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Deebo Samuel, AJ Brown: Why YAC ability is valuable but limited

A.J. Brown and Deebo Samuel produced two of the best rookie seasons we at PFF have ever seen.

Brown, the Tennessee Titans’ 2019 second-round pick, caught 57-of-93 targets for 1,115 yards, 33 first downs and eight touchdowns across 461 routes this past season. His 80.9 PFF receiving grade and 2.42 yards per route run (YPRR) average rank eighth and third, respectively, among the 181 wideouts with 200-plus routes run in their debut NFL seasons in the PFF era (2006-present). And among the same group of receivers, Samuel ranks inside the top-25 in rookie PFF receiving grade (75.