Football Outsiders recently ranked the best wide receivers of the past decade as measured by DYAR. Former Denver Broncos player made the list for producing one of the best performances of the decade – but maybe not the one you think.
The receiver in question was part of the 2013 Broncos team, which eliminates Courtland Sutton or Emmanuel Sanders, who both joined the team after this season. Nor was Demaryius Thomas, who was drafted by the Broncos in 2010 and who became the team’s best receiver in the following decade.
The receiver who made the Football Outsiders list for best performance was a 2010 Broncos classmate of Thomas – third-round pick Eric Decker.
What does DYAR mean, you ask?
DYAR is an advanced metric used by foreign footballers. Here’s what it means:
Yards adjusted for defense above replacement. A Football Outsiders statistic that compares each player’s performance, in terms of DVOA, to a replacement level benchmark rather than the league average for that position, and then translates that total into footage. Because DYAR is a total statistic, not a rate statistic, this helps to show the importance of long-distance runners and receivers who can draw the attention of defense away from other players. DYAR replaced DPAR as a method of measuring individual players with the publication of Pro Football 2008 flyer in July 2008. The method and calculation of the replacement level are discussed later here.
Decker posted a DYAR of 115 in week 13 of the 2013 season against the Kansas City Chiefs. Vincent Verhei of FO noted that Decker’s take was one meter, another for 15, a third for 37 and a fourth for 41.
Decker also caught three passes for the first tries, and in a fourth reception, he won seven meters on the 2nd-&-8. He also drew defensive pass interference that would have resulted in a 19-yard reception.
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Decker spent four seasons with the Broncos before leaving as a free agent to sign for the New York Jets. Literally, the last game in which he appeared as Bronco was Super Bowl XLVIII.
Decker would do one to also have a brief stint with the Tennessee Titans and the New England Patriots. Although he was solid in his time with the Jets, Decker’s career after Denver never reached the heights he had reached while playing with Peyton Manning.
Meanwhile, Thomas made the opposite list, posting one of the worst reception matches measured by DYAR. In week 12 of the 2015 season against the New England Patriots, he only caught one pass for 36 yards on 13 targets. This was the game in which Thomas dropped several passes and gained a reputation among some fans for “dropsies”.
It was a high-profile game and, if we’re honest, painted an unfair picture of Thomas’ overall value to the Broncos. Admittedly, lost passes were not a good thing, but Thomas had many other games in which he shone and made key games to help the Broncos win.
And this is demonstrated by the appearance of Thomas on the first 20 large receptors, measured by DYAR, for the years 2010-19. He placed 10th overall on this list, posting a total of 1,626 DYAR.
Interestingly, Decker also ranked 18th with a DYAR of 1377. Sanders also made the list, 20th with 1,333 DYAR.
So while it may surprise some people that Decker would make the best list of performances for a single game and not Thomas – the latter appeared at worst – the total ranking of DYAR clearly shows that the two were key contributors to the success of Broncos and, more importantly, that Thomas cannot be defined by a single match.
When all is said and done, I bet on Thomas to get a place in the Ring of Fame of the Broncos. The fate of Decker and Sanders, however, remains to be seen.
This does not detract from the importance of Decker and Sanders for the Broncos. These two, along with Thomas, have played a key role in the Broncos on several playoff trips over the past decade. For this, they deserve a tip of the hat from all Broncos fans.
Follow Bob on Twitter @BobMorrisSports and @MileHighHuddle.
