative to their surroundings, to find Week 14’s top performances by wide receivers. Included on this week’s list are some of the NFL’s best players alongside some more unexpected names, including Antonio Brown, who is Week 14’s highest-graded WR.
Top Wide Receivers of Week 14 | 1-4
1) Antonio Brown, Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 52.88 (49 YDS, 0 TD)
Antonio Brown is one of the modern NFL’s most controversial figures. But, despite playing a relatively limited role in Tampa Bay this season, he isn’t washed up just yet. The Buccaneers’ passing offense wasn’t especially productive on Sunday, totaling less than 200 yards. However, Brown was a crucial piece of the success that they did have, being the team’s most-targeted player (tied with Mike Evans).
He caught every single one of those targets, making him one of six WRs to achieve a 100% catch percentage in Week 14, five of whom appear on this list. Additionally, Brown averaged 4.9 yards of separation when targeted, the third-highest average of the week. That is especially impressive as he was given a below-average 5.3 yards of cushion at the time of the snap. Brown also did well once he had the ball, averaging a solid 7.0 yards after the catch.
2) Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Green Bay Packers: 48.69 (85 YDS, 1 TD)
For the second time this season, Valdes-Scantling has earned the highest OVM grade of his career. However, Valdes-Scantling’s success is the result of a dramatically different type of performance this time around.
In Week 10, his grade was largely the result of spectacular production with the ball in his hands. He averaged a staggering 20.5 yards after the catch. According to the NFL’s calculations, that number was 6.4 yards higher than expected. Both of those numbers led the NFL in Week 10. However, Valdes-Scantling’s grade wasn’t as high as it could have been, since he only caught 66.67% of his targets.
Week 14’s performance was less explosive but far more efficient. While Valdes-Scantling averaged a far more pedestrian 4.9 yards after the catch, exactly the amount that was expected, he did so while catching 100% of his targets and averaging 4.5 yards of separation when targeted, ranking fifth among qualifying wide receivers.
3) Tyler Lockett, Seattle Seahawks: 46.28 (52 YDS, 0 TD)
After a somewhat embarrassing loss to the New York Giants, Seattle took out their frustrations on New York’s other resident team, the New York Jets. Lockett might not have had the flashiest box score statistics of the numerous players who contributed to the Seahawks passing offense on Sunday, but he was the most efficient among them.
Lockett’s advanced metrics follow a similar pattern to Antonio Brown’s. His most impressive statistic was his 100% catch percentage, but he averaged 5.6 yards of separation across those targets, the second-highest average of Week 14. However, his yards after the catch average of 5.3, while not terrible, was 0.7 yards lower than expected, decreasing his grade slightly.
4) Juju Smith-Schuster, Pittsburgh Steelers: 42.72 (55 YDS, 1 TD)
Pittsburgh followed their first loss of the season with another, a trend that they cannot afford to continue. The changes to the playoff format mean that only one team will get a first-round bye. Each Steelers loss puts them one step further behind the Kansas City Chiefs in the hunt for that critical advantage.
However, Smith-Schuster is not to blame for the team’s struggles in Week 14. He caught 85.71% of his targets, tied for the second-highest total after the six wide receivers who caught 100%. He accomplished this feat despite being given just 4.5 yards of cushion by defenders. That was the tenth-lowest amount among qualifying wide receivers.
Top WRs Week 14 | 5-7
5) Michael Thomas, New Orleans Saints: 42.71 (84 YDS, 0 TD)
Thomas continues to find his form this season after a difficult start. Even with Taysom Hill at quarterback, he has earned his best OVM grade of the season in back-to-back weeks. Hopefully, this recent upswing heralds more consistent performances from Thomas in the near future, because the Saints will need him to be at his best when the playoffs arrive.
Like Antonio Brown and several other wide receivers on this list, Thomas caught 100% of his targets, his first time doing so this season. His other metrics, such as his 2.1 yards after the catch, 0.8 yards lower than expected, aren’t nearly as impressive. However, Thomas’ catch percentage alone was enough to earn him a high grade this week.
