Contested Catch Rate Leaders
Contested Catch Rate — 2026 NFL leaders, updated Nov 9, 2026. Nico Collins (HOU) led the league in contested catch rate at 66.7%, ahead of 23 other qualifying players. Based on verified play-level charting from FTN Data via nflverse, regular season only. Through Week 9 of the 2026 season, with Sunday, Sunday night and Monday night still to come.
A contested target is one a charter judged to have a defender in position to play the ball. The catch rate on those is the closest thing receiving has to a measure of winning at the catch point, because it throws away the uncontested balls and leaves only the ones somebody had to take away from a defender. The samples are small by construction — contested targets are a minority of anyone's workload — so the top of this board describes a skill more reliably than it ranks one.
| # | Player | Δ WK | G | Cont Catch% | Catches | Cont | Read |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nico Collins | No change | 7 | 66.7% | 10 | 15 | Read |
| 2 | Mike Evans | No change | 7 | 63.6% | 7 | 11 | Read |
| 3 | Chris Olave | Up 1 place, from 4 | 7 | 50.0% | 6 | 12 | Read |
| 4 | Tee Higgins | Up 1 place, from 5 | 7 | 50.0% | 7 | 14 | Read |
| 5 | Trey McBride | Up 1 place, from 6 | 8 | 50.0% | 15 | 30 | Read |
| 6 | CeeDee Lamb | Up 1 place, from 7 | 8 | 45.5% | 10 | 22 | Read |
| 7 | Devaughn Vele | Up 1 place, from 8 | 7 | 45.5% | 5 | 11 | Read |
| 8 | Garrett Wilson | Up 1 place, from 9 | 8 | 43.5% | 10 | 23 | Read |
| 9 | George Pickens | Up 1 place, from 10 | 8 | 42.9% | 6 | 14 | Read |
| 10 | Malik Nabers | Up 1 place, from 11 | 7 | 42.9% | 6 | 14 | Read |
| 11 | Jaxon Smith-Njigba | Up 1 place, from 12 | 8 | 42.1% | 8 | 19 | Read |
| 12 | Keenan Allen | Up 3 places, from 15 | 8 | 37.5% | 6 | 16 | |
| 13 | Brock Bowers | Up 3 places, from 16 | 8 | 36.4% | 8 | 22 | Read |
| 14 | Denzel Boston | Up 3 places, from 17 | 8 | 33.3% | 5 | 15 | Read |
| 15 | Christian Watson | Up 6 places, from 21 | 8 | 28.6% | 6 | 21 | Read |
| 16 | Isaiah Likely | Up 6 places, from 22 | 7 | 27.3% | 3 | 11 | Read |
| 17 | Ja'Marr Chase | Up 6 places, from 23 | 7 | 27.3% | 3 | 11 | Read |
| 18 | Jaylen Waddle | Up 6 places, from 24 | 8 | 27.3% | 3 | 11 | Read |
| 19 | Josh Downs | Up 6 places, from 25 | 8 | 26.7% | 4 | 15 | Read |
| 20 | DK Metcalf | Up 6 places, from 26; did not play this week | 8 | 26.3% | 5 | 19 | Read |
| 21 | Amon-Ra St. Brown | Up 6 places, from 27 | 7 | 25.0% | 5 | 20 | Read |
| 22 | Michael Wilson | Up 6 places, from 28 | 8 | 20.0% | 5 | 25 | Read |
| 23 | Matthew Golden | Up 7 places, from 30 | 8 | 18.2% | 4 | 22 | Read |
| 24 | Tre Tucker | Up 7 places, from 31 | 8 | 18.2% | 2 | 11 | Read |
Other seasons
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Both men's 2025 production side by side, and which of them rests on inputs that historically repeat.
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- Weighted Opportunity Rating
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- Play-Action Rate
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Follow Contested Catch Rate. When this board moves, you'll know — what changed, week over week.
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