2018 College EPA per Target Leaders

College play-by-play before 2025 does not record where passes went, so depth, direction, ACE and throw maps start in 2025. Counting stats are the official NCAA season lines.

Expected points added on every pass thrown his way, caught or not. It is our primary receiver rating because it counts the whole result of the target.

How to read it. +0.30 and up is excellent for a wide receiver. Tight ends and running backs usually sit lower because their targets are shorter.

The 2018 leaders: Terry McLaurin (+1.48), Jaylen Waddle (+1.27), Joe Reed (+1.23).

EPA per Target

Minimum to rank: 1.875 receptions per team game (the NFL's rate; the NCAA ranks receivers per game with no reception minimum). 444 players.

Rk	Player	Pos	Team	Tgt	Rec	EPA/Tgt
1	Terry McLaurin	WR	OSU	40	34	+1.48
2	Jaylen Waddle	WR	ALA	51	41	+1.27
3	Joe Reed	WR	UVA	33	24	+1.23
4	Seth Dawkins	WR	LOU	9	25	+1.17
5	CeeDee Lamb	WR	OU	73	56	+1.13
6	CJ Worton	WR	FIU	53	36	+1.06
7	Line Latu	WR	EMU	31	23	+1.02
8	Marcus Bennett	WR	AF	36	24	+1.01
9	Damion Willis	WR	TROY	60	43	+1.01
10	Emanuel Hall	WR	MIZ	52	35	+1.01
11	JJ Arcega-Whiteside	WR	STAN	86	59	+1.01
12	Xavier Ubosi	WR	UAB	44	28	+0.99
13	Tre Walker	WR	SJSU	53	39	+0.99
14	Isaiah Hodgins	WR	ORST	88	59	+0.99
15	Ja'Marcus Bradley	WR	UL	52	38	+0.98
16	Josh Hammond	WR	FLA	28	26	+0.97
17	CT Thomas	WR	BOIS	56	41	+0.97
18	Shi Smith	WR	SC	53	39	+0.96
19	Justyn Ross	WR	CLEM	49	34	+0.95
20	Shawn Poindexter	WR	ARIZ	66	42	+0.95
21	Brandon Aiyuk	WR	ASU	31	24	+0.94
22	Calvin Jackson Jr.	WR	WSU	28	25	+0.93
23	Ky'Jon Tyler	WR	CCU	33	26	+0.92
24	Gary Jennings	WR	WVU	67	54	+0.92
25	Mitchell Wilcox	TE	USF	51	40	+0.91
26	Jalen Greene	WR	USU	51	38	+0.91
27	Collin Lisa	WR	UAB	40	29	+0.90
28	Jake Ferguson	TE	WIS	48	33	+0.89
29	Seth Williams	WR	AUB	38	24	+0.88
30	T.J. Hockenson	TE	IOWA	57	46	+0.87
31	Damonte Coxie	WR	MEM	100	66	+0.87
32	Romello Brooker	TE	HOU	40	29	+0.87
33	Lil'Jordan Humphrey	WR	TEX	101	79	+0.87
34	Sadiq Palmer	WR	MASS	44	28	+0.87
35	Olabisi Johnson	WR	CSU	71	54	+0.86
36	Brycen Hopkins	TE	PUR	43	32	+0.86
37	Ja'Deion High	WR	TTU	77	62	+0.86
38	DeVonta Smith	WR	ALA	37	30	+0.85
39	Marquise Brown	WR	OU	95	75	+0.85
40	Tylan Wallace	WR	OKST	120	78	+0.85
41	Jauan Jennings	WR	TENN	45	30	+0.85
42	D.K. Metcalf	WR	MISS	40	26	+0.84
43	A.J. Richardson	WR	BOIS	73	54	+0.84
44	Delane Hart-Johnson	WR	UNM	42	32	+0.84
45	Ty Jones	WR	WASH	46	28	+0.84
46	Jace Sternberger	TE	TA&M	71	47	+0.84
47	Obi Obialo	WR	MRSH	48	38	+0.84
48	Jeremiah Booker	WR	KU	42	31	+0.84
49	Tyleek Collins	WR	UNLV	45	31	+0.83
50	Dax Raymond	TE	USU	31	24	+0.83
51	Irv Smith Jr.	TE	ALA	52	38	+0.83
52	Jacquez Sloan	WR	WKU	44	31	+0.83
53	Caleb Wilson	TE	UCLA	83	60	+0.83
54	Dredrick Snelson	WR	UCF	57	41	+0.83
55	Kelvin Harmon	WR	NCSU	112	74	+0.82
56	JJ Holloman	WR	UGA	32	23	+0.82
57	Jaylen Dixon	WR	UTAH	31	23	+0.82
58	Antoine Wesley	WR	TTU	125	88	+0.81
59	Isaac Nauta	TE	UGA	34	29	+0.81
60	Kaden Smith	TE	STAN	63	47	+0.81
61	Colby Parkinson	TE	STAN	46	28	+0.81
62	Darnell Mooney	WR	TULN	76	47	+0.81
63	Malcolm Williams	WR	CCU	66	47	+0.81
64	Collin Johnson	WR	TEX	87	65	+0.81
65	Dalton Keene	TE	VT	28	24	+0.80
66	Austin Maloney	WR	FIU	48	28	+0.80
67	Anthony Johnson	WR	BUF	80	52	+0.80
68	Theo Howard	WR	UCLA	62	51	+0.79
69	Brad Anderson	RB	MTSU	32	27	+0.79
70	CJ Verdell	RB	ORE	28	25	+0.79
71	Zach Gentry	TE	MICH	43	30	+0.79
72	Jerry Jeudy	WR	ALA	82	59	+0.79
73	Quintin Morris	TE	BGSU	63	42	+0.79
74	Samson Nacua	WR	UTAH	37	30	+0.78
75	N'Keal Harry	WR	ASU	107	73	+0.78
76	Nyqwan Murray	WR	FSU	71	54	+0.78
77	Riley Ridley	WR	UGA	54	39	+0.78
78	Johnnie Dixon	WR	OSU	52	40	+0.78
79	Jeff Thomas	WR	MIA	48	35	+0.77
80	Trevon Wesco	TE	WVU	25	24	+0.77
81	Dezmon Patmon	WR	WSU	65	55	+0.76
82	Noah Fant	TE	IOWA	59	39	+0.76
83	Grant Calcaterra	TE	OU	36	25	+0.76
84	Andy Isabella	WR	MASS	144	101	+0.76
85	Corey Sutton	WR	APP	63	36	+0.76
86	Hasise Dubois	WR	UVA	63	47	+0.76
87	Nico Collins	WR	MICH	42	33	+0.75
88	Denzel Mims	WR	BAY	74	49	+0.75
89	Amon-Ra St. Brown	WR	USC	74	60	+0.74
90	Andre Wilson	WR	UAB	50	30	+0.74
91	Hakeem Butler	WR	ISU	90	51	+0.74
92	Kawaan Baker	WR	USA	46	33	+0.73
93	Tyler Johnson	WR	MINN	113	74	+0.73
94	Tre Turner	WR	VT	34	25	+0.73
95	Rashad Medaris	WR	CIN	41	24	+0.72
96	Cheyenne O'Grady	TE	ARK	51	30	+0.72
97	Jalen Hurd	RB	BAY	99	69	+0.72
98	Marquez Callaway	WR	TENN	64	38	+0.72
99	Jaelon Darden	WR	UNT	58	46	+0.72
100	Tony Ellison	WR	ARIZ	44	29	+0.72

