CHI Chicago Bears · WR· #14 · also punt returner

Kalif Raymond

Age
32
Height
5'9"
Weight
160 lbs
College
Holy Cross
Drafted
Not drafted
Experience
11th NFL season

55

Overall grade

22nd of 94 wide receivers

Well above typical

above average; 50 is average

Grades updated Rechecked every few hours on game days

The read

Kalif grades above average among wide receivers so far, with no number far from the middle.

Lately he is playing worse. Yards after catch over expected is −4.8 yds over the last 2 games (5 catches), against −0.1 yds before that. The change is bigger than what a few plays would produce by chance.

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 wide receivers in the league.

  • Drop rate0.0%1st of 85small sample
  • Catches over expected+20.2 pts3rd of 94small sample
  • EPA per target+0.5824th of 94small sample
  • Share of the team's passes15%50th of 94
  • Yards after catch over expected−1.1 yds47th of 83small 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 wide receivers. Faded bars are still small samples.

How he has progressed

Where he has ranked among wide receivers after each week, and every game behind it.

WorstMiddleBestrecent12345Week 1: 68th percentileWeek 2: 86th percentileWeek 3: 91st percentileWeek 4: 90th percentileWeek 5: 75th percentile75th

Season rank holding near the 75th percentile since Wk 1.

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 target game by game
WeekOpponentThat gametargetsSeason rank after
1vs CAR+0.72968th pct
2vs MIN+0.85486th pct
3vs PHI+1.00791st pct
4vs NYJ−0.20290th pct
5vs GB−0.37475th pct

One game is a small sample: a single stat over 5 targets can swing on a handful of plays. Shaded rows are the recent stretch.

The numbers, in context

Each one against every wide receiver with at least 12 targets. Right on the strip is better.

EPA per target

Well above typical

+0.58

24th of 94 wide receivers · top 26%

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. Every target counts, caught or not, so a receiver cannot hide behind a catch total.

The box score: Receiving yards rise with targets, not with what the targets were worth.

Does it show up in winning? Across 208 games league-wide, teams won 64% of the time when their wide receiver was in the best third on EPA per target, and 36% when he was in the worst third.

Last 2 games: −0.32 (6) vs +0.84 before−21.6grade points downA clear change

Small sample: could move a lot · 26 targets · true level likely +0.08 to +1.08

Catches over expected

Elite

+20.2 pts

3rd of 94 wide receivers · top 4%

His catch rate compared with what each target's difficulty predicted. +4 means he catches 4 more of every 100 targets than the throws suggested.

The box score: Catch rate rewards the receiver who is only thrown easy passes.

Does it show up in winning? Across 207 games league-wide, teams won 62% of the time when their wide receiver was in the best third on catches over expected, and 39% when he was in the worst third.

Last 2 games: +14.6 pts (6) vs +21.9 pts before−5.2grade points downWithin the noise

Small sample: could move a lot · 26 targets · true level likely +6.0 pts to +34.4 pts

Yards after catch over expected

Typical

−1.1 yds

47th of 83 wide receivers · bottom 45%

The yards he gains after the catch compared with what a typical receiver gets from that spot. It separates the player who makes defenders miss from the one who is simply open.

The box score: Yards after the catch is a total, not a comparison with where he caught it.

Does it show up in winning? Across 176 games league-wide, a good or bad game on yards after catch over expected from a wide receiver has not lined up much with his team winning (49% wins in the best third, 58% in the worst).

Last 2 games: −4.8 yds (5) vs −0.1 yds before−19.6grade points downA clear change

Small sample: could move a lot · 23 catches · true level likely −3.2 yds to +1.0 yds

Drop rate

Elite

0.0%lower is better

1st of 85 wide receivers · top 2%

Passes charted as drops, per target. Fewer is better. Almost everyone has few, so it is shown but not counted in his overall grade.

The box score: Drops are not an official stat.

Does it show up in winning? Across 174 games league-wide, a good or bad game on drop rate from a wide receiver has not lined up much with his team winning (50% wins in the best third, 48% in the worst).

Last 2 games: 0.0% (2) vs 0.0% before

Small sample: could move a lot · 22 targets · true level likely -7.0% to 7.0%

Share of the team's passes

Typical

15%

50th of 94 wide receivers · bottom 48%

The portion of his team's pass attempts that were thrown to him, in the games he was targeted. It shows whether he is the focus of the offense.

The box score: Targets and receptions do not say how big the offense's passing game was.

Does it show up in winning? Across 425 games league-wide, a good or bad game on share of the team's passes from a wide receiver has not lined up much with his team winning (56% wins in the best third, 54% in the worst).

Last 2 games: 8% (6) vs 20% before−18.0grade points downA clear change

Sample still growing · 26 targets · true level likely 10% to 19%

How he plays

Tendencies: how his game differs from the wide receivers around him. These are not better or worse, only different, and often say as much about the offense or defense he plays in as about him.

Average depth of target

Style

7.0 yds

Works the short game, and more so than almost any of the wide receivers. A typical one is 11.7 yds.

