Ranking 2024’s top wide receivers by separation type

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• Marvin Mims Jr. broke out in a big way last season: Mims led the league in wide-open target rate, catching 36 of his 41 such targets.

• Demario Douglas flashed more potential in Year 2: The Patriots wide receiver ranked in the top five in several separation categories last season.

• Subscribe to PFF+: Get access to player grades, PFF Premium Stats, fantasy football rankings, all of the PFF fantasy draft research tools and more!

Estimated Reading Time: 9 minutes

We’re diving into last season’s top NFL wide receivers by target rate in various separation categories. The New England Patriots’ Demario Douglas headlines several separation rate metrics, while the Denver Broncos’ Marvin Mims Jr. came out in top in wide-open target rate.

1. Marvin Mims Jr., Denver Broncos (75.9%)

Mims saw 54 targets in 2024 and had at least two steps of space on 41 of them. He caught 36 of those looks for 376 yards on his way to a 75.1 PFF receiving grade. He gained 12 first downs and caught four touchdown passes while recording five gains of 15-plus yards and 132 yards after contact. 

Mims led the position in yards after the catch per reception on wide-open targets (11.7), with his usage as a screen threat likely having a big impact. He saw 30 targets from behind the line of scrimmage, 26 of which came on screens. He secured 25 of those passes for 212 yards and eight first downs (tied for most). Three of his six touchdowns last season were on screens, along with five of his seven forced missed tackles. 

The second-year player from Oklahoma has an 81.4% career separation rate, creating space on 70 of 86 targets.

2. Khalil Shakir, Buffalo Bills (71.3%)

Shakir was open on 53 of 56 targets in 2023 and finished third in separation rate (94.6%). His target volume doubled in 2024 (115), but he still created 85 wide-open targets (third most). He caught 77 of those passes for 792 yards, both top-10 marks. He also recorded a 90.2 PFF receiving grade on those plays, gaining 30 first downs and catching three touchdown passes.

Shakir has been one of the best slot receivers in the league over the past two seasons, earning an 84.0 PFF receiving grade across 127 targets. Ninety-seven of those targets came within 9 yards of the line of scrimmage, where he racked up 92 catches for 818 yards. Shakir ranks in the top three in missed tackles forced (25), yards after contact (270) and yards after the catch per reception (7.7), and he boasts an 88.6 PFF receiving grade from that part of the field.

Like Marvin Mims Jr., Shakir is often targeted on screens. He caught 29 of his 31 screen targets for 189 yards in 2024. He finished fourth in receiving yards on screens, picked up eight first downs and scored twice, earning a fifth-ranked 83.5 PFF receiving grade on such plays.

3. Tutu Atwell, Los Angeles Rams (71.0%)

Atwell ranked third for the Rams in adjusted target rate in 2024 (27.1%) and is projected to be their third receiver behind Puka Nacua and Davante Adams heading into the 2025 season. He has two consecutive seasons with at least 60 targets, 40 catches and 500 receiving yards and finished with 43 catches for 580 yards in 2024. Atwell did not score, but he did move the chains 30 times and recorded 17 gains of 15-plus yards, with 10 of those catches gaining 20-plus yards.

Most of his production came on wide-open looks, as he caught 37 of 55 such targets for 504 yards and 27 first downs. Fourteen of his explosive gains were on those plays, and he earned an 87.2 PFF eceiving grade on such looks.

4. Zay Flowers, Baltimore Ravens (70.5%)

Flowers ranked fifth in separation rate in 2023 (89.7%), with 104 open looks on 116 targets. He finished ninth in wide-open targets last season, seeing 78 open looks on 112 targets. Flowers caught 61 of those passes for 854 yards and 37 first downs. He hauled in three touchdown passes, recorded six gains of 15-plus yards and averaged 7.2 yards after the catch per reception, earning a 90.4 PFF receiving grade (tied ninth) on wide-open targets.

Flowers was also heavily used as a slot receiver (42 targets) and a screen threat (20 targets) in 2024, but he also saw 20-plus targets from each level of the field. He was especially dangerous downfield (93.2), where he caught 32 passes from 10-plus yards out for 667 yards and 19 catches of 20-plus yards (tied for fourth most).

5. Demario Douglas, New England Patriots (70.2%)

Douglas was targeted 84 times in 2024 and made 52 catches on wide-open looks. He tallied 423 yards, 22 first downs and 11 gains of 15-plus yards, culminating in a 79.0 PFF receiving grade on those plays.

