By Ross Jackson
The New Orleans Saints have ranked in the bottom third for the NFL in yards after catch (YAC) every season since 2021, per Next gen Stats.
- 2021: No. 30 (1,724)
- 2022: No. 25 (1,692)
- 2023: No. 24 (1,857)
- 2024: No. 22 (1,878)
This is a vast departure from their 2019 success as the No. 2 team in the NFL in generating opportunities after the catch when the team piled on 2,339 yards after the catch. An outstanding season.
It would be easy to draw the correlation between this and the Saints’ four-year playoff drought, but the connection isn’t that immediate.
However, it is a difference-making stat and one that the Saints could stand to improve.
New Orleans hired an offensive mind as their next head coach that could find ways to get the Saints’ production in this area up beginning in 2025. Head coach Kellen Moore, then-offensive coordinator, led two consecutive top-10 finishes in the metric for the Dallas Cowboys in 2020 and 2021.
Last year, while calling his way to a Super Bowl championship with the Philadelphia Eagles, the club finished No. 30 in the league in yards after catch generated with just 1,610. However, context matters here.
The Eagles threw the third-fewest passes in the NFL. So the pure volume of after catch opportunities was always going to be capped. Where the promise of Moore’s play calling can be seen in this environment is yards after catch over expected, which takes into account several additional factors, including the number of opportunities that were allotted to pass-catchers.
The Eagles finished No. 10 in that ranking, showing that while the overall abundance of yards after catch wasn’t eye-catching in 2024 for Moore and the Eagles, the efficiency with which those opportunities were still created and taken advantage of are undeniable.
Dallas Goedert gained 24 yards after catch on his 24-yard TD reception, +20 YAC over expected.
Goedert picked up 21 of his 24 yards after initial contact from Carrington Valentine. https://t.co/rn5irjcXeX
— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) January 13, 2025
Some of the additional efforts will have to come down to individual will by the ball-carrier. But a coach, play calling and a good game plan could boost those chances by putting them in the right situations.
If Moore can bring that level of play back to the New Orleans passing game, especially with speedy wideouts like Chris Olave, Rashid Shaheed and Brandin Cooks while working with young quarterbacks, it would be a major step in the right direction for the Saints.
