2017 season · Quarterbacks, 36+ deep attempts through Week 3, 35 qualifiers

Quarterback Deep Ball Leaders

Name: Quarterback Deep Ball — 2017 NFL Leaders
Creator: Muffed
License: https://muffed.ai/methodology

Quarterback Deep Ball — 2017 NFL leaders, updated Sep 29, 2026. Alex Smith (KC) led the league in deep-ball expected points added per attempt at 1.32, ahead of 34 other qualifying players. Based on verified 2017 play-by-play data (nflverse); Half-PPR scoring. Through the 2017 season.

Who led the NFL in deep ball EPA in 2017?Who led the NFL in deep attempt rate in 2017?Who led the NFL in deep completion percentage in 2017?

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.

Quarterback Deep Ball, 2017 NFL season
#	Player	Deep Att	Deep Cmp%	EPA/Att	Deep Yds	Deep Rate
1	Alex SmithKC	65	49.2%	1.32	1,315	12.8%
2	Aaron RodgersGB	20	50.0%	1.10	364	8.3%
3	Matthew StaffordDET	65	47.7%	1.02	1,159	11.4%
4	C.J. BeathardSF	24	50.0%	1.01	427	10.7%
5	Josh McCownNYJ	43	44.2%	0.96	631	10.8%
6	Drew BreesNO	60	53.3%	0.83	980	11.2%
7	Carson WentzPHI	63	34.9%	0.72	854	14.2%
8	Tom BradyNE	80	40.0%	0.62	1,079	13.7%
9	Dak PrescottDAL	41	36.6%	0.58	516	8.3%
10	Philip RiversLAC	69	37.7%	0.53	921	12.0%
11	Jared GoffLAR	52	36.5%	0.53	755	10.9%
12	Tom SavageHOU	26	38.5%	0.51	328	11.7%
13	Kirk CousinsWAS	59	35.6%	0.46	758	10.9%
14	Russell WilsonSEA	88	36.4%	0.44	1,121	15.8%
15	Jacoby BrissettIND	43	32.6%	0.43	525	9.1%
16	Deshaun WatsonHOU	41	36.6%	0.36	492	19.8%
17	Mitchell TrubiskyCHI	31	32.3%	0.36	322	9.4%
18	Derek CarrLV	69	29.0%	0.32	770	13.3%
19	Jameis WinstonTB	63	28.6%	0.20	584	14.2%
20	DeShone KizerCLE	79	30.4%	0.19	764	16.6%
21	Blake BortlesJAX	58	25.9%	0.14	554	11.0%
22	Cam NewtonCAR	55	32.7%	0.13	559	11.1%
23	Brian HoyerSF	19	26.3%	0.11	205	9.0%
24	Case KeenumMIN	55	34.5%	0.11	580	11.4%
25	Ben RoethlisbergerPIT	81	28.4%	0.09	831	14.3%
26	Tyrod TaylorBUF	59	28.8%	0.07	539	14.0%
27	Jay CutlerMIA	57	29.8%	0.05	493	13.3%
28	Matt RyanATL	67	28.4%	-0.04	599	12.7%
29	Andy DaltonCIN	56	21.4%	-0.08	440	11.3%
30	Carson PalmerARI	32	28.1%	-0.11	284	11.9%
31	Eli ManningNYG	60	21.7%	-0.17	397	10.4%
32	Marcus MariotaTEN	50	30.0%	-0.17	507	11.0%
33	Brett HundleyGB	37	21.6%	-0.21	279	11.7%
34	Trevor SiemianDEN	43	27.9%	-0.24	335	12.3%
35	Joe FlaccoBAL	48	27.1%	-0.48	439	8.7%

Sacks are excluded, because a sack has no air yards and is not an attempt. The deep rate divides by the passer's own attempts rather than by his dropbacks for the same reason.

New to this stat? What deep-ball expected points added per attempt means.

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