Chris Olave (WR, NO) led the NFL in air yards in 2025 at 1,841. 527 players recorded air yards in 2025.
Air yards count the distance the ball travelled in the air on every target, caught or not. It separates a receiver who is genuinely being thrown downfield from one whose yards come after the catch, and it is the raw material behind target share's more useful cousins.
| Rank | Player | Pos | Team | Air Yards | Targets | Rec Yards | Games |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chris Olave | WR | NO | 1,841 | 156 | 1,163 | 16 |
| 2 | Jaxon Smith-Njigba | WR | SEA | 1,833 | 163 | 1,793 | 17 |
| 3 | Alec Pierce | WR | IND | 1,593 | 84 | 1,003 | 15 |
| 4 | Emeka Egbuka | WR | TB | 1,572 | 127 | 938 | 17 |
| 5 | Ja'Marr Chase | WR | CIN | 1,570 | 185 | 1,412 | 16 |
| 6 | Puka Nacua | WR | LA | 1,566 | 166 | 1,715 | 16 |
| 7 | George Pickens | WR | DAL | 1,547 | 137 | 1,429 | 17 |
| 8 | Courtland Sutton | WR | DEN | 1,542 | 124 | 1,017 | 17 |
| 9 | Nico Collins | WR | HOU | 1,529 | 120 | 1,117 | 15 |
| 10 | Michael Wilson | WR | ARI | 1,502 | 126 | 1,006 | 17 |
| 11 | Davante Adams | WR | LA | 1,444 | 114 | 789 | 14 |
| 12 | Justin Jefferson | WR | MIN | 1,438 | 141 | 1,048 | 17 |
| 13 | A.J. Brown | WR | PHI | 1,425 | 121 | 1,003 | 15 |
| 14 | Tetairoa McMillan | WR | CAR | 1,410 | 122 | 1,014 | 17 |
| 15 | CeeDee Lamb | WR | DAL | 1,403 | 117 | 1,077 | 13 |
| 16 | Amon-Ra St. Brown | WR | DET | 1,390 | 172 | 1,401 | 17 |
| 17 | DeVonta Smith | WR | PHI | 1,355 | 113 | 1,008 | 17 |
| 18 | Troy Franklin | WR | DEN | 1,321 | 104 | 709 | 17 |
| 19 | Brian Thomas Jr. | WR | JAX | 1,315 | 91 | 707 | 14 |
| 20 | Tee Higgins | WR | CIN | 1,314 | 98 | 846 | 15 |
| 21 | Jaylen Waddle | WR | MIA | 1,306 | 100 | 910 | 16 |
| 22 | Jameson Williams | WR | DET | 1,289 | 102 | 1,117 | 17 |
| 23 | Jerry Jeudy | WR | CLE | 1,288 | 106 | 602 | 17 |
| 24 | Rome Odunze | WR | CHI | 1,252 | 90 | 661 | 12 |
| 25 | Drake London | WR | ATL | 1,221 | 112 | 919 | 12 |
| 26 | Zay Flowers | WR | BAL | 1,204 | 118 | 1,211 | 17 |
| 27 | Parker Washington | WR | JAX | 1,187 | 95 | 847 | 16 |
| 28 | Wan'Dale Robinson | WR | NYG | 1,187 | 140 | 1,014 | 16 |
| 29 | Elic Ayomanor | WR | TEN | 1,126 | 89 | 515 | 16 |
| 30 | Trey McBride | TE | ARI | 1,126 | 169 | 1,239 | 17 |
| 31 | Adonai Mitchell | WR | NYJ | 1,102 | 74 | 453 | 16 |
| 32 | Romeo Doubs | WR | GB | 1,085 | 85 | 724 | 16 |
| 33 | Jordan Addison | WR | MIN | 1,083 | 79 | 610 | 14 |
| 34 | Rashid Shaheed | WR | SEA | 1,053 | 92 | 687 | 18 |
| 35 | Ladd McConkey | WR | LAC | 1,046 | 106 | 789 | 16 |
| 36 | DK Metcalf | WR | PIT | 1,044 | 99 | 850 | 15 |
| 37 | Keenan Allen | WR | LAC | 1,027 | 122 | 777 | 17 |
| 38 | Darnell Mooney | WR | ATL | 1,019 | 72 | 443 | 15 |
| 39 | Jakobi Meyers | WR | JAX | 1,008 | 110 | 835 | 16 |
| 40 | Tyquan Thornton | WR | KC | 995 | 37 | 438 | 12 |
| 41 | Quentin Johnston | WR | LAC | 989 | 84 | 735 | 13 |
| 42 | DJ Moore | WR | CHI | 988 | 85 | 682 | 17 |
| 43 | Christian Watson | WR | GB | 977 | 55 | 611 | 10 |
| 44 | Marvin Harrison Jr. | WR | ARI | 946 | 73 | 608 | 12 |
| 45 | Xavier Worthy | WR | KC | 944 | 73 | 532 | 14 |
| 46 | Tre Tucker | WR | LV | 935 | 92 | 696 | 17 |
| 47 | Michael Pittman | WR | IND | 907 | 111 | 784 | 17 |
| 48 | Jauan Jennings | WR | SF | 905 | 90 | 643 | 15 |
| 49 | Stefon Diggs | WR | NE | 871 | 102 | 1,013 | 17 |
| 50 | Kyle Pitts | TE | ATL | 869 | 118 | 928 | 17 |
Showing the top 50 of 527 qualified players. Narrow it down by position: wide receivers · tight ends · running backs.
Air Yards by position: wide receivers · tight ends · running backs
More 2025 leaderboards: Average Depth of Target leaders · Yards After Catch leaders · WOPR leaders · Air Yards Share leaders · all NFL stats
Chris Olave (WR, NO) led the NFL in air yards in 2025 at 1,841. Jaxon Smith-Njigba (WR, SEA) was next at 1,833.
Air yards count the distance the ball travelled in the air on every target, caught or not. It separates a receiver who is genuinely being thrown downfield from one whose yards come after the catch, and it is the raw material behind target share's more useful cousins.
527 players qualified for the 2025 air yards leaderboard. The table above lists the top 50.
Stats as of July 28, 2026. Data from nflverse (nflverse-data), licensed CC BY 4.0. Source: nflverse-data. License: CC-BY-4.0.