A picture is worth a thousand words, but sometimes a few numbers can tell you an entire story.

When it comes to football, everyone loves to watch box scores. It’s very, very difficult to pay close attention to every single game every single week, so sometimes you have to rely on box scores to tell you how a game went. But if you look at the basic passing yards, rushing touchdowns, tackles, etc., you’re going to be lost. You have to dig into the advanced analytics to see how a team or player really performed.

Today, I’m diving into the advanced stats and looking at some of the league leaders in the niche categories.

Passing Stats

Big Time Throws: Tyler Shough (10)

Tyler Shough continues to lead the NFL in big time throws with 10 through four weeks of football. Ever since he had six of them in Week 1, he’s topped the leaderboard, but the rest of the competition is quickly closing in with guys like Patrick Mahomes (9), C.J. Stroud (8), and Joe Burrow (8) right on his heels.

A big time throw is defined as “a pass with excellent ball location and timing, generally thrown further down the field and/or into a tighter window.” With virtually no run game, the New Orleans Saints have put a lot of Shough’s shoulders, and so far, he’s delivered despite a 1-3 record.

Adjusted Completion Percentage: Geno Smith (81.5%)

Adjusted completion percentage takes away throwaways, batted balls, and other things out of the quarterback’s control to give you an idea of how accurate they are when they get a clean pass off, and so far, Geno Smith has been the most accurate QB in the league, completing 81.5 percent of his throws when adjusted. If he wants to keep this title, he’s going to have to keep playing well because there are three other quarterbacks – Caleb Williams, Lamar Jackson, and Kyler Murray sitting at 80 percent or better.

Turnover Worthy Play Percentage: Jayden Daniels (0.0%)

There is only one player in the NFL that hasn’t committed a single turnover-worthy play, and that’s Jayden Daniels. I put a minimum of 50 dropbacks as a requirement to make this list, and Daniels has 61 this season, with none of them resulting in what PFF deems as turnover-worthy. If you only want to include QBs that have played all four weeks, Bryce Young would be the leader at 0.5 percent, closely followed by Jared Goff at 0.6 percent.

Pressure to Sack Rate: Brock Purdy (0.0%)

Quarterbacks aren’t credited with giving up sacks, but sometimes they should be. An offensive lineman can hold up in pass protection for five seconds, but if a QB holds onto the ball too long and takes a sack, it still goes on the lineman. One of the best stats to look at to determine which quarterbacks are best at avoiding sacks is pressure-to-sack rate, and through four weeks, Brock Purdy hasn’t allowed a single pressure to turn into a sack.

A lot of credit has to go to his offensive line, but he’s been pressured 35 times and hasn’t been sacked once. For reference, Kyler Murray and Caleb Williams have been pressured 33 times each, and they’ve taken seven and five sacks, respectively.

Time to Throw: Jordan Love (2.40 Seconds)

Time to throw is very important for a quarterback. The quicker you are getting the ball out of your hands, the less likely you are to be put under pressure or get sacked, which, most of the time, means you’re going to complete more passes.

Over four weeks, Jordan Love has the quickest time to throw with an average of 2.4 seconds, but that’s mostly because of his offensive line, which has given him no time before he’s under pressure. Despite having the quickest time to throw in the league, Love has been sacked eight times in four games. That’s a sign that Green Bay’s offensive line is BAD.

Receiving Stats

Yards After Catch: Drake London (197)

We have a new leader in yards after the catch this week, and that’s Drake London, who has really come alive since Michael Penix Jr. returned to the field two weeks ago. It’s funny, you’d think a smaller receiver would lead the league in YAC, but instead it’s the 6-foot-4, 215-pounder.

Yards Per Route Run: Zay Flowers (6.29)

Ever since his wild Week 1 performance where he put up 150 yards in less than one half, Zay Flowers has led the league in yards per route run. The number is steadily dropping, but with 352 yards on 56 routes, he’s averaging well over six yards per route run. He’s currently over two YPRR above anyone else, with Jaxon Smith-Njigba sitting in second at 4.15.

Contested Catches: Nico Collins (9)

Nico Collins has always been one of the best contested catch threats in the league, and through four weeks, he sits at nine contested catches. This could change at any minute, though, with Garrett Wilson, Chris Olave, and Trey McBride with eight apiece. What makes this more impressive is Collins’ 100 percent catch rate on contested throws, while Wilson, Olave, and McBride sit under 89 percent.

First Downs Converted: CeeDee Lamb (28)

Touchdowns are the stat that everyone cares about for receivers, but if you can consistently get open and make plays beyond the sticks, you’re just as, if not more, valuable to your team than someone who catches 10+ touchdowns a year. Right now, CeeDee Lamb is leading the league with a whopping 28 first downs converted, which is three more than Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Chris Olave in second.

Rushing Stats

Yards After Contact: Bijan Robinson (401)

After three weeks of Kenneth Walker leading the league in yards after contact, Bijan Robinson is now the league leader with 401. After a massive performance in New Orleans, Robinson is now 34 yards ahead of Walker despite Walker’s big game against Las Vegas. I think there’s a case to be made that Robinson is the best player in the NFL.

Yards After Contact Per Rush: Bijan Robinson (4.72)

Robinson also overtook Walker in terms of yards after contact per rush with 4.72 to Walker’s 4.22. Considering Walker is averaging 6.2 yards per carry, that means he’s getting hit about one yard downfield on average. Just an insane stat for the most explosive offensive player in the league.

Missed Tackles Forced: Kenneth Walker (39)

If we’re talking about missed tackles forced, though, that honor goes to Kenneth Walker, who has an absurd 39 broken tackles through four weeks. Just to put this into perspective, Robinson led the league in MTF last year with 86. Walker is on pace for 165. Yeah, he’s having a historic season right now and looks absolutely unstoppable.

Breakaway Runs: James Cook & Kenneth Walker (8)

PFF defines a breakaway run as a designed rushing play that goes for 15+ yards, and through four weeks, James Cook and Kenneth Walker lead the NFL with six apiece, which is three more than Jahmyr Gibbs and Bijan Robinson in a tie for third. Despite having the same number of breakaway runs, Walker has 263 breakaway yards to Cook’s 163. That means that when they get a rush of 15+ yards, Walker is averaging 32.8 YPC while Cook is averaging 20.4.