2026
2026 season · WR · #13 · 5th season
John Metchie III
Age 26 · 5'11" · 204 lb · Alabama · Pick 44 overall (2022). Listed WR3 on the 3WR 1TE depth chart. Snap share 38% across 6 games.
- How goodMetchie III's +2.8 EPA is 75th of 99 wide receivers.
- Where it comes fromThe biggest share comes after the catch (+7.3, 70th percentile per target).
- Fantasy2.9 standard points a game, WR90 of 171.3.9 half-PPR points a game, WR88 of 171.4.9 PPR points a game, WR85 of 171.
- How he's usedJohn rarely goes deep: 0% of his targets travel 20 yards or more, against 18% for the league's receivers.
- LatelyTargets are steady: 3.3 a game over his last three against 3.3 for the season.
- This weekA tough matchup: the Broncos rank 5th vs WR, allowing +0.08 EPA per target to wide receivers.
How good is hehis line against the league at his position
| Stat | Value | Rank | League | Pctl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Target shareof team targets | 9% | 90th of 99 | 10th | |
| Depth of targetair yards per target | 7.2 | 87th of 99 | 12th | |
| After the catchyards per reception | 3.3 | 66th of 99 | 34th | |
| Catch ratereceptions per target | 60% | 59th of 99 | 40th | |
| EPA per target | +0.14 | 70th of 99 | 30th |
| Stat | Value | Rank | League | Pctl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First downsper target | 35% | 65th of 99 | 34th | |
| Drop ratedrops per target, lower is better | 5% | 62nd of 99 | 37th | |
| Yards per game | 19.0 | 90th of 99 | 10th | |
| Success rate | 40% | T-83rd of 99 | 15th | |
| Total EPA | +2.8 | 75th of 99 | 25th |
How this is measured
Each bar is the league at his position; the marker is him. Right is better, the dashed line is the median. Ranks are out of the qualifying pool, ties shown as T-, and move every week as the pool changes.
Metchie scores 2.9 standard points a game, WR90 of 171 WRs with enough games. Most weeks land between 1.4 and 3.7; 0 boom weeks (12+) and 5 busts (under 5). Next up, in Week 9, the Broncos allow the 5th-fewest standard points to WRs, 16.8 a game.
Metchie scores 3.9 half-PPR points a game, WR88 of 171 WRs with enough games. Most weeks land between 2.9 and 5.2; 0 boom weeks (16+) and 5 busts (under 6.5). Next up, in Week 9, the Broncos allow the 5th-fewest half-PPR points to WRs, 22.1 a game.
Metchie scores 4.9 PPR points a game, WR85 of 171 WRs with enough games. Most weeks land between 4.0 and 6.7; 0 boom weeks (20+) and 5 busts (under 8). Next up, in Week 9, the Broncos allow the 7th-fewest PPR points to WRs, 27.5 a game.
How this is measured
Fantasy points are nflverse's standard and full-PPR scoring (6 points for a rushing or receiving touchdown, 4 for a passing touchdown, minus 2 for an interception or a lost fumble); half PPR is the average of the two. Ranks are points a game among players at his position with at least half the most games played. Most weeks is his 20th to 80th percentile game. Bars are green on a boom week and red on a bust; the dashed line is the starter line, the points a game of the WR24 in a 12-team league. The format you pick is remembered on this device.
How he's usedhis fingerprint, where the ball finds him and when
John rarely goes deep: 0% of his targets travel 20 yards or more, against 18% for the league's receivers. He rarely moves before the snap: 29% of his targets come with motion (league 49%). His share of the team's targets is 8%: on third down it holds at 11%; inside the 20 it holds at 8%. He works the middle of the field: 35% of his targets come between the numbers (league 21%).
How this is measured
Every trait is a share of his own targets, so volume does not move it. The marker is him among the league's qualifying wide receivers; the dashed line is the median. Styles are not grades: a high or low percentile is a description, not a verdict. Play action, screen, RPO, motion and blitz flags come from FTN charting and read low in a week it has not published.
Metchie III's +2.8 EPA is 75th of 99 wide receivers. The biggest share comes after the catch (+7.3, 70th percentile per target). Interceptions cost him more than most (-5.0, 16th percentile).
career -0.05 over 2023–2025 · the best of his 4 seasons so far
How this is measured
Every target this season, split by what happened. Catches divide at the catch: the yards in the air and what came after. The percentile is him among the qualifying wide receivers, higher is better, so a cost smaller than most ranks high. The parts add up to the totals above; the career strip counts seasons with at least 15 targets.
