2023 season · Receivers and tight ends, 41 qualifiers

Contested Catch Rate Leaders

Contested Catch Rate — 2023 NFL leaders, updated Oct 10, 2026. Kyle Pitts (ATL) led the league in contested catch rate at 63.6%, ahead of 40 other qualifying players. Based on verified play-level charting from FTN Data via nflverse, regular season only. 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.

Contested Catch Rate, 2023 NFL season
#PlayerCont Catch%CatchesContRead
1Kyle PittsTE · ATL63.6%1422Read
2Sam LaPortaTE · DET63.6%1422Read
3Amon-Ra St. BrownWR · DET62.1%1829Read
4DJ MooreWR · CHI59.3%1627Read
5Michael PittmanWR · IND58.6%1729Read
6Trey McBrideTE · ARI58.3%1424Read
7Chris Godwin Jr.WR · TB55.6%1527Read
8Amari CooperWR · CLE55.2%1629
9Curtis SamuelWR · WAS55.0%1120
10Courtland SuttonWR · DEN54.2%1324Read
11DeVante ParkerWR · NE53.8%1426
12A.J. BrownWR · PHI50.0%1530Read
13Terry McLaurinWR · WAS50.0%1632Read
14Puka NacuaWR · LAR48.5%1633Read
15T.J. HockensonTE · MIN48.4%1531Read
16Drake LondonWR · ATL47.8%1123Read
17Robert WoodsWR · HOU47.8%1123
18Romeo DoubsWR · GB47.6%1021Read
19Stefon DiggsWR · BUF46.2%1226Read
20Mike EvansWR · TB45.7%1635Read
21Justin JeffersonWR · MIN44.0%1125Read
22Alec PierceWR · IND42.9%921Read
23DeVonta SmithWR · PHI42.9%921Read
24Josh PalmerWR · LAC42.9%921
25CeeDee LambWR · DAL41.4%1229Read
26Jordan AddisonWR · MIN40.7%1127Read
27Tyler LockettWR · SEA40.0%1025
28Ja'Marr ChaseWR · CIN39.1%923Read
29Calvin RidleyWR · JAX37.0%1027Read
30Garrett WilsonWR · NYJ36.6%1541Read
31Jakobi MeyersWR · LV36.4%822Read
32George PickensWR · PIT36.0%925Read
33Tyreek HillWR · MIA35.7%1028Read
34Davante AdamsWR · LV34.9%1543Read
35Quentin JohnstonWR · LAC33.3%824Read
36Jake FergusonTE · DAL31.8%722Read
37Allen LazardWR · NYJ30.0%620
38Chris OlaveWR · NO28.6%621Read
39DK MetcalfWR · SEA25.0%728Read
40DeAndre HopkinsWR · TEN24.2%833
41Marquise BrownWR · ARI16.0%425

Contested targets are a small share of any receiver's season, so the qualifying bar here is low and the samples behind these rates are correspondingly thin. Read the volume column alongside the rate.

New to this stat? What contested catch rate means.

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