Contested catch rate
Contested catch rate is the share of contested targets a pass catcher caught. Receivers and tight ends caught 42.6% of contested balls in 2025; Puka Nacua of the Rams led at 61.9%, 13 of 21.
FTN charts a target as contested when a defender was in position to play the ball. Contested catch rate is catches divided by those targets. It throws away the free ones on purpose: a receiver wide open on a slant is not being measured here, only the balls somebody had to take away from a defender.
Contested Catch Rate — 2026 leaders
| # | Player | Cont Catch% | Catches | Cont | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Davante Adams | 80.0% | 4 | 5 | |
| 2 | George Pickens | 75.0% | 3 | 4 | |
| 3 | Nico Collins | 75.0% | 3 | 4 | |
| 4 | Rome Odunze | 75.0% | 3 | 4 | |
| 5 | Garrett Wilson | 69.2% | 9 | 13 | |
| 6 | Tyler Higbee | 66.7% | 4 | 6 | |
| 7 | Tee Higgins | 62.5% | 5 | 8 | |
| 8 | Mike Evans | 60.0% | 3 | 5 | |
| 9 | CeeDee Lamb | 50.0% | 2 | 4 | |
| 10 | Chris Bell | 50.0% | 3 | 6 |
Why it matters
This is the closest receiving comes to measuring who wins at the catch point, and it separates two players with the same yardage — one schemed open, one taking the ball off a defender. Puka Nacua of the Rams caught 61.9% of his contested targets in 2025 against a league rate of 42.6%. It travels with size, timing and hands rather than with an offense, which makes it one of the few receiving numbers that says more about the man than his situation.
The counter
The samples are tiny by construction. Contested balls are a minority of anyone's targets and the qualifying bar here is twenty, so a rate built on the 21 targets behind the 2025 leader moves several points on a single play. Read the volume column beside the rate, and treat the order of the top few as description rather than ranking.
More football stats explained
- EPA (expected points added)
- EPA per dropback
- Success rate
- CPOE (completion percentage over expected)
- ANY/A (adjusted net yards per attempt)
- RYOE (rushing yards over expected)
- Target share
- Air yards share
- WOPR (weighted opportunity rating)
- aDOT (average depth of target)
- YAC over expected
- Separation
- Pressure rate
- Blitz rate
- Man and zone coverage splits
- PROE (pass rate over expected)
- Stacked box rate
- Half-PPR (and how it differs from full PPR)
- The usage gap (snaps versus production)
- Pythagorean wins
- Stickiness (what repeats and what does not)
- Snap share
- Pass-snap share
- YPRR (yards per route run)
- Availability (the “stayed” rate)
- Handcuff
- Play-action rate
- Pre-snap motion rate
- Drop rate
- Interception-worthy throws
- Quarterback-fault sacks
- Intended air yards (IAY)
- Deep ball rate
- QB Composite Rating
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