HOU Houston Texans · WR· #19

Xavier Hutchinson

Age
26
Height
6'3"
Weight
210 lbs
College
Iowa State
Drafted
2023, No. 205 overall (HOU)
Experience
4th NFL season

50

Overall grade

49th of 94 wide receivers

Typical

about average; 50 is average

Grades updated Rechecked every few hours on game days

The read

Xavier grades about average among wide receivers so far, with no number far from the middle.

Lately he is playing better. Yards after catch over expected is +5.2 yds over the last 2 games (7 catches), against −1.1 yds before that. The change points one way, but a few plays could still explain it.

Role is shrinking: When he plays he is on the field for about 3 of every 10 plays lately, down from about 6 of every 10 plays before.

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
  • Yards after catch over expected+1.7 yds8th of 83small sample
  • Share of the team's passes16%45th of 94
  • EPA per target+0.1956th of 94small sample
  • Catches over expected−12.4 pts81st of 94small 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 2: 31st percentileWeek 3: 30th percentileWeek 4: 31st percentileWeek 5: 41st percentile41st

Season rank climbed: 31st to 41st 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 target game by game
WeekOpponentThat gametargetsSeason rank after
1vs BUF+0.156–
2vs CIN−0.22931st pct
3vs IND+0.07630th pct
4vs DAL+0.43531st pct
5vs TEN+0.87541st pct

One game is a small sample: a single stat over 6 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

Typical

+0.19

56th of 94 wide receivers · bottom 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. 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: +0.65 (10) vs −0.03 before+12.2grade points upLeaning that way

Small sample: could move a lot · 31 targets · true level likely −0.27 to +0.65

Catches over expected

Well below typical

−12.4 pts

81st of 94 wide receivers · bottom 15%

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: +0.2 pts (10) vs −18.4 pts before+13.2grade points upLeaning that way

Small sample: could move a lot · 31 targets · true level likely −25.4 pts to +0.6 pts

Yards after catch over expected

Elite

+1.7 yds

8th of 83 wide receivers · top 10%

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: +5.2 yds (7) vs −1.1 yds before+21.3grade points upA clear change

Small sample: could move a lot · 16 catches · true level likely −0.8 yds to +4.1 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% (5) vs 0.0% before−3.2grade points downWithin the noise

Small sample: could move a lot · 26 targets · true level likely -6.0% to 6.0%

Share of the team's passes

Typical

16%

45th of 94 wide receivers · top 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: 15% (10) vs 17% before−1.7grade points downWithin the noise

Sample still growing · 31 targets · true level likely 12% to 21%

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

12.6 yds

Right around the middle of 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 · 31 targets

Deep targets

Style

23%

Goes deep often, more than most wide receivers. A typical one is 19%.

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

Small sample: could move a lot · 31 targets

Contested targets

Style

38%

Gets targeted in tight coverage, 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.

Small sample: could move a lot · 26 targets

Screen targets

Style

4%

Right around the middle of 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.

Sample still growing · 26 targets

Playing time

He has played in 4 of his team's 4 games with snap counts, on the field for about 56% of the team's offensive plays when he plays.

Role is shrinking. When he plays he is on the field for about 3 of every 10 plays lately, down from about 6 of every 10 plays before.

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.

Xavier Hutchinson game by game
GameResultSnapsTgtRecYdsTDEPA/targetCROEYAC over exp.Target share
Wk 1 vs BUFL 31–3656%63320+0.15−17.4 pts+0.8 yds15%
Wk 2 vs CINL 6–2081%93370−0.22−28.8 pts+0.3 yds16%
Wk 3 vs INDL 17–1954%63510+0.07−3.7 pts−4.4 yds21%
Wk 4 vs DALL 30–3431%53460+0.43−6.0 pts+5.0 yds17%
Wk 5 vs TENW 26–3–54650+0.87+6.5 pts+5.4 yds14%

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.

Xavier Hutchinson box score totals
StatTotalRank
Targets3125th of 94
Receptions1641st of 94
Receiving yards23132nd of 94
Receiving touchdowns066th 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.

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.