The Best, Worst, and Most Prolific Quarterbacks by Route Type in 2020

In the modern NFL, it is attached as a badge of honor when a quarterback can "make all the throws," a testament to accuracy, arm strength, and arm talent for the player in question. While most players can certainly attempt all the throws, not everyone can attest to being an expert at successfully executing on all types of NFL pass routes.

At numberFire, our play-by-play tracker records 12 different types of pass routes. With this in mind, I have taken a look at each of the 12 from the 2020 season to try and find out which quarterbacks enjoy throwing which routes, as well as who enjoyed the most success on each and was the most efficient on a per-play basis. The results have made for interesting reading.

To provide context, I have only looked at quarterbacks who attempted at least 10 passes on the various routes. All route data comes from Sportradar. Let's get started.

The Post

Matthew Stafford led the way when it came to throwing the post. The now-former Detroit Lions quarterback completed 31 of his 52 pass attempts on post patterns. The route earned him 634 yards and 3 touchdowns, although from an efficiency standpoint, it wasn’t really a winning play. Stafford averaged 0.70 Passing Net Expected Points (NEP) per drop back when throwing a post route, a mark that was good for 17th out of 36 qualifying quarterbacks.

Drew Brees led the way in terms of efficiency for this route, with his 1.82 Passing NEP per drop back boosted by his five touchdowns. At the other end of the scale, Carson Wentz completed a miserable 4 of his 19 attempts on post throws while tossing three interceptions. Wentz had -0.62 Passing NEP per drop back -- bottom of the pile.

The Go Route

Known in some circles as a nine route, the go route does exactly what you’d expect from its name. The receiver is expected to streak far down the field, and no one took more of this type of shot than Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.

He went long 77 times, but while he gained the sixth-most yards among qualifying players (692) and threw the third-most touchdowns (8), he only completed 26 such attempts. His low completion rate, in addition to his four interceptions, saw him post 0.17 Passing NEP per drop back on the go route, which was 28th out of 39 qualifiers.

Derek Carr led the way with 840 yards when throwing the nine while also hitting 9 touchdowns. He posted the second-best Passing NEP per drop back (1.23) behind only Nick Mullens. Mullens attempted just 13 passes of this type, but he completed 8 of them for 217 yards and a touchdown, giving him 1.34 Passing NEP per drop back.

Drew Lock enjoyed sending the ball deep, with 40 go routes thrown. But he didn’t enjoy the results, as he completed just 8 attempts for 210 yards and a single touchdown. The Denver Broncos man also tied for the lead with five interceptions on this route with Matt Ryan on his way to an abysmal -0.32 Passing NEP per drop back.

The Curl Route

Rookie Justin Herbert attempted the most passes to curl routes while also completing the most and racking up the most yards. The Los Angeles Chargers quarterback completed 61 of his 81 attempts for 559 yards.

Mitchell Trubisky led the way in terms of efficiency on this pattern, going 17 of 21 for 185 yards. These deeds saw him average 0.69 Passing NEP per drop back, the first among 44 qualified quarterbacks.

At the other end of the scale, Sam Darnold completed 20 of his 35 passes on curl routes, with one touchdown and two interceptions. Ryan Fitzpatrick and Kirk Cousins were the only other quarterbacks with two picks when looking at the curl. Darnold averaged a dismal -0.25 Passing NEP per drop back.

The Comeback Route

Josh Allen of the Buffalo Bills attempted the most passes to players running comeback routes, looking their way 51 times in total. He completed 40 attempts for 406 yards -- again the most among all players -- while he was fifth in Passing NEP per drop back on such throws (0.49).

This was another route that Trubisky enjoyed success. He completed 10 of his 11 attempts for 106 yards and a touchdown, posting a 0.89 Passing NEP per drop back.

Similarly, it was a route on which Sam Darnold struggled. He was one of four players to toss two interceptions when targeting a comeback along with Cam Newton, Kyler Murray, and Ryan Tannehill. On this route, this quartet did not throw a single touchdown between them. Darnold again finished last among all qualifiers, with 43 quarterbacks averaging more than his -0.71 Passing NEP per drop back.

The Corner Route

The trusty "seven" route was a staple of the Atlanta Falcons' offense with Matt Ryan at quarterback. He was first among 33 qualifiers with 49 attempts, while only Cousins (8) had more touchdowns on this route than the 7 Ryan tossed. Tannehill actually had the most completions (24), with 5 touchdowns in among them.

Herbert and Trubisky led the pack with three interceptions each when looking to the corner. But they both had more touchdowns than picks, with Herbert throwing five and Trubisky four.

Roethlisberger also threw four touchdowns on the corner route, an impressive mark considering he only went that way 13 times all season. He completed 9 of these attempts for 147 yards and led the way with 1.41 Passing NEP per drop back.

It wasn’t such an asset to Jared Goff, who had the same number of completions as Roethlisberger on just over double the attempts. His 27 corner targets brought him 186 yards, 1 touchdown, 2 interceptions, leaving him with -0.29 Passing NEP per drop back.

