There has been much hullabaloo this offseason about the New York Giants’ receiving corps. Many do not believe that a team can succeed without a true No. 1 receiver. Others, like many of us at Big Blue View, see the potential for a very strong group, headlined by Darren Waller as a receiving tight end.
However, less discussed is the impact of a team’s receivers on the running game. The assumption is that if the opposing team has an elite quarterback, that is what forces defenses to play looser, invariably opening up space for the running backs. However, statistically, it is often the receivers and not necessarily the quarterback who lighten the box.
In this way, the Giants’ receivers can actually impact their offense far more than just in the passing game.
Unsurprisingly, NFL teams run more effectively against non-loaded boxes than loaded ones. Here are the averages from 2022 according to NFL Next Gen Stats, which defines a loaded box as any play in which there are more defenders than blockers in the box (as opposed to the traditional definition of eight or more defenders in the box).
