Stacked box rate
Stacked box rate is the share of a back's carries run against eight or more defenders near the line. Quinshon Judkins of the Browns faced the most of 49 qualifying backs in 2025 at 45.2%; Alvin Kamara of the Saints the fewest at 10.7%.
The tracking data counts defenders within a few yards of the line at the snap. Eight or more is a stacked, or loaded, box — the defense committing to stopping the run. League-wide it happened on 8.8% of runs in 2025, against 54.6% into light boxes of six or fewer.
Stacked Box Rate — 2026 rankings
| # | Player | vs 8+ Box | Att | Read |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kendre Miller | 34.7% | 49 | |
| 2 | Derrick Henry | 32.3% | 130 | Read |
| 3 | Tyler Allgeier | 32.1% | 53 | Read |
| 4 | David Montgomery | 30.8% | 52 | Read |
| 5 | Ashton Jeanty | 30.6% | 98 | Read |
| 6 | Breece Hall | 29.4% | 51 | Read |
| 7 | Kenneth Walker III | 27.4% | 106 | Read |
| 8 | Braelon Allen | 27.0% | 74 | Read |
| 9 | Christian McCaffrey | 26.0% | 77 | Read |
| 10 | Chase Brown | 25.4% | 71 | Read |
Why it matters
Stacked box rate is the context that makes RYOE and yards per carry readable. A back facing loaded boxes on 45.2% of carries is running a harder job than one at 10.7%, and the raw averages will not say so. It is also a passing-game tell: defenses stack the box against offenses they do not respect through the air, so a high rate often marks a back whose team cannot force lighter looks. The catch is that league-wide the yardage barely moved — runs into heavy boxes produced -0.063 expected points against -0.050 into light ones.
The counter
At the league level box count barely moves rushing efficiency; it matters most for reading one back's schedule of looks.
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)
- 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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