NFL Analytics Without the Jargon
Use this glossary as a quick reference while researching players, teams, matchups, and player props.
One statistic rarely tells the whole story.
NFL analytics become more useful when usage, efficiency, matchup quality, and game environment are evaluated together. This glossary explains the individual signals before they are combined inside PlayMaker.
Usage & Opportunity Metrics
These statistics help measure how involved a player is in an NFL offense.
Snap Share
Snap Share is the percentage of a team's offensive snaps that a player is on the field for.
Higher snap share generally creates more opportunities for targets, carries, routes, and scoring chances.
Learn About Snap Share →Target Share
Target Share is the percentage of a team's passing targets directed toward a specific player.
It helps measure receiving involvement independently of total team passing volume.
Learn About Target Share →Carry Share
Carry Share is the percentage of a team's rushing attempts handled by a specific player.
It helps show whether a running back controls the backfield or operates inside a committee.
Learn About Carry Share →Route Participation
Route Participation measures how frequently an eligible receiver runs a route when the offense calls a passing play.
A player cannot earn targets consistently without first being involved in the passing routes.
Red Zone Usage
Red Zone Usage measures a player's carries, targets, or other opportunities when the offense is close to the opponent's goal line.
Higher red-zone involvement generally creates more touchdown opportunity.
Learn About Red Zone Usage →Touches
Touches represent the combined number of rushing attempts and receptions credited to a player.
The metric is commonly used to evaluate total offensive involvement for running backs and other skill players.
Receiving Metrics
These statistics measure receiving volume, downfield opportunity, and production.
Receiving Yards
Receiving Yards are the yards gained by a player on completed passes.
The total includes both the distance gained before and after the catch.
Air Yards
Air Yards measure the distance the football travels downfield from the line of scrimmage to the receiver on a target.
Air Yards help reveal downfield opportunity even when a pass is incomplete.
Learn About Air Yards →Target Share vs Air Yards
Target Share measures how frequently a receiver earns passing opportunities. Air Yards measure how far downfield those opportunities occur.
Evaluating both together helps distinguish receiving volume from target depth and reveals different types of receiver roles.
Compare Target Share vs Air Yards →YAC — Yards After Catch
Yards After Catch measure how many receiving yards a player gains after securing the football.
YAC can help identify players who create additional production with the ball in their hands.
Learn About YAC →Yards Per Route Run
Yards Per Route Run measures receiving yards generated for every passing route a player runs.
It adds route volume to receiving efficiency instead of measuring production only on completed targets.
Learn About YPRR →Average Depth of Target
Average Depth of Target, often abbreviated aDOT, measures how far downfield a player's average target travels.
Higher aDOT usually indicates a deeper receiving role, while lower aDOT can indicate shorter-area usage.
Explore Target Depth →Receptions
Receptions count the number of completed passes caught by a player.
Receptions depend heavily on target volume, catch rate, role, and passing environment.
Explore Receiving Volume →Target Share vs Air Yards
Two receiving metrics become more useful when evaluated together.
Target Share = how often. Air Yards = how deep.
High Target Share can indicate stable receiving volume, while high Air Yards can indicate valuable downfield opportunity. Combining both metrics helps distinguish possession receivers, high-volume downfield options, volatile deep threats, and lower-opportunity receiving roles.
Read Target Share vs Air Yards →Target Share Leaders
Move from the definition into current NFL receiving usage.
Which NFL players command the largest share of their team's targets?
The PlayMaker Target Share Leaders report tracks receiving involvement across NFL players and positions so usage changes can be evaluated alongside player production.
View NFL Target Share Leaders →Rushing & Total Production
Common statistics used to measure rushing and combined offensive production.
Rushing Yards
Rushing Yards measure the yards gained by a player on rushing attempts.
Volume, offensive line performance, defensive matchup, and expected game script can all affect rushing production.
Scrimmage Yards
Scrimmage Yards combine a player's rushing yards and receiving yards.
The metric is especially useful for evaluating running backs and versatile players who contribute through both phases.
Yards Per Carry
Yards Per Carry measures the average number of rushing yards gained on each rushing attempt.
It describes rushing efficiency but should be evaluated alongside workload and game context.
Rushing Attempts
Rushing Attempts count how many times a player carries the football.
Attempt volume can be heavily influenced by role, score differential, and expected game script.
