Quarterback Deep Ball Leaders
Quarterback Deep Ball — 2023 NFL leaders, updated Nov 12, 2026. Brock Purdy (SF) led the league in deep-ball expected points added per attempt at 1.26, ahead of 34 other qualifying players. Based on verified 2023 play-by-play data (nflverse); Half-PPR scoring. Through the 2023 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 | Deep Att | Deep Cmp% | EPA/Att | Deep Yds | Deep Rate | Read |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brock Purdy | 47 | 55.3% | 1.26 | 887 | 10.6% | Read |
| 2 | Tua Tagovailoa | 64 | 50.0% | 0.93 | 1,149 | 11.4% | Read |
| 3 | Jake Browning | 24 | 45.8% | 0.91 | 368 | 9.8% | |
| 4 | C.J. Stroud | 59 | 49.2% | 0.90 | 1,049 | 11.7% | Read |
| 5 | Dak Prescott | 67 | 49.3% | 0.90 | 990 | 11.3% | Read |
| 6 | Matthew Stafford | 59 | 47.5% | 0.87 | 939 | 11.3% | Read |
| 7 | Kirk Cousins | 27 | 48.1% | 0.70 | 440 | 8.7% | Read |
| 8 | Geno Smith | 50 | 46.0% | 0.70 | 769 | 10.0% | Read |
| 9 | Trevor Lawrence | 70 | 42.9% | 0.67 | 972 | 12.3% | Read |
| 10 | Justin Fields | 54 | 40.7% | 0.67 | 661 | 14.5% | |
| 11 | Derek Carr | 68 | 39.7% | 0.64 | 933 | 12.4% | |
| 12 | Jared Goff | 50 | 48.0% | 0.62 | 814 | 8.2% | Read |
| 13 | Joe Flacco | 30 | 40.0% | 0.56 | 468 | 14.6% | |
| 14 | Desmond Ridder | 46 | 43.5% | 0.45 | 642 | 11.8% | |
| 15 | Jordan Love | 77 | 36.4% | 0.42 | 997 | 13.3% | Read |
| 16 | Bailey Zappe | 30 | 33.3% | 0.41 | 308 | 14.2% | |
| 17 | Russell Wilson | 65 | 32.3% | 0.41 | 791 | 14.4% | |
| 18 | Lamar Jackson | 57 | 31.6% | 0.39 | 669 | 12.4% | Read |
| 19 | Jalen Hurts | 68 | 32.4% | 0.35 | 788 | 12.6% | Read |
| 20 | Justin Herbert | 59 | 32.2% | 0.32 | 589 | 12.9% | Read |
| 21 | Will Levis | 57 | 36.8% | 0.30 | 688 | 22.3% | |
| 22 | Gardner Minshew | 54 | 37.0% | 0.22 | 715 | 11.0% | |
| 23 | Kenny Pickett | 31 | 35.5% | 0.18 | 389 | 9.5% | |
| 24 | Josh Allen | 79 | 31.6% | 0.15 | 879 | 13.6% | Read |
| 25 | Sam Howell | 76 | 27.6% | 0.14 | 620 | 12.4% | |
| 26 | Baker Mayfield | 79 | 29.1% | 0.13 | 769 | 13.9% | Read |
| 27 | Joshua Dobbs | 46 | 30.4% | 0.09 | 428 | 11.0% | |
| 28 | Aidan O'Connell | 35 | 31.4% | 0.09 | 345 | 10.2% | |
| 29 | Joe Burrow | 31 | 29.0% | 0.07 | 342 | 8.5% | Read |
| 30 | Zach Wilson | 37 | 32.4% | 0.05 | 355 | 10.0% | |
| 31 | Patrick Mahomes | 61 | 27.9% | 0.05 | 597 | 10.2% | Read |
| 32 | Ryan Tannehill | 32 | 31.2% | 0.01 | 375 | 13.9% | |
| 33 | Bryce Young | 58 | 22.4% | -0.40 | 402 | 11.0% | Read |
| 34 | Kyler Murray | 28 | 32.1% | -0.61 | 276 | 10.3% | Read |
| 35 | Mac Jones | 36 | 8.3% | -0.88 | 89 | 10.4% |
Other seasons
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More leaderboards
- Rushing Yards Over Expected
- Target Share
- Running Back Receiving Efficiency
- Completion Percentage Over Expected
- Adjusted Net Yards per Attempt
- Defensive Blitz Rate
- Pass Rate Over Expected
- Team Expected Points Added
- Quarterback EPA per Dropback
- QB Composite Rating
- Air Yards Share
- Stacked Box Rate
- Weighted Opportunity Rating
- Tight End Receiving Efficiency
- Tight End Average Depth of Target
- 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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