What Is Average Cushion?
Average Cushion measures the average distance in yards between the receiver and the nearest defender at the snap.
Average Cushion | NFL Advanced Stats
| Player | Team | Position | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jayden ReedInjured ReserveRoster status |  | WR | 8.0 | - | - | - | - | - | 8.0 |
| 2 | Bo Melton | | WR | 7.5 | - | 5.5 | 7.0 | - | 8.8 | 6.2 |
| 3 | Makai Lemon |  | WR | 6.6 | 6.4 | 6.7 | 6.6 | - | 6.7 | 6.4 |
| 4 | Brandin Cooks |  | WR | 6.5 | 7.0 | 6.4 | - | - | 8.7 | 5.2 |
| 5 | Rashee Rice |  | WR | 6.4 | 5.4 | - | - | - | 10.5 | 4.5 |
Connect your AI to statrankings
Already subscribed? Just sign in.
Who has the highest average cushion in the NFL in 2026?
Jayden Reed of Green Bay tops the 2026 NFL average cushion ranking at 8.0, through games played November 3, 2026. Next are Bo Melton of Green Bay second at 7.5 & Makai Lemon of Philadelphia third at 6.6. Reed's average puts him 0.5 cushion clear of second place & 2.7 ahead of the 25th-ranked player.
Dallas Goedert of Philadelphia is the highest-ranked tight end on the board at 6.1 cushion, eighth overall, & the third Philadelphia player inside the top ten. Next are Brandin Cooks of San Francisco fourth at 6.5, Rashee Rice of Kansas City fifth at 6.4, Isaac TeSlaa of Detroit sixth at 6.4, Darius Cooper of Philadelphia seventh at 6.2, Zach Ertz of Philadelphia ninth at 6.1 & Tez Johnson of Tampa Bay tenth at 6.1.
Darius Cooper of Philadelphia ranks seventh on the season at 6.2 but has led the league in average cushion over the last three weeks at 7.5. Next are Chimere Dike of Tennessee 11th at 5.8, Josh Downs of Indianapolis 12th at 5.8, Chris Godwin Jr. of Tampa Bay 13th at 5.8, Jonathan Mingo of Dallas 14th at 5.8, Jakobi Meyers of Jacksonville 15th at 5.7, Jaylin Noel of Houston 16th at 5.7 & Evan Engram of Denver 17th at 5.5.
Nine players sit inside 0.2 cushion of each other from 17th to 25th, the tightest stretch of the ranking. Next are Emeka Egbuka of Tampa Bay 18th at 5.4, Malik Nabers of the New York Giants 19th at 5.4, Malachi Fields of the New York Giants 20th at 5.4, Christian Watson of Green Bay 21st at 5.4, Rashid Shaheed of Seattle 22nd at 5.4, Deion Burks of Indianapolis 23rd at 5.4, Drake London of Atlanta 24th at 5.4 & Brian Thomas Jr. of Jacksonville 25th at 5.3. Green Bay, Indianapolis, Jacksonville, Philadelphia, Tampa Bay & the New York Giants are the only teams with two or more players in the top 25. Twenty-two of the 25 are wide receivers; the three tight ends are Goedert eighth, Ertz ninth & Engram 17th.
How this ranking is measured
Of the 259 NFL players ranked in the 2026 regular season, the top 25 are listed above. A minimum of 8 targets is applied. Average Cushion measures the average distance in yards between the receiver and the nearest defender at the snap. Figures are as of November 3, 2026 & are recalculated on StatRankings after each game's play-by-play is processed.
