In my last article I highlighted one of ESPN Analytics Receiver Tracking Metrics: YAC Score. Deebo Samuel has been among the best in the league at YAC Score since his rookie season. And at least one Year 2 breakout candidate looks like he might be on a similar trajectory.

But YAC Score isn’t the only metric ESPN tracks. In fact, one could say it’s not even the most important metric. Open Score is more correlated with things we care about — yards, fantasy points, yards per route run, and the like. It’s also more correlated with ESPN’s Overall Score. A look at the top overall seasons since 2017 reveals that everyone in the top 12 had an Open Score of at least 78.

For the most part, this list is what we would expect. Apart from Jakobi Meyers, this is a list of some of the best receivers in the league over the last seven years. And that’s by design: ESPN’s method for calculating the overall rating is to combine the three scores in a way that best correlates with metrics we already know to be valuable, including yards per route run and yards per target.

There are a few things to note about this top-12 list: First, these seasons are elite for different reasons. Whereas A.J. Brown was among the best at getting open in 2022, in 2023 he was among the best at the catch point. Yet in 2019, he excelled after the catch. Davante Adams and Meyers make the list in 2020 solely on their ability to get open, while Brandon Aiyuk’s 2023 season is at No. 3 largely thanks to his ability to make catches. The most well-rounded elite season is Justin Jefferson’s 2020 season, where he finished with a score of at least 69 in every category.

But the second thing to notice is that it’s difficult to have an elite overall season without at least being good at getting open. The season at No. 13, Nico Collins’ 2023 season, had an Open Score of 57 (still above average), which is the lowest Open Score of any season in the top 40. That’s because Open Score is the most important component of the overall rating. Here’s how Brian Burke describes the mixture of the three ratings:

For wide receivers and tight ends, Open Score accounts for roughly half of the overall score, while Catch Score accounts for a little over a quarter and YAC Score accounts for the remainder. We think these weights make logical sense, in that a receiver has to get open to have the chance to make a catch. He then has to catch the ball to gain additional yards. Without success in the early part of the sequence, he wouldn’t have many opportunities through the remainder of the process.

Because Open Score measures the beginning of the sequence that ultimately leads to production and fantasy points, it is the most crucial skill for receivers to be good at. No matter how good you are at catching the ball and gaining yards after the catch, it won’t matter unless you can get open enough that your quarterback throws the ball your way.

As with YAC Score, we tend to see many of the same names pop up again and again in Open Score. Diontae Johnson has four of the top-17 seasons in Open Score. A.J. Brown is at both No. 1 and No. 9. Adams and Stefon Diggs each have three seasons in the top 30. Antonio Brown, Michael Thomas, CeeDee Lamb, Tyreek Hill, and Keenan Allen each have two such seasons.

But the third thing to notice about the list of the top overall seasons is that Open Score by itself is never enough to get to the very top of the rankings. A.J. Brown’s season that ranked No. 1 in Open Score (2021) ranks at only No. 35 overall. Despite his ability to get open, Diontae Johnson has never had a season with an overall rating above 81 (in 2022 — also his best Open Score season). His second best Open Score season (2021) is tied at No. 219 in overall rating.

And yet, because Open Score tends to be somewhat sticky from one year to the next — at least more so than either YAC Score or (especially) Catch Score — we can often find some hidden gems who could ascend to the elite ranks of the position if they can maintain a high Open Score while adding in at least one of the other elements.

For example, in the year following A.J. Brown’s top-ranked Open Score season, his Open Score stayed at an elite level, but he was able to improve both his Catch Score and his YAC Score after moving from Tennessee to Philadelphia.

Diggs was already good in Minnesota, but his move to Buffalo revealed a talent level at the catch point we hadn’t seen before.

However, changing teams isn’t necessary. Aiyuk was well above average at getting open in 2022, but it was only when he added the elite catching ability that he put together a top season.

Likewise, Lamb’s 2022 was borderline elite when we consider his ability to get open. But he was the overall fantasy WR1 in 2023 after he added the Catch Score element.

Players who are good at getting open but struggle at the catch point are often able to improve their ability to make catches while still authoring elite or near-elite Open Score seasons. The combination of elite Open Scores and dominance either at the catch point or after the catch is what can lead to truly transcendent fantasy results.

5 Receivers Who Excel at Getting Open and Could Explode in 2024

All the players below showed some ability to get open at a higher-than average rate in recent years, and need only to add or rediscover other elements in their profiles to put up elite seasons. I present them here in order of draft cost.