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.
Updated Jul 26, 2026
Current leaders — 2025
| # | Player | Tgt | Rec | Y/Tgt | YAC/Rec | Rec EPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Christian McCaffreyRB · SF | 129 | 102 | 7.2 | 7.1 | 39.0 |
| 2 | Bijan RobinsonRB · ATL | 103 | 79 | 8.0 | 10.8 | 26.6 |
| 3 | RJ HarveyRB · DEN | 58 | 47 | 6.1 | 7.7 | 19.1 |
| 4 | Jahmyr GibbsRB · DET | 94 | 77 | 6.5 | 8.0 | 17.8 |
| 5 | Rhamondre StevensonRB · NE | 37 | 32 | 9.3 | 8.2 | 13.1 |
| 6 | Josh JacobsRB · GB | 44 | 36 | 6.4 | 8.4 | 11.8 |
| 7 | Ty JohnsonRB · BUF | 33 | 24 | 8.0 | 12.5 | 11.4 |
| 8 | Jaylen WarrenRB · PIT | 45 | 40 | 7.4 | 11.0 | 10.6 |
| 9 | Jonathan TaylorRB · IND | 55 | 46 | 6.9 | 9.4 | 9.2 |
| 10 | Travis EtienneRB · JAX | 52 | 36 | 5.6 | 9.4 | 9.1 |
See the full running back receiving efficiency leaderboard — Christian McCaffrey leads.
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.
Updated Jul 26, 2026
The counter
Separation without depth context compares two different jobs and calls it a ranking.
Updated Jul 26, 2026
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