Yards per route run, or YPRR, is a receiver's receiving yards divided by the number of pass plays on which he ran a route. It measures production per opportunity rather than per catch or per target, so a receiver who is on the field but not thrown to is charged for those snaps. It is the receiver stat that best predicts future receiving yards, and 2.0 is the line between a good starter and a great one.
Updated Sept. 16, 2026.
Yards per catch rewards deep receivers. Yards per target rewards receivers whose quarterbacks are accurate. Yards per route run charges a receiver for every route, thrown to or not, which is the fairest accounting of the receiver's share of the passing game: a player who gets open runs up targets and yards, one who does not runs up routes.
Routes are charted, not in the play-by-play, so the public versions come from PFF, Sports Info Solutions and, since 2023, Next Gen Stats. This site estimates routes from snap counts and team pass attempts when a charted number is not available, and labels the estimate.
YPRR is the stat that separates a receiver from his role. A slot receiver with 1,000 yards on 550 routes (1.8 YPRR) is a volume player; an outside receiver with 900 yards on 350 routes (2.6) is an elite one his offense underused. Dynasty and best-ball models lean on the second kind.
A 2.5 YPRR season is roughly 1,200 yards on 480 routes. The players who post it repeatedly are the receivers teams pay: Justin Jefferson has cleared 2.5 in every healthy season of his career, which is why his contract set the market.
YPRR = receiving yards / routes run. A route is counted on every pass play (including sacks and scrambles, by most charters) on which the receiver released into a pattern. Target rate per route run (TPRR) is the companion volume stat: targets / routes.
Above 2.0 is a very good starter, above 2.5 is elite, and above 3.0 happens a few times a decade. League average for a wide receiver who plays regularly is around 1.5; tight ends and running backs run lower because more of their routes are blocking-adjacent checkdowns.
Because it isolates talent from opportunity. A receiver with a high YPRR and a low route count is one injury or one trade away from a breakout; one with a low YPRR and a high route count is a volume player who loses value the moment a better receiver arrives.
Charted YPRR requires route counts, which are not in the public play-by-play. PFF and SIS publish them behind a paywall; Next Gen Stats began publishing routes in 2023. Estimates from snap counts are close enough for rankings but not for the second decimal.
Category: Stats & Analytics. Part of the StickToTheModel NFL Encyclopedia.