He is targeted short left 1.6× as often as the league (30% of his targets against 18%) but averages -0.21 EPA a target there.
How this is measured
Every target with a charted depth and direction this season; sacks and throws with no charted direction are left out. Left and right are as the offense sees the field. Cells with fewer than three targets show no EPA.
On the field
By depth of target
Who he works withthe connection, and the rest of the huddle
By depth
Week by weekthe shape of his season, the game log and the defenses behind it
The game
vs BroncosBank of America Stadium
DEN −3 · O/U 43.5
His history
First meeting this season
His status
A tough matchup: the Broncos rank 5th vs WR, allowing +0.08 EPA per target to wide receivers. He has averaged 17 yards a game against top-10 defenses this season.
| Wk | Opponent | Defense | Snap | Tgt | Rec | Yds | TD | EPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | vs CHI L 37-59Did not play | |||||||
| 2 | at ATL W 34-319th D | 19th vs WR | 11% | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | |
| 3 | at CLE L 18-2116th D | 16th vs WR | 56% | 5 | 2 | 19 | 1 | +1.5 |
| 4 | vs DET W 32-2624th D | 24th vs WR | 37% | 5 | 3 | 37 | +5.2 | |
| 5 | Bye week | |||||||
| 6 | at PHI W 25-1421st D | 21st vs WR | 34% | 3 | 2 | 24 | +0.6 | |
| 7 | vs TB L 13-431st D | 1st vs WR | 46% | 4 | 2 | 20 | -3.8 | |
| 8 | at GB L 19-274th D | 4th vs WR | 45% | 3 | 3 | 14 | -0.7 | |
| 9 | vs DENSun Nov 8 · next up | |||||||
| 10 | at NOSun Nov 15 | |||||||
| 11 | vs BALSun Nov 22 | |||||||
| 12 | at TBMon Nov 30 | |||||||
| 13 | at MINSun Dec 6 | |||||||
| 14 | vs NOSun Dec 13 | |||||||
| 15 | vs CINSun Dec 20 | |||||||
| 16 | at PITSun Dec 27 | |||||||
| 17 | vs SEASun Jan 3 | |||||||
| 18 | vs ATLSun Jan 10 | |||||||
| 6 games | 38% | 20 | 12 | 114 | 1 | +2.8 |
| Wk | Opponent | Defense | Tgt share | Air share | aDOT | YAC | EPA/tgt | 1D | Drops |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | vs CHI L 37-59Did not play | ||||||||
| 2 | at ATL W 34-319th D | 19th vs WR | 0% | 0% | - | 0 | - | 0 | |
| 3 | at CLE L 18-2116th D | 16th vs WR | 12% | 9% | 7.8 | 0 | +0.31 | 2 | |
| 4 | vs DET W 32-2624th D | 24th vs WR | 13% | 12% | 8.4 | 15 | +1.03 | 3 | |
| 5 | Bye week | ||||||||
| 6 | at PHI W 25-1421st D | 21st vs WR | 9% | 8% | 9.3 | 15 | +0.20 | 1 | 1 |
| 7 | vs TB L 13-431st D | 1st vs WR | 14% | 10% | 5.3 | 9 | -0.96 | 1 | |
| 8 | at GB L 19-274th D | 4th vs WR | 9% | 8% | 4.7 | 0 | -0.23 | 0 | |
| 9 | vs DENSun Nov 8 · next up | ||||||||
| 10 | at NOSun Nov 15 | ||||||||
| 11 | vs BALSun Nov 22 | ||||||||
| 12 | at TBMon Nov 30 | ||||||||
| 13 | at MINSun Dec 6 | ||||||||
| 14 | vs NOSun Dec 13 | ||||||||
| 15 | vs CINSun Dec 20 | ||||||||
| 16 | at PITSun Dec 27 | ||||||||
| 17 | vs SEASun Jan 3 | ||||||||
| 18 | vs ATLSun Jan 10 | ||||||||
| 6 games | 9% | 8% | 7.2 | 39 | +0.14 | 7 | 1 |
| Wk | Opponent | Defense | Rec | Yds | Y/R | TD | 20+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | vs CHI L 37-59Did not play | ||||||
| 2 | at ATL W 34-319th D | 19th vs WR | 0 | 0 | - | ||
| 3 | at CLE L 18-2116th D | 16th vs WR | 2 | 19 | 9.5 | 1 | |
| 4 | vs DET W 32-2624th D | 24th vs WR | 3 | 37 | 12.3 | ||
| 5 | Bye week | ||||||
| 6 | at PHI W 25-1421st D | 21st vs WR | 2 | 24 | 12.0 | ||
| 7 | vs TB L 13-431st D | 1st vs WR | 2 | 20 | 10.0 | ||
| 8 | at GB L 19-274th D | 4th vs WR | 3 | 14 | 4.7 | ||
| 9 | vs DENSun Nov 8 · next up | ||||||
| 10 | at NOSun Nov 15 | ||||||
| 11 | vs BALSun Nov 22 | ||||||
| 12 | at TBMon Nov 30 | ||||||
| 13 | at MINSun Dec 6 | ||||||
| 14 | vs NOSun Dec 13 | ||||||
| 15 | vs CINSun Dec 20 | ||||||
| 16 | at PITSun Dec 27 | ||||||
| 17 | vs SEASun Jan 3 | ||||||
| 18 | vs ATLSun Jan 10 | ||||||
| 6 games | 12 | 114 | 9.5 | 1 | 0 |
Targets are steady: 3.3 a game over his last three against 3.3 for the season. 6 straight games below a starter's median in rec yards. EPA / target is falling too: -0.39 over the last three.
