Aggressiveness Leaders
Aggressiveness — 2021 NFL leaders, updated Oct 2, 2026. Joe Burrow (CIN) led the league in aggressiveness at 19.4%, ahead of 32 other qualifying players. Based on NFL Next Gen Stats player tracking via nflverse, regular season only. Through the 2021 season.
Aggressiveness is Next Gen Stats' share of a quarterback's attempts thrown into tight coverage — a window where a defender was within a yard of the receiver when the ball arrived. Rank 1 threw into tight windows most often. That can be confidence, receivers who rarely get open, or both, so the number describes risk taken rather than quality. In season every figure here is season to date, and before Week 4 it rests on two or three games — a gap of a few points between neighbours is noise until the sample grows.
| # | Player | Aggr% | TTT | AY to Sticks | Att | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Joe Burrow | 19.4% | 2.69 | -0.6 | 520 | |
| 2 | Tua Tagovailoa | 19.3% | 2.52 | -1.4 | 388 | |
| 3 | Jacoby Brissett | 18.2% | 2.83 | -0.7 | 225 | |
| 4 | Taylor Heinicke | 18.0% | 2.97 | -1.2 | 494 | |
| 5 | Ben Roethlisberger | 17.9% | 2.38 | -1.9 | 605 | |
| 6 | Daniel Jones | 17.7% | 2.78 | -2.0 | 361 | |
| 7 | Justin Herbert | 17.6% | 2.83 | -0.9 | 672 | |
| 8 | Justin Fields | 17.0% | 2.91 | +0.2 | 270 | |
| 9 | Carson Wentz | 16.5% | 2.83 | -1.3 | 516 | |
| 10 | Baker Mayfield | 16.3% | 2.82 | -0.4 | 418 | |
| 11 | Jalen Hurts | 16.2% | 3.12 | +0.0 | 432 | |
| 12 | Aaron Rodgers | 16.2% | 2.63 | -0.6 | 531 | |
| 13 | Matt Ryan | 16.1% | 2.77 | -1.3 | 560 | |
| 14 | Kirk Cousins | 15.9% | 2.76 | -1.4 | 561 | |
| 15 | Jimmy Garoppolo | 15.6% | 2.67 | -1.9 | 441 | |
| 16 | Russell Wilson | 15.5% | 2.80 | +1.1 | 400 | |
| 17 | Ryan Tannehill | 15.4% | 2.68 | -1.2 | 531 | |
| 18 | Dak Prescott | 15.3% | 2.75 | -0.4 | 596 | |
| 19 | Mac Jones | 15.0% | 2.71 | -0.9 | 521 | |
| 20 | Tom Brady | 14.5% | 2.50 | -0.4 | 719 | |
| 21 | Davis Mills | 14.2% | 2.67 | -1.6 | 394 | |
| 22 | Sam Darnold | 13.8% | 2.88 | -1.8 | 406 | |
| 23 | Derek Carr | 13.6% | 2.82 | -0.8 | 626 | |
| 24 | Trevor Lawrence | 13.3% | 2.87 | -0.8 | 602 | |
| 25 | Lamar Jackson | 13.1% | 2.96 | +0.3 | 382 | |
| 26 | Zach Wilson | 12.8% | 3.00 | -1.5 | 383 | |
| 27 | Teddy Bridgewater | 12.7% | 2.91 | -1.1 | 426 | |
| 28 | Matthew Stafford | 12.1% | 2.80 | +0.1 | 601 | |
| 29 | Andy Dalton | 11.9% | 2.64 | -1.7 | 236 | |
| 30 | Kyler Murray | 11.8% | 2.77 | -1.1 | 481 | |
| 31 | Josh Allen | 11.5% | 2.90 | -0.2 | 646 | |
| 32 | Jared Goff | 10.7% | 2.77 | -2.2 | 494 | |
| 33 | Patrick Mahomes | 8.7% | 2.84 | -1.2 | 658 |
Other seasons
Choosing between two of these players?
Both men's 2025 production side by side, and which of them rests on inputs that historically repeat.
More leaderboards
- Rushing Yards Over Expected
- Target Share
- Running Back Receiving Efficiency
- Completion Percentage Over Expected
- Adjusted Net Yards per Attempt
- Quarterback Pressure Rate
- Defensive Blitz Rate
- Quarterbacks vs Man and Zone Coverage
- Pass Rate Over Expected
- Clean-Core Rating
- Usage vs Production
- Team Expected Points Added
- Quarterback EPA per Dropback
- QB Composite Rating
- Air Yards Share
- Stacked Box Rate
- Regression Flags
- Weighted Opportunity Rating
- Snap Share
- Pass-Snap Share
- Receiving Yards per Pass Snap
- Availability
- Tight End Receiving Efficiency
- Tight End Average Depth of Target
- Stat Stickiness
- Play-Action Rate
- Pre-Snap Motion Rate
- Drop Rate
- Contested Catch Rate
- Interception-Worthy Throw Rate
- Quarterback-Fault Sack Rate
- Quarterback Intended Air Yards
- Team Air Yards and Passing Volume
- Receiver Separation and Cushion
- Wide Receiver Receiving Efficiency
- Team Success Rate and Explosive Play Rate
- Goal-Line Usage
- Quarterback Deep Ball
- Team Pace
- Screen Pass Rate
- No-Huddle Rate
- RPO Rate
- Light Box Rate
- Quarterbacks vs the Blitz
- Throwaway Rate
- Catchable Throw Rate
- Out-of-Pocket Rate
- Time to Throw
Follow the football you care about. Players, teams, stat boards — press Follow on any of them, and that is what your weekly email is made of. Nothing you didn't ask for.
Use Muffed in your AI
Ask Claude or ChatGPT football questions and get these verified figures back, with sources. Add https://muffed.ai/api/mcp — free, no account, no API key.