Passer Rating vs EPA: Which Tells You More?
Why we rank quarterbacks by EPA per dropback, and what passer rating still gets right.
Read Article →2016 NFL 3rd-Down Conversion Rate Leaders
First downs or touchdowns on 3rd-down dropbacks.
The 2016 leaders: Tom Brady (49.3%), Aaron Rodgers (48.0%), Drew Brees (45.4%).
3rd-Down Conversion Rate
Minimum to rank: t3 db >= 4 × team games. 32 players.
| Rk | Player | Pos | Team | Att | Dropbacks | 3D Conv% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tom Brady | QB | NE | 432 | 458 | 49.3% |
| 2 | Aaron Rodgers | QB | GB | 610 | 686 | 48.0% |
| 3 | Drew Brees | QB | NO | 673 | 696 | 45.4% |
| 4 | Jameis Winston | QB | TB | 567 | 630 | 44.5% |
| 5 | Ben Roethlisberger | QB | PIT | 509 | 526 | 44.3% |
| 6 | Matthew Stafford | QB | DET | 594 | 653 | 42.3% |
| 7 | Matt Ryan | QB | ATL | 534 | 587 | 41.9% |
| 8 | Marcus Mariota | QB | TEN | 451 | 494 | 41.6% |
| 9 | Dak Prescott | QB | DAL | 459 | 509 | 40.8% |
| 10 | Kirk Cousins | QB | WAS | 606 | 635 | 40.5% |
| 11 | Andrew Luck | QB | IND | 545 | 624 | 40.1% |
| 12 | Philip Rivers | QB | LAC | 578 | 619 | 39.8% |
| 13 | Carson Palmer | QB | ARI | 597 | 639 | 38.7% |
| 14 | Tyrod Taylor | QB | BUF | 436 | 526 | 37.7% |
| 15 | Russell Wilson | QB | SEA | 546 | 619 | 37.4% |
| 16 | Brock Osweiler | QB | HOU | 510 | 550 | 37.4% |
| 17 | Andy Dalton | QB | CIN | 563 | 624 | 36.7% |
| 18 | Derek Carr | QB | LV | 560 | 591 | 36.5% |
| 19 | Sam Bradford | QB | MIN | 552 | 596 | 36.5% |
| 20 | Carson Wentz | QB | PHI | 607 | 657 | 36.2% |
| 21 | Blake Bortles | QB | JAX | 625 | 694 | 36.0% |
| 22 | Alex Smith | QB | KC | 489 | 537 | 35.9% |
| 23 | Trevor Siemian | QB | DEN | 486 | 530 | 35.8% |
| 24 | Joe Flacco | QB | BAL | 672 | 707 | 34.5% |
| 25 | Ryan Tannehill | QB | MIA | 389 | 430 | 34.4% |
| 26 | Eli Manning | QB | NYG | 598 | 622 | 34.1% |
| 27 | Cam Newton | QB | CAR | 510 | 554 | 33.7% |
| 28 | Case Keenum | QB | LA | 322 | 353 | 33.3% |
| 29 | Colin Kaepernick | QB | SF | 331 | 401 | 32.0% |
| 30 | Cody Kessler | QB | CLE | 195 | 218 | 31.8% |
| 31 | Ryan Fitzpatrick | QB | NYJ | 403 | 440 | 29.8% |
| 32 | Jared Goff | QB | LA | 205 | 233 | 18.8% |
More 2016 NFL Quarterback Leaderboards
EPA per Dropback ACE (Accuracy Compared to Expectation) ACE per 100 Attempts Expected Completion % Success Rate Total Passing EPA Total QB EPA (Passing + Rushing) First-Down Rate per Dropback Explosive Pass Rate Negative-Play Rate Win Probability Added EPA per Dropback, Excluding Garbage Time NFL Passer Rating Completion % Yards per Attempt Adjusted Net Yards per Attempt Adjusted Yards per Attempt Net Yards per Attempt Yards per Completion Touchdown % Interception % TD:INT Ratio Sack % Passing Yards per Game Pass Attempts per Game Passing Yards Passing Touchdowns Completions Pass Attempts Interceptions Thrown Sacks Taken Passing First Downs 20+ Yard Completions 40+ Yard Completions Longest Completion 300-Yard Passing Games 4-Touchdown Games Wins as Starter Average Depth of Target Deep Attempt Rate Deep Completion % YAC per Completion Share of Yards Through the Air Red Zone Touchdown Rate Clutch EPA per Dropback Clutch Passer Rating Two-Minute Drill EPA per Dropback Game-Winning Drives 4th-Quarter Comebacks Quarterback Rushing Yards Quarterback Rushing EPA Scrambles QB Sneak Conversion Rate Touchdowns Responsible For Total Yards (Passing + Rushing) Turnovers Turnover Rate per Play
Other seasons: 2026 · 2025 · 2024 · 2023 · 2022 · 2021 · 2020 · 2019 · 2018 · 2017 · 2016
QBS BLOG · PASSING QUESTIONS · MINDSET
All Posts →Understanding the Throw.
What the box score cannot tell you about the people behind the pass.
What CPOE Means, and How ACE Builds on It
Completion percentage over expected gives credit for difficult completions. Here is how ACE measures it.
Read Article →Why Sacks Belong Partly to the Quarterback
A sack is the rush, the line and the decision. Why our dropback stats count them.
Read Article →FROM THE A-GAME PODCAST
Listen to the Episode ↗10 Mind-Body Performance Recovery Tools Backed By Science
Learn the break down of ten mind-body recovery tools, each backed by science, including how and when to use them to perform at your peak.