Separation
Separation is the distance in yards between a receiver and the nearest defender when the ball arrives. Evan Engram of the Broncos led 2025 tight ends at 4.58 yards, against Zach Ertz of the Commanders at 2.73.
Player tracking measures the gap at the moment of catch or incompletion and averages it across targets. More separation means more open. It is measured, not charted by a human.
Tight End Receiving Efficiency — 2026 leaders
| # | Player | Tgt | Rec | Yds | Catch% | Sep | YAC+ | Read |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Isaiah Likely | 59 | 39 | 383 | 66.1% | 2.7 | +0.2 | Read |
| 2 | Brock Bowers | 44 | 28 | 382 | 63.6% | 2.3 | +0.6 | Read |
| 3 | Trey McBride | 65 | 49 | 361 | 75.4% | 2.5 | +0.3 | Read |
| 4 | George Kittle | 36 | 26 | 337 | 72.2% | 3.4 | +1.4 | Read |
| 5 | Sam LaPorta | 37 | 27 | 316 | 73.0% | 3.6 | +0.1 | Read |
| 6 | Dalton Kincaid | 29 | 23 | 315 | 79.3% | 3.1 | +1.9 | Read |
| 7 | Travis Kelce | 27 | 20 | 299 | 74.1% | 3.6 | +2.5 | Read |
| 8 | Hunter Henry | 31 | 26 | 296 | 83.9% | 4.5 | +0.6 | Read |
| 9 | Brenton Strange | 33 | 26 | 279 | 78.8% | 3.1 | -0.2 | Read |
| 10 | Dalton Schultz | 37 | 28 | 277 | 75.7% | 3.7 | -0.6 | Read |
Why it matters
Separation explains catch rate better than hands do, and it interacts with depth: a shallow route generates separation that a deep route never will, so the number only means something against players doing a similar job. Evan Engram at 4.58 yards was getting open on a different route tree than Zach Ertz at 2.73. Read it next to aDOT or not at all.
The counter
Separation without depth context compares two different jobs and calls it a 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
- 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
- Contested catch rate
- Interception-worthy throws
- Quarterback-fault sacks
- Intended air yards (IAY)
- Deep ball rate
- QB Composite Rating
- Screen pass rate
- No-huddle rate
- RPO rate
- Light box rate
- Throwaway rate
- Catchable throw rate
- Out-of-pocket rate
- Time to throw
- Aggressiveness
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