Advanced Efficiency Metrics
These metrics add context that traditional box-score statistics cannot provide by themselves.
EPA — Expected Points Added
Expected Points Added measures how much a play changes a team's expected scoring value.
Positive EPA means the play improved the offense's expected scoring position. Negative EPA means it reduced it.
Learn About EPA →EPA Per Play
EPA Per Play measures average Expected Points Added across a set of offensive or defensive plays.
It allows efficiency to be compared without relying only on total volume.
Explore EPA Per Play →QB EPA
Quarterback EPA evaluates the expected-points impact generated during plays involving the quarterback.
It can provide additional context beyond passing yards or touchdowns alone.
Explore QB EPA →Success Rate
Success Rate measures how frequently plays produce a successful result based on the game situation.
It helps distinguish consistent offenses from teams relying heavily on occasional explosive plays.
Learn About Success Rate →Defensive & Pass-Rush Metrics
These metrics help describe the environment opposing quarterbacks and skill players face.
Pressure Rate
Pressure Rate measures how frequently a defense creates quarterback pressure on opposing passing plays.
Pressure can affect passing efficiency, timing, scrambling, sacks, and downfield opportunities.
Learn About Pressure Rate →Sack Rate
Sack Rate measures how frequently passing plays result in the quarterback being sacked.
Unlike Pressure Rate, it only measures pressures that ultimately become sacks.
Blitz Rate
Blitz Rate measures how frequently a defense sends additional pass rushers beyond its standard rush.
High blitz frequency does not automatically mean a defense generates high pressure.
Defensive EPA
Defensive EPA evaluates how effectively a defense limits the expected scoring value generated by opponents.
Lower offensive EPA allowed generally represents stronger defensive efficiency.
Explore Defensive EPA →Pressure Rate vs Sack Rate
These metrics are related, but they measure different outcomes.
Every sack is pressure. Not every pressure becomes a sack.
Pressure Rate captures disruption more broadly. A quarterback may escape the rush, throw the ball away, scramble, or attempt a hurried pass without taking a sack.
Explore Pressure Rate →Game Environment & Matchup Terms
Player production depends on more than individual statistics.
Game Script
Game Script describes how the expected or actual score of a game influences offensive play calling.
Teams playing from behind often pass more, while teams protecting leads may increase rushing volume.
Learn About Game Script →Matchup
A matchup describes how a player's role and strengths interact with the opposing defense.
PlayMaker evaluates matchup context by position rather than judging defenses only by overall ranking.
Browse NFL Matchups →Defensive Tier
A Defensive Tier groups defenses by relative strength against specific types of offensive production.
PlayMaker uses defensive context to help adjust player and matchup expectations.
Pace
Pace describes how quickly an offense runs plays and how much total play volume a game may produce.
Faster games can create additional offensive opportunities for both teams.
Weather Impact
Weather Impact describes how wind, rain, snow, temperature, or other outdoor conditions may influence passing, kicking, rushing, and overall scoring.
Dome vs Outdoor
Dome games provide controlled playing conditions, while outdoor games can introduce weather-related uncertainty.
Venue context becomes more important when evaluating passing and kicking environments.
Ride, Fade & Avoid
These terms describe how PlayMaker summarizes the research surrounding a player prop.
Ride
Ride means the available player usage, matchup, efficiency, and game-environment signals generally support the direction of the prop being evaluated.
A Ride is a research lean, not a guarantee that a prop will hit.
Learn About Ride vs Fade →Fade
To Fade a bet means taking a position against an expected, popular, or commonly supported outcome because the available context points in the opposite direction.
In PlayMaker, a Fade can be supported by declining usage, a difficult matchup, injury concerns, or an unfavorable game environment.
What Does Fade Mean? →Avoid
Avoid means the available information is too mixed, volatile, or uncertain to support a strong position in either direction.
Avoiding a prop can be useful when injuries, changing roles, weather, or conflicting research signals create uncertainty.
Learn About Avoid →Public Betting
Public Betting describes where a large amount of casual betting interest or attention is concentrated.
Public popularity alone does not determine whether PlayMaker considers a prop a Ride or Fade.
Explore Public Betting vs Research →What Does It Mean to Fade a Bet?
Learn how Ride, Fade, and Avoid fit into the PlayMaker research process.
Ride vs Fade: research the context before choosing a side.
