Different NFL routes produce varied results, based on the route itself, team tendencies and receiver profiles. So what are the most efficient route types?
We dove into the data to find the six most productive routes in the NFL, and then picked out the teams, receivers and quarterbacks who stand out in each concept, for better or worse. We also identified the least effective route -- a risky upside play that doesn't always pay off.
Route statistics are riddled with two issues: selection bias and small samples. We can't completely solve the former, but looking at yards per route run rather than yards per target helps.