More 2018 College Receiver Leaderboards

Receiving Yards Receptions Targets Receiving Touchdowns Catch Rate Yards per Target Yards per Reception Receiving Yards per Game Yards per Team Pass Attempt Target Share Success Rate per Target First-Down Rate per Target Passer Rating When Targeted Red Zone Targets 100-Yard Receiving Games Scrimmage Yards

Other seasons: 2026 · 2025 · 2024 · 2023 · 2022 · 2021 · 2020 · 2019 · 2018 · 2017 · 2016 · 2015 · 2014 · 2013 · 2012 · 2011

QBS BLOG · PASSING QUESTIONS · MINDSET

Understanding the Throw.

What the box score cannot tell you about the people behind the pass.

All Posts →

THE NUMBERS

Passer Rating vs EPA: Which Tells You More?

Why we rank quarterbacks by EPA per dropback, and what passer rating still gets right.

Read Article →

ACCURACY

What CPOE Means, and How ACE Builds on It

Completion percentage over expected gives credit for difficult completions. Here is how ACE measures it.

Read Article →

THE POCKET

Why Sacks Belong Partly to the Quarterback

A sack is the rush, the line and the decision. Why our dropback stats count them.

Read Article →

FROM THE A-GAME PODCAST

10 Mind-Body Performance Recovery Tools Backed By Science

Learn the break down of ten mind-body recovery tools, each backed by science, including how and when to use them to perform at your peak.

Listen to the Episode ↗