Quarterback Deep Ball Leaders
Quarterback Deep Ball — 2026 NFL leaders, updated Oct 13, 2026. Michael Penix Jr. (ATL) led the league in deep-ball expected points added per attempt at 2.65, ahead of 31 other qualifying players. Based on verified 2026 play-by-play data (nflverse); Half-PPR scoring. Through Week 5 of the 2026 season.
A deep ball is defined by where it was aimed, not by where it ended up: 20 or more air yards past the line of scrimmage, caught, dropped or overthrown. That is why the split is worth its own page. A completion rate near 50 percent down here is excellent where the same number on a full passing line would be alarming, and the expected-points column is the one that settles arguments, because a deep incompletion costs an offense almost nothing while a deep completion is often the whole drive. Read the rate column last: how often a quarterback goes deep is mostly his coordinator's decision, and it belongs next to how well it went rather than inside it.
| # | Player | Δ WK | G | Deep Att | Deep Cmp% | EPA/Att | Deep Yds | Deep Rate | Read |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michael Penix Jr. | First appearance on this board | 5 | 6 | 83.3% | 2.65 | 187 | 7.7% | Read |
| 2 | Geno Smith | Down 1 place, from 1 | 5 | 13 | 61.5% | 1.93 | 263 | 8.7% | Read |
| 3 | Joe Burrow | No change | 5 | 15 | 53.3% | 1.54 | 235 | 7.9% | Read |
| 4 | Jared Goff | No change | 5 | 15 | 46.7% | 1.23 | 235 | 7.9% | Read |
| 5 | Trevor Lawrence | Up 3 places, from 8 | 5 | 14 | 42.9% | 1.02 | 176 | 9.7% | Read |
| 6 | Bryce Young | Up 1 place, from 7; did not play this week | 4 | 22 | 50.0% | 0.97 | 369 | 13.6% | Read |
| 7 | Kirk Cousins | Up 2 places, from 9 | 5 | 20 | 50.0% | 0.87 | 272 | 11.4% | Read |
| 8 | Josh Allen | Down 3 places, from 5 | 5 | 24 | 37.5% | 0.85 | 342 | 17.0% | Read |
| 9 | Drake Maye | Up 9 places, from 18 | 5 | 23 | 47.8% | 0.80 | 392 | 15.1% | Read |
| 10 | Jalen Hurts | Up 2 places, from 12 | 5 | 17 | 41.2% | 0.80 | 256 | 11.0% | Read |
| 11 | Tyson Bagent | First appearance on this board | 5 | 5 | 60.0% | 0.77 | 78 | 7.8% | |
| 12 | Lamar Jackson | Down 2 places, from 10 | 5 | 18 | 44.4% | 0.74 | 306 | 18.8% | Read |
| 13 | Jordan Love | Up 11 places, from 24 | 5 | 27 | 40.7% | 0.71 | 432 | 14.5% | Read |
| 14 | Deshaun Watson | Up 1 place, from 15 | 5 | 16 | 43.8% | 0.69 | 235 | 10.7% | Read |
| 15 | Dak Prescott | Down 4 places, from 11 | 5 | 17 | 41.2% | 0.68 | 253 | 8.8% | Read |
| 16 | Sam Darnold | Down 2 places, from 14 | 5 | 10 | 50.0% | 0.62 | 147 | 10.2% | Read |
| 17 | Brock Purdy | Down 1 place, from 16 | 5 | 12 | 41.7% | 0.56 | 137 | 8.4% | Read |
| 18 | Kyler Murray | Up 2 places, from 20 | 5 | 13 | 46.2% | 0.46 | 170 | 12.9% | Read |
| 19 | Jameis Winston | Down 13 places, from 6 | 5 | 23 | 34.8% | 0.46 | 244 | 17.3% | |
| 20 | C.J. Stroud | Down 3 places, from 17 | 5 | 30 | 40.0% | 0.45 | 310 | 16.2% | Read |
| 21 | Bo Nix | Up 2 places, from 23 | 5 | 12 | 41.7% | 0.44 | 166 | 7.3% | Read |
| 22 | Patrick Mahomes | Down 3 places, from 19; did not play this week | 4 | 18 | 38.9% | 0.35 | 285 | 14.0% | Read |
| 23 | Tyler Shough | Down 2 places, from 21 | 5 | 25 | 36.0% | 0.20 | 284 | 12.1% | Read |
| 24 | Jayden Daniels | Down 2 places, from 22 | 5 | 12 | 16.7% | 0.08 | 57 | 15.4% | Read |
| 25 | Baker Mayfield | No change | 5 | 14 | 21.4% | 0.01 | 110 | 14.6% | Read |
| 26 | Matthew Stafford | Up 1 place, from 27 | 5 | 24 | 29.2% | -0.09 | 243 | 11.1% | Read |
| 27 | Malik Willis | Up 1 place, from 28 | 5 | 28 | 17.9% | -0.16 | 191 | 21.4% | Read |
| 28 | Aaron Rodgers | Up 1 place, from 29 | 5 | 31 | 19.4% | -0.23 | 202 | 16.8% | Read |
| 29 | Justin Herbert | Up 1 place, from 30 | 5 | 18 | 27.8% | -0.42 | 175 | 12.6% | Read |
| 30 | Daniel Jones | Up 1 place, from 31 | 5 | 19 | 10.5% | -0.54 | 90 | 10.8% | Read |
| 31 | Jacoby Brissett | Up 2 places, from 33 | 5 | 19 | 15.8% | -0.55 | 98 | 9.5% | Read |
| 32 | Cam Ward | No change | 5 | 13 | 15.4% | -0.61 | 55 | 8.3% | Read |
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
- 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
- Aggressiveness
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