Yards after catch
also: YAC
Yards a receiver gains once the ball is in his hands, as opposed to the yards the throw travelled.
YAC = yards gained on the play - air yardsEvery completion splits into two parts: the distance the ball travelled past the line of scrimmage, and everything the receiver did afterwards. Air yards belong mostly to the quarterback and the play call; YAC belongs mostly to the receiver and the coverage that missed.
The split matters because the two have very different year-to-year stability. A receiver's air yards are a function of how his offence uses him and can change completely with a new coordinator. His YAC per reception is far more his own, which is why it is the more useful of the two when projecting a player into a different scheme.
It is also how a screen-heavy offence and a vertical one end up with similar receiving yards for entirely different reasons, and why receiving yards alone tells you very little about either.
Reading high YAC as a passing offence working. A team forced into short throws accumulates YAC while gaining less per attempt than one throwing past the sticks; check EPA per play before deciding which it is.
Where to get it
Related
Yards after catch from the API
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