2018 season · Quarterbacks, 36+ deep attempts through Week 3, 33 qualifiers

Quarterback Deep Ball Leaders

Name: Quarterback Deep Ball — 2018 NFL Leaders
Creator: Muffed
License: https://muffed.ai/methodology

Quarterback Deep Ball — 2018 NFL leaders, updated Sep 29, 2026. Russell Wilson (SEA) led the league in deep-ball expected points added per attempt at 1.02, ahead of 32 other qualifying players. Based on verified 2018 play-by-play data (nflverse); Half-PPR scoring. Through the 2018 season.

Who led the NFL in deep ball EPA in 2018?Who led the NFL in deep attempt rate in 2018?Who led the NFL in deep completion percentage in 2018?

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, 2018 NFL season
#	Player	Deep Att	Deep Cmp%	EPA/Att	Deep Yds	Deep Rate
1	Russell WilsonSEA	71	42.3%	1.02	1,061	16.6%
2	Drew BreesNO	53	49.1%	0.91	818	10.8%
3	Jared GoffLAR	63	46.0%	0.83	979	11.2%
4	Patrick MahomesKC	88	40.9%	0.75	1,369	15.1%
5	Philip RiversLAC	56	42.9%	0.75	847	10.9%
6	Ryan FitzpatrickTB	37	48.6%	0.68	659	15.0%
7	Dak PrescottDAL	54	35.2%	0.61	771	10.2%
8	Matt RyanATL	73	38.4%	0.61	983	11.9%
9	Matthew StaffordDET	53	35.8%	0.59	659	9.5%
10	Ben RoethlisbergerPIT	83	31.3%	0.57	1,043	12.2%
11	Eli ManningNYG	68	38.2%	0.57	880	11.7%
12	Aaron RodgersGB	86	32.6%	0.56	1,033	14.3%
13	Baker MayfieldCLE	73	38.4%	0.55	946	14.8%
14	Marcus MariotaTEN	34	44.1%	0.49	474	10.2%
15	Andy DaltonCIN	34	38.2%	0.47	417	9.3%
16	Kirk CousinsMIN	62	32.3%	0.47	719	10.1%
17	Andrew LuckIND	67	41.8%	0.46	947	10.4%
18	Deshaun WatsonHOU	58	41.4%	0.39	776	11.5%
19	Derek CarrLV	56	46.4%	0.38	803	10.1%
20	Alex SmithWAS	35	31.4%	0.27	339	10.6%
21	Carson WentzPHI	45	35.6%	0.26	595	11.2%
22	Jameis WinstonTB	42	26.2%	0.20	414	11.0%
23	Nick MullensSF	20	40.0%	0.18	262	7.3%
24	Tom BradyNE	62	30.6%	0.14	639	10.9%
25	Mitchell TrubiskyCHI	67	32.8%	0.11	760	15.3%
26	Joe FlaccoBAL	51	23.5%	0.08	393	13.4%
27	Sam DarnoldNYJ	59	27.1%	0.05	487	14.2%
28	Case KeenumDEN	68	36.8%	0.03	839	11.6%
29	Blake BortlesJAX	42	31.0%	-0.02	460	10.4%
30	Ryan TannehillMIA	35	25.7%	-0.07	348	12.8%
31	Josh RosenARI	49	28.6%	-0.08	464	12.4%
32	Josh AllenBUF	65	24.6%	-0.13	539	20.3%
33	Cam NewtonCAR	39	23.1%	-0.19	246	8.2%

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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