How this is measured
Bars are his week. The shaded band is the league's middle half at his position, every qualifying player-game this season, and the dashed line is its median. The solid line is his trailing three games. An × on the baseline is a game his team played without him; a dotted tick is the bye.
He has faced the 8th-toughest slate vs WR: his opponents rank 14.2 of 32 on average (league middle 16.4). Ahead: 5 of his next 10 are top-10 vs WR and 1 is bottom-10, starting with the Broncos (5th) in Week 9.
The slate · played solid, ahead dashed
His line by defense faced
| Defenses | G | Tgt/g | Yds/g | EPA/tgt |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ranked 1 to 10Top-10 defenses | 2 | 3.5 | 17 | -0.65 |
| 11 to 22Middle | 3 | 2.7 | 14 | +0.27 |
| 23 to 32Bottom-10 | 1 | 5.0 | 37 | +1.03 |
| All games | 6 | 3.3 | 19 | +0.14 |
Yards against the rank of the defense
His production barely moves with the opponent (r = 0.27); it has traveled.
Careerseason by season, back to his rookie year
His best year was 2025, 274 receiving yards in 13 games with NYJ. This season's 19.0 a game puts him on pace for 323 over 17, a career high.
| Season | Team | G | Tgt | Rec | Yds | TD | Y/R | Yds/g | EPA/tgt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | HOU | 14 | 30 | 16 | 158 | 0 | 9.9 | 11.3 | -0.20 |
| 2024 | HOU | 10 | 37 | 24 | 254 | 1 | 10.6 | 25.4 | +0.08 |
| 2025 | NYJ | 13 | 48 | 33 | 274 | 2 | 8.3 | 21.1 | -0.05 |
| 2026 | CAR | 6 | 20 | 12 | 114 | 1 | 9.5 | 19.0 | +0.14 |
| Career | 4 tm | 43 | 135 | 85 | 800 | 4 | 9.4 | 18.6 | -0.02 |
How this is measured
Regular season only, from nflverse weekly stats back to 1999. This season is partial and drawn hollow; the pace is his per-game rate over 17 games. Bold cells are career highs.
Intel & playsthe report, his best snaps, his teammates
- Depth chart
- WR3 · 3WR 1TE
- Injury report
- clean
- Red zone touches
- …
- Third down
- …
- Explosive plays
- …
- Drops
- 1 on 20 targets
- Broken tackles
- 0
- Passer rating when targeted
- 75.2
- Play action
- …
- Contested
- …
| Player | Touches | Yds | EPA |
|---|---|---|---|
 Chuba HubbardRB | 144 | 690 · 7 TD | +19.6 |
 Tetairoa McMillanWR | 65 | 569 · 2 TD | +22.7 |
 Jalen CokerWR | 44 | 364 · 3 TD | +8.5 |
 Darren WallerTE | 25 | 209 · 3 TD | +8.6 |
 Tommy TrembleTE | 24 | 155 · 2 TD | +4.3 |
 AJ DillonRB | 19 | 46 | -11.0 |
 Mitchell EvansTE | 13 | 128 | +5.9 |
 Jonathon BrooksRB | 12 | 73 | -2.4 |