The Crossing Route

Roethlisberger led the way in attempts, completions, and touchdowns on crossers. He completed 52 of his 68 attempts with five touchdowns. But volume was not matched with efficiency, as his 0.26 Passing NEP per drop back was good for just 24th among 39 qualifiers.

Tannehill was the most efficient thrower to crossers in 2020, with 0.93 Passing NEP per drop back. He only attempted 15 such throws, but he completed 13 for 108 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Alex Smith was not at his best throwing this route, however. He and Darnold both tossed a pair of picks, and Smith finished with -0.59 Passing NEP per drop back. This was dead last for this route.

The Slant Route

Roethlisberger has similar numbers with the slant route, once more racking up volume over efficiency. He led the way with 80 attempts and 51 completions, with his receivers bringing in 446 yards. But he was 25th in Passing NEP per drop back (0.17).

There were contrasting fortunes for two former California Golden Bears when looking to the slant. Aaron Rodgers passed for six touchdowns on this route, while Goff threw four picks.

Speaking of contrasts, the Chicago Bears' signal-callers couldn’t have been more marked in their efficiency with slants. Trubisky led the way with 0.82 Passing NEP per drop back, thanks to completing 24 of 31 passes for 303 yards and 3 scores. Nick Foles, on the other hand, averaged -0.21 Passing NEP per drop back, with just 96 scoreless yards on his 12 completions from 24 attempts.

The Out Route

As with the corner route, Matt Ryan led the pack when it came to targeting players on the out route. His 81 attempts, 57 completions, and 626 yards were the most of the 46 qualifiers. But he was close to the middle of the pack in efficiency, with 0.33 Passing NEP per drop back (20th).

The quarterback with the most touchdowns on the out route was Aaron Rodgers, who tossed six scores.

New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones tossed four interceptions, and on the whole, he was the least efficient thrower of this route. His 52 attempts brought him 32 completions for 281 yards and a single score alongside his picks, resulting in -0.31 Passing NEP per drop back.

At the other end of the scale was Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes. When targeting players on these routes in 2020, he completed 44 of 60 passes for 542 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Mahomes led the league with 0.66 Passing NEP per drop back.

The Flat Route

Philip Rivers of the Indianapolis Colts made regular use of his receivers out in the flat, sending 84 passes that way for 75 completions and 485 yards. These figures led the league, although he was 18th of 44 qualifiers with 0.14 Passing NEP per drop back.

That man Rodgers once again stood apart in terms of touchdowns with this particular route, tossing seven. The usually clinical Russell Wilson didn’t enjoy as much luck as Rodgers, though, as he threw two interceptions into the flat.

The picture of efficiency when utilizing the flats was Baker Mayfield, who averaged 0.61 Passing NEP on his 42 pass attempts. He completed 33 of these passes for 239 yards and 4 touchdowns.

Dwayne Haskins was at the other end of the scale, as his 36 attempts for Washington brought him 122 yards, a single touchdown, and -0.26 Passing NEP per drop back.

The In Route

Once again, Rivers was the leader in terms of pass attempts when it came to a route. But why the Colts continued to allow him to target in breakers is beyond me. Despite attempting 50 such passes, Rivers finished 35th among 39 qualifiers with -0.03 Passing NEP per drop back.

Tannehill led the way in terms of yardage and touchdowns on the in routes. He posted 457 yards and 6 touchdowns.

But the most efficient passer on a per-play basis was Cam Newton. He only attempted 13 passes on this route, but he completed 10 for 156 yards and a 0.95 Passing NEP average.

It was not a route Nick Mullens could lay claim to mastering. He posted a dismal -0.29 Passing NEP per drop back and led the pack with six interceptions.

The Wide Receiver Screen

It will come as absolutely no surprise to anyone that the quarterback who threw the wide receiver screen the most in 2020 was Kyler Murray. He attempted 46 and completed 44 of them. But as even casual observers would see, it was not an efficient route for the Cardinals. Murray averaged -0.18 Passing NEP per drop back on these throws, which was 26th among 31 qualifiers. I should note that the five players with a lower Passing NEP average attempted 64 wide receiver screens combined.

Rodgers, Mahomes, and Trubisky all picked up two touchdowns on wide receiver screens. Josh Allen enjoyed the most efficiency with the route. He completed 21 of his 27 passes for 199 yards and a touchdown. All in all, he averaged 0.35 Passing NEP per drop back on these plays.

The Underneath Screen

Utilizing his fleet-footed receivers on screens worked quite well for Rivers in 2020. He gained 261 yards on his 35 attempts (34 completions) while finishing 10th in Passing NEP per drop back among qualifiers with 0.15.

Mayfield again was the shining light in terms of overall efficiency with this route. He completed all 19 of his attempts for 185 yards, averaging 0.53 Passing NEP per drop back in the process.

One of the least efficient was another former number one overall pick, namely Newton. He went 19 of 22 for 154 yards and was one of six quarterbacks to record an interception on the route. His efforts were worth -0.32 Passing NEP per drop back.