Contested Catch Rate Leaders
Contested Catch Rate — 2023 NFL leaders, updated Aug 13, 2026. Kyle Pitts (ATL) led the league in contested catch rate at 63.6%, ahead of 40 other qualifying players. Based on verified 2023 play-by-play data (nflverse); Half-PPR scoring. Through the 2023 season.
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 | Cont Catch% | Catches | Cont |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kyle Pitts | 63.6% | 14 | 22 |
| 2 | Sam LaPorta | 63.6% | 14 | 22 |
| 3 | Amon-Ra St. Brown | 62.1% | 18 | 29 |
| 4 | DJ Moore | 59.3% | 16 | 27 |
| 5 | Michael Pittman | 58.6% | 17 | 29 |
| 6 | Trey McBride | 58.3% | 14 | 24 |
| 7 | Chris Godwin | 55.6% | 15 | 27 |
| 8 | Amari Cooper | 55.2% | 16 | 29 |
| 9 | Curtis Samuel | 55.0% | 11 | 20 |
| 10 | DeVante Parker | 53.8% | 14 | 26 |
| 11 | Courtland Sutton | 52.0% | 13 | 25 |
| 12 | A.J. Brown | 50.0% | 15 | 30 |
| 13 | Terry McLaurin | 50.0% | 16 | 32 |
| 14 | Puka Nacua | 48.5% | 16 | 33 |
| 15 | T.J. Hockenson | 48.4% | 15 | 31 |
| 16 | Drake London | 47.8% | 11 | 23 |
| 17 | Robert Woods | 47.8% | 11 | 23 |
| 18 | Romeo Doubs | 47.6% | 10 | 21 |
| 19 | Stefon Diggs | 46.2% | 12 | 26 |
| 20 | Mike Evans | 45.7% | 16 | 35 |
| 21 | Justin Jefferson | 44.0% | 11 | 25 |
| 22 | Alec Pierce | 42.9% | 9 | 21 |
| 23 | Josh Palmer | 42.9% | 9 | 21 |
| 24 | CeeDee Lamb | 41.4% | 12 | 29 |
| 25 | DeVonta Smith | 40.9% | 9 | 22 |
| 26 | Jordan Addison | 40.7% | 11 | 27 |
| 27 | Ja'Marr Chase | 39.1% | 9 | 23 |
| 28 | Tyler Lockett | 38.5% | 10 | 26 |
| 29 | Calvin Ridley | 37.0% | 10 | 27 |
| 30 | Garrett Wilson | 36.6% | 15 | 41 |
| 31 | Jakobi Meyers | 36.4% | 8 | 22 |
| 32 | George Pickens | 36.0% | 9 | 25 |
| 33 | Davante Adams | 34.9% | 15 | 43 |
| 34 | Tyreek Hill | 34.5% | 10 | 29 |
| 35 | Quentin Johnston | 33.3% | 8 | 24 |
| 36 | Jake Ferguson | 31.8% | 7 | 22 |
| 37 | Allen Lazard | 30.0% | 6 | 20 |
| 38 | Chris Olave | 28.6% | 6 | 21 |
| 39 | DK Metcalf | 25.0% | 7 | 28 |
| 40 | DeAndre Hopkins | 24.2% | 8 | 33 |
| 41 | Marquise Brown | 15.4% | 4 | 26 |
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