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DET Detroit Lions · RB· #25

Jacob Saylors

Age
26
Height
5'11"
Weight
195 lbs
College
East Tennessee State
Drafted
Not drafted
Experience
4th NFL season
Compare with another playerKick returners leaderboard

51

Overall grade

25th of 53 kick returners

Typical

about average; 50 is average

Grades updated Rechecked every few hours on game days

The read

Jacob grades about average among kick returners so far, with no number far from the middle.

Lately he is playing worse. EPA per return is +0.13 over the last 2 games (6 returns), against +0.49 before that. A few plays could easily explain this. Worth watching, not worth believing yet.

Written from his numbers, not from film. 5 games are behind the season figures.

How he stacks up

Every graded stat at a glance, against all the kick returners in the league.

  • EPA per return+0.3122nd of 53small sample
  • Yards per return26.0 yds28th of 53small sample

Left is the worst at his job, right is the best, and the line down the middle is average. The bubble is his percentile: 90 means better than nine in ten qualifying kick returners. Faded bars are still small samples.

How he has progressed

Where he has ranked among kick returners after each week, and every game behind it.

WorstMiddleBestrecent12345Week 2: 30th percentileWeek 3: 86th percentileWeek 4: 68th percentileWeek 5: 60th percentile60th

Season rank climbed: 30th to 60th percentile since Wk 2.

The line is his season-to-date rank among players at his position after each week, from 100 (the best) to 0 (the worst). It rises when he passes other players, not when he has one big game. Early weeks are noisier because fewer plays are behind them. The shaded weeks are the recent stretch.

EPA per return game by game
WeekOpponentThat gamereturnsSeason rank after
1vs NO−0.162–
2vs BUF+0.53230th pct
3vs NYJ+1.10286th pct
4vs CAR+0.12368th pct
5vs ARI+0.15360th pct

One game is a small sample: a single stat over 2 returns can swing on a handful of plays. Shaded rows are the recent stretch.

The numbers, in context

Each one against every kick returner with at least 5 returns. Right on the strip is better.

EPA per return

Typical

+0.31

22nd of 53 kick returners · top 42%

Expected points added: how many points the play added to (or took from) the offense's scoring chances, given the down, the distance and the field position. From his team's side, for each kickoff he returns.

The box score: Return average ignores the starting field position the team would have had anyway.

Does it show up in winning? Across 82 games league-wide, teams won 54% of the time when their kick returner was in the best third on EPA per return, and 30% when he was in the worst third.

Last 2 games: +0.13 (6) vs +0.49 before−9.0grade points downLeaning that way

Small sample: could move a lot · 12 returns · true level likely −0.07 to +0.69

Yards per return

Typical

26.0 yds

28th of 53 kick returners · bottom 50%

Average yards per kickoff return.

The box score: This is the box score number.

Does it show up in winning? Across 82 games league-wide, teams won 63% of the time when their kick returner was in the best third on yards per return, and 30% when he was in the worst third.

Last 2 games: 24.7 yds (6) vs 27.3 yds before−5.8grade points downWithin the noise

Small sample: could move a lot · 12 returns · true level likely 21.7 yds to 30.3 yds

Game by game

Every game this season: how it ended for his team, how much he played, his box score, and the advanced numbers from that one game. One game is a small sample, so read the right-hand columns as a snapshot, not his level.

Jacob Saylors game by game
GameResultRetYdsEPA/returnYds/return
Wk 1 vs NOW 31–30225−0.1612.5 yds
Wk 2 vs BUFL 31–41258+0.5329.0 yds
Wk 3 vs NYJW 31–24281+1.1040.5 yds
Wk 4 vs CARL 26–32365+0.1221.7 yds
Wk 5 vs ARIW 45–21383+0.1527.7 yds

The box score

The traditional totals, with where each ranks among kick returners. A total rewards volume, which is why the advanced numbers above matter.

Jacob Saylors box score totals
StatTotalRank
Returns129th of 53
Return yards31213th of 53

Players with a similar profile

The kick returners whose grades are closest to his across the same stats. Similar means similar numbers, not the same style of play.

Ranks are among players at the same job who have enough plays to be graded. Grades and rankings come from play-by-play, charting and snap-count data, so they cannot see blocking, route running or assignments. See how the grades work.

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Data: nflverse play-by-play, CC BY 4.0. Also FTN charting, Pro Football Reference advanced stats, snap counts and injury reports, all through nflverse. Calculations and charts by Raiders Rundown.

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