Douglas led the Patriots’ receiving group in adjusted target rate (25.5%) and, like others in this section, was heavily used in the slot (65 targets) and on screens (20 targets). Douglas earned a 70.6 slot PFF receiving grade in 2024, with 56 catches from behind the line of scrimmage or within 9 yards of it. He recorded four gains of 20-plus yards from that level of the field tied for the fifth most. Douglas also finished 10th in PFF receiving grade on screen passes (77.6).

1. Demario Douglas, New England Patriots (96.4%)

While Douglas generated a 70.2% wide-open rate, he also had at least one step on his defender on 81 of his targets. His logged 65 catches for 585 yards and 30 first downs with at least one step of separation while maintaining a 77.9 PFF receiving grade.

2. Rashod Bateman, Baltimore Ravens (91.9%)

Bateman had struggled to break out entering the 2024 season but finally did so with 51 catches for 846 yards and 11 touchdowns, all career highs. He gained 39 first downs, forced 10 missed tackles and recorded 26 gains of 15-plus yards in 2024. 

The 2021 first-round pick owned a career 76.6% separation rate entering the season before generating a step on 68 of 74 targets in 2024. Fifty of his catches came from open looks, where he ranked second in average depth of target (13.3 yards) and tied for third in touchdowns (10). Bateman finished with an 80.8 PFF receiving grade on open looks.

3. Zay Flowers, Baltimore Ravens (91.1%)

Defenses had a hard time sticking with the Ravens’ duo in 2024, as Flowers produced at least one step of separation on 102 of his targets. He recorded 29 gains of 15-plus yards on open looks and forced 18 missed tackles.

4. Stefon Diggs, Houston Texans (90.3%)

Diggs ranked third in open-target volume at the time of his injury (torn ACL in Week 8), gaining a step on 56 of 62 targets. He caught 45 of those passes for 476 yards, earning an 85.4 PFF receiving grade. Diggs caught three touchdown passes, tied for first in first downs (29) and ranked ninth in yards gained after contact (79). He also logged 11 gains of 15-plus yards.

Diggs split time between the slot (189 snaps) and outside (212 snaps), and most of his open targets (32) came from the short area of the field, where he gained 17 first downs (third most) and ranked seventh in PFF receiving grade (81.3). Diggs also placed seventh in play-action open targets (17), catching 13 passes for 165 yards. He gained nine first downs and recorded seven of his explosive gains on those plays.

5. Jayden Reed, Green Bay Packers (89.9%)

Reed caught 59 passes for 903 yards in 2024, with 32 first downs and six touchdowns. He secured nine of 13 contested catches, forced nine missed tackles and recorded 16 gains of 20-plus yards. He was open on 71 of 79 targets and finished with a 70.4 PFF receiving grade on those looks.

Most of Reed’s catches (40) came from the short area of the field or behind the line of scrimmage, but he was used in a variety of ways. He ranked fourth in screen targets (20), caught 16 play-action passes for eight first downs and placed sixth in PFF receiving grading on deep targets (93.9), securing 12 of 15 targets for 478 yards and a touchdown.

1. Demario Douglas, New England Patriots (94.74%)

Douglas saw 18 open downfield targets and caught nine for 166 yards and a touchdown. He owns a 91.7 PFF receiving grade on open downfield targets from the slot over the past two seasons, having hauled in 16 of 28 such targets for 313 yards.

2. Tutu Atwell, Los Angeles Rams (90.63%)

Atwell was open downfield on 29 of his targets in 2024, and he caught 21 for 418 yards. His average target depth on those plays was 18.4 yards, and he owns a career deep target rate of 33.8%.

3. Rashod Bateman, Baltimore Ravens (85.37%)

Both Bateman and Zay Flowers recorded 500-plus receiving yards on open downfield looks in 2024 while earning 90.0-plus PFF receiving grades. Bateman was targeted 35 times and caught 26 passes for 587 yards while forcing five missed tackles. He also tied for eighth in passer rating when targeted (143.8) and second in touchdown catches (nine).

4. Amon-Ra St. Brown, Detroit Lions (85.19%)

St. Brown graded out as the fifth-best receiver last season (90.0) after catching 123 passes for 1,400 yards. He finished the regular season ranked in the top five in catches (115), receiving yards (1,263), touchdowns (12), and first downs (71).

St. Brown ranked sixth in open downfield targets (29), securing 28 of those passes for 577 yards. He caught three touchdowns, gained 15 first downs and recorded 29 of his 35 explosive gains on those looks.

This news was originally published on this post .

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