How far downfield his targets are, on average. It is a role, not a grade.

Sample still growing · 26 targets

Deep targets

Style

8%

Rarely goes deep, and more so than almost any of the wide receivers. A typical one is 19%.

The share of his targets that are 20 or more yards downfield.

Sample still growing · 26 targets

Contested targets

Style

5%

Gets targeted in open space, and more so than almost any of the wide receivers. A typical one is 18%.

The share of his targets charted as contested: a defender is on him at the catch point. It says how he is used, not whether he wins.

Sample still growing · 22 targets

Screen targets

Style

14%

Is a screen target often, more than most wide receivers. A typical one is 5%.

The share of his targets that are screen passes, a sign his yards come from the offense's design.

Small sample: could move a lot · 22 targets

Playing time

He has played in 4 of his team's 4 games with snap counts, on the field for about 62% of the team's offensive plays when he plays.

Each column is a game: the share of his team's offensive snaps he played. 80% means about 8 of every 10 plays. “Out” means he did not play; a question mark means snap counts are not posted yet. Shaded games are the recent stretch.

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.

Kalif Raymond game by game
GameResultSnapsTgtRecYdsTDEPA/targetCROEYAC over exp.Target share
Wk 1 vs CARW 59–3760%98840+0.72+20.4 pts−2.8 yds29%
Wk 2 vs MINL 3–962%44350+0.85+33.7 pts+0.6 yds11%
Wk 3 vs PHIW 27–775%76901+1.00+17.2 pts+3.1 yds21%
Wk 4 vs NYJW 23–1251%2260−0.20+16.1 pts−4.1 yds6%
Wk 5 vs GBL 7–31–4360−0.37+13.9 pts−5.2 yds9%

The box score

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

Kalif Raymond box score totals
StatTotalRank
Targets2640th of 94
Receptions2318th of 94
Receiving yards22136th of 94
Receiving touchdowns131st of 94

Players with a similar profile

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

As a punt returner

Points added each time he fields a punt.

The read

Kalif grades about average among punt returners so far, with no number far from the middle.

Lately he is playing worse. EPA per punt fielded is −0.21 over the last 2 games (5 punts), against +0.14 before that. A few plays could easily explain this. Worth watching, not worth believing yet.

Written from his numbers, not from film. 4 games are behind the season figures.

How he stacks up

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

  • EPA per punt fielded+0.0120th of 34small sample
  • Yards per return8.8 yds17th of 24small 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 punt returners. Faded bars are still small samples.

How he has progressed

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

WorstMiddleBestrecent12345Week 2: 64th percentileWeek 3: 66th percentileWeek 4: 47th percentileWeek 5: 42nd percentile42nd

Season rank slipped: 64th to 42nd 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 punt fielded game by game
WeekOpponentThat gamepuntsSeason rank after
2vs MIN+0.12564th pct
3vs PHI+0.18366th pct
4vs NYJ−0.19347th pct
5vs GB−0.23242nd pct

One game is a small sample: a single stat over 3 punts can swing on a handful of plays. Shaded rows are the recent stretch.

The numbers, in context

Each one against every punt returner with at least 5 punts fielded. Right on the strip is better.

EPA per punt fielded

Typical

+0.01

20th of 34 punt returners · bottom 45%

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 every punt he fields, fair catches included.

The box score: Return average ignores fair catches and the starting field position.

Does it show up in winning? Across 54 games league-wide, a good or bad game on EPA per punt fielded from a punt returner has not lined up much with his team winning (61% wins in the best third, 53% in the worst).

Last 2 games: −0.21 (5) vs +0.14 before−7.9grade points downLeaning that way

Small sample: could move a lot · 13 punts · true level likely −0.36 to +0.37

Yards per return

Below typical

8.8 yds

17th of 24 punt returners · bottom 34%

Average yards when he returns the punt (fair catches excluded).

The box score: This is the box score number.

Last 2 games: 8.3 yds (3) vs 9.0 yds before−1.0grade points downWithin the noise

Small sample: could move a lot · 8 returns · true level likely 4.1 yds to 13.4 yds

How he plays

Tendencies: how his game differs from the punt returners around him. These are not better or worse, only different, and often say as much about the offense or defense he plays in as about him.

Fair catch rate

Style

38%

Right around the middle of punt returners: a typical one is 41%.

How often he fair catches instead of returning, a choice about risk.

Small sample: could move a lot · 13 punts

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.

Kalif Raymond game by game
GameResultFieldedYdsEPA/puntYds/return
Wk 2 vs MINL 3–9530+0.1210.0 yds
Wk 3 vs PHIW 27–7315+0.187.5 yds
Wk 4 vs NYJW 23–12316−0.198.0 yds
Wk 5 vs GBL 7–3129−0.239.0 yds

The box score

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

Kalif Raymond box score totals
StatTotalRank
Punts fielded135th of 34
Return yards7011th of 34

Players with a similar profile

The punt 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.