3 Surprising Stat Leaders In The NFL

Every NFL season there are always some surprising stat leaders that pop up. While there are always some staples amongst the leaders, there are always some surprises. As I poured over the season stats, here are the three most surprising.

Surprising Stat Leaders In The NFL

A quick note before I get to the list. Not all of these are the leaders but all of them are at least top five in the respective stat. I could get to some very obscure stats in order to get some surprising leaders but that defeats the spirit of the article. Onto the list!

Sam Howell Leads The League In Passing Yards

You read that heading right. The Washington Commanders quarterback leads the league in passing yards through 11 weeks. His 3,039 yards are just ahead of the second-place person C.J Stroud who could also qualify for this article. Some of this is due to the Commanders playing from behind a lot of the time and therefore needing to pass more. However, the Panthers, Bears, Cardinals, Jets, and Patriots are playing from behind a lot and their quarterbacks are nowhere near the top. It also helps that Howell has a great receiving room that helps get yards after the catch. This was definitely one of the most surprising stat leaders in the NFL this season.

Danielle Hunter Amongst Sack Leaders

Throughout the year, analysts have raved about Myles Garrett, T.J. Watt, and Micah Parsons. It isn’t unwarranted. Those players are great and are having great seasons. It seems that no one is talking about Hunter in the same way. His 12 sacks on the season are one behind Garrett for the league lead. He has more sacks than Watt and Parsons currently. While Hunter has not had as many of the wow plays, he has been a huge part of the Vikings’ resurgence in the middle of the season.

What baffles me is that Hunter is rarely ever given consideration for the Defensive Player of the Year. Do I think he should be guaranteed to win it? No, not at all. However, he should at least be mentioned among the leaders. There is a very real chance that Hunter will end the season with close to 20 sacks and yet everyone will continue to focus on the big three of Garrett, Watt, and Parsons. I’m here to give Hunter his flowers. He has had a great season.

Romeo Doubs Hauling In Touchdowns

This was another name that I did not expect to see in the surprising stat leaders in the NFL but here we are. Tyreek Hill leads the league in touchdowns with nine and Courtland Sutton is right behind him with eight. Sitting at seven are the following players: Jordan Addison, Keenan Allen, Stefon Diggs, Mike Evans, and Romeo Doubs. That is some good company to keep for Doubs. First-year starter Jordan Love is clearly looking for Doubs in the red zone and it is translating into touchdowns. While he only has 396 receiving yards on the season, his catches are turning into points.

It will be interesting to see if he is able to keep this up. The Packers’ offense has looked better but the presence of Jayden Reed, Dontayvion Wicks, and Christian Watson makes for a lot of competition for catches. Still, Love looks for Doubs in the red zone. If the offense continues to improve, don’t be surprised if Doubs ends the year with double-digit touchdowns.

Those are three surprising stat leaders in the NFL so far. Will these players continue to play at this level?