A popular player is not automatically a Ride, and a popular prop is not automatically worth fading. Usage, matchup quality, injuries, efficiency, weather, and game script provide the context behind the decision.
Read the Ride vs Fade Guide →How NFL Statistics Work Together
The strongest research usually comes from combining multiple signals instead of relying on one metric.
Start With Opportunity
Snap Share, Target Share, Carry Share, routes, and touches establish whether the player is receiving enough opportunities.
Add Opportunity Quality
Air Yards and target depth help show how valuable a receiver's opportunities may be beyond target count alone.
Compare Target Share vs Air Yards →Add Efficiency
EPA, Success Rate, YAC, and Yards Per Route Run help measure the quality of player and team production.
Evaluate the Matchup
Pressure Rate, defensive strength, positional matchup, injuries, and venue change the environment around the player.
Add Game Context
Weather, pace, expected score, and Game Script help determine whether expected volume is likely to remain available.
Ride, Fade, or Avoid
PlayMaker summarizes the available context into a research lean rather than treating any individual statistic as the final answer.
Explore Ride vs Fade →Continue Learning NFL Analytics
Move from quick definitions into deeper PlayMaker research guides.
NFL Stat Guides
Go deeper into individual NFL metrics, how they are calculated, and why they matter.
Browse Stat Guides →Target Share Leaders
Track players commanding the largest shares of NFL passing opportunities.
View Target Share Leaders →Target Share vs Air Yards
Learn how receiving volume and target depth combine to reveal different NFL receiver profiles.
Compare Receiving Metrics →Position Intelligence
Learn which metrics matter most for quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers, and tight ends.
Explore Position Intelligence →Ride vs Fade
Learn what it means to Ride, Fade, or Avoid a player prop and why bettors sometimes fade popular picks.
Read Ride vs Fade →NFL Matchups
Apply NFL analytics to upcoming games, defenses, and player environments.
Browse Matchups →Player Intelligence
Research individual NFL players through usage, trends, matchup context, and recent production.
Browse Players →NFL Statistical Glossary FAQ
Quick answers to common NFL analytics questions.
What does EPA mean in football?
EPA stands for Expected Points Added. It measures how much a play increases or decreases a team's expected scoring value.
What is target share in the NFL?
Target Share is the percentage of a team's passing targets directed toward a specific player. It is commonly used to evaluate receiving opportunity.
What is the difference between Target Share and Air Yards?
Target Share measures how frequently a receiver earns passing opportunities, while Air Yards measure how far downfield those targets travel. Target Share describes volume, while Air Yards describe target depth.
Can a player have high Target Share but low Air Yards?
Yes. A player can command a large portion of team targets while operating primarily on shorter routes. This can support reception volume even when downfield opportunity is limited.
Can a player have low Target Share but high Air Yards?
Yes. Deep-threat receivers may earn fewer targets but accumulate meaningful Air Yards because their opportunities occur farther downfield.
What does YAC mean in football?
YAC stands for Yards After Catch. It measures the receiving yards gained after a player catches the football.
What are air yards?
Air Yards measure how far a pass travels downfield from the line of scrimmage to the targeted receiver.
What are scrimmage yards?
Scrimmage Yards are the combination of a player's rushing yards and receiving yards.
What is pressure rate in football?
Pressure Rate measures how frequently a defense generates quarterback pressure on opposing passing plays.
What is game script?
Game Script describes how the score and expected flow of a game can influence offensive play calling, including passing and rushing volume.
What does fade a bet mean?
To fade a bet means taking a position against an expected or popular outcome because you believe the available context supports the opposite direction.
What does Ride mean in PlayMaker?
Ride means the available usage, matchup, efficiency, and game-environment research generally supports the direction of the prop being evaluated.
What does Avoid mean in PlayMaker?
Avoid means the available research is too mixed or uncertain to support a strong Ride or Fade position.
Which NFL statistics matter most for player props?
The most useful statistics depend on the prop type. Usage metrics such as Target Share, Carry Share, Snap Share, routes, and touches help measure opportunity, while efficiency and matchup metrics add context.
Is one NFL statistic enough to predict a player prop?
No single statistic captures every factor affecting player production. Usage, efficiency, matchup quality, injuries, weather, and expected game flow can all influence an NFL player prop.
Turn NFL terminology into research.
Use PlayMaker to connect player usage, efficiency, defensive matchup, injuries, weather, and game context in one workflow.