6) David Moore, Seattle Seahawks: 42.36 (20 YDS, 1 TD)
Moore is the second player to emerge from the Seahawks decimation of what is ostensibly an NFL football team with a top 10 grade. Like Lockett, Moore was able to create significant separation from the Jets defenders. He averaged 6.1 yards of separation when targeted, the highest among qualifying wide receivers, despite being given 5.2 yards of cushion.
However, Moore performed worse than his teammate in many other areas. Most notably, he caught 60% of his targets, 40% worse than Lockett and lower than any other player on this list. That lack of consistency is strange given how easily he was able to get open and is what holds him back from ranking higher.
7) Stefon Diggs, Buffalo Bills: 42.21 (130 YDS, 1 TD)
The Bills are in the midst of what might be their best season in decades under quarterback Josh Allen, who continues to show substantial improvements over the course of his young career. A major factor in, and beneficiary of, Allen’s rise is Diggs. The former Minnesota Viking has already totaled 1,167 receiving yards. That is more than in any of his seasons in Minnesota. In Week 14, he continued cementing himself as one of the NFL’s best WRs.
Diggs had one of the lower catch percentages on our list this week, at 71.43%. However, his other metrics help to make up for that. He was given four yards of cushion, ranking seventh among qualifying wide receivers. Despite that, he still averaged 3.2 yards of separation when targeted, an impressively low differential. Diggs also averaged 6.4 yards after the catch, well above average and 1.9 yards higher than expected.
Top Wide Receivers of Week 14 | 8-10
8) Tyron Johnson, Los Angeles Chargers: 41.4 (55 YDS, 1 TD)
It took fourteen weeks, but the Chargers have finally defeated a team with more than one win. That isn’t much of an accomplishment, but I suppose it’s better than nothing. Johnson, who has bounced around considerably in his short time in the NFL, spending time with four different teams before finding a home in Los Angeles, played a surprisingly significant role in the Chargers’ victory. He made six receptions in Week 14, doubling his season total.
Johnson’s statistics advanced metrics from Sunday are quite similar to those produced by Antonio Brown and Tyler Lockett. However, they rank slightly worse across the board. Johnson caught a high percentage of his passes, at 85.7%. He also created 4.4 yards of separation, tied for sixth among qualifying WRs in Week 14.
9) Chad Hansen, Houston Texans: 40.82 (56 YDS, 0 TD)
Much like last week, when Keke Coutee made our list, Hansen is one of the Texans wide receivers benefitting from Will Fuller’s suspension. His box score statistics were actually more impressive last week when he totaled 101 receiving yards. However, his performance in Week 14 was far more efficient. As a result, his Week 14 grade is more than eight points higher than what he earned the week prior.
The primary difference between the two weeks was in Hansen’s catch percentage. While he was targeted seven times in both games, in Week 13 he caught 71.43% of those passes. In Week 14 that number increased to 100%, making Hansen the final player on our list to reach that milestone.
10) Davante Adams, Green Bay Packers: 39.72 (115 YDS, 1 TD)
The Packers are a fascinating football team. They sit at 10-3, tied for the best record in the NFC, but their strength of schedule is somewhat suspect. Through Week 14, they’ve played just three games against teams with winning records this season and are 1-2 in those contests.
Still, Green Bay has been cruising in recent weeks. Adams continues to impress, maintaining a consistent presence on our top 10 lists. He still holds the second-highest overall grade by a wide receiver this season, another testament to his consistency.
In Week 14, the factor that contributed the most to Adams’ OVM grade was his league-leading production after catching the ball. He averaged 12.6 yards after the catch, the highest among qualifying wide receivers. That number was 5.2 yards higher than expected, a differential that ranked second.
Lucas Ellinas is a writer for Pro Football Network. You can follow him on Twitter @Lucas_Ellinas.
