TE · Washington Commanders · #87

John Bates

TE2

College: Boise State
Height: 6'6"
Weight: 256 lb
Experience: 6th season

+ Compare Contract

Season

EPA / target

−0.16▼ 0.65 vs '25

22nd of 22 TEs

Catch rate

83.3%▲ 14.6 vs '25

4th of 22 TEs

Yards / target

4.5▼ 1.9 vs '25

22nd of 22 TEs

Target share

5.2%▼ 1.6 vs '25

22nd of 22 TEs

Receiving

27 yds−0.16 EPA/TGT

5 rec · 6 tgt · 0 td

Ranks compare against the 21 qualifying tight ends on the 2026 leaderboard plus Bates.

Week-by-week

EPA per target by game, dashed line = 2025 season mark

Where the value came from

Total EPA, 2026

Receiving−1.9

Rushing0.0

Net−1.9

Best game · Wk 3 vs SEA

1/1

Rec/Tgt

Rec yds

+0.8

Rec EPA

+0.76

EPA/target

9.0

Yds/rec

2026 game log

	Receiving									Rushing
Game	TargetsPasses thrown to the player.	ReceptionsCatches.	Receiving yardsReceiving yards.	Yards per receptionReceiving yards per catch.	Receiving touchdownsReceiving touchdowns.	Catch rateReceptions per target.	Average depth of targetAir yards per target.	Receiving EPAExpected points added on targets, including incompletions and interceptions.	EPA per targetExpected points added per target, including incompletions and interceptions.	CarriesRushing attempts.	Rushing yardsRushing yards.	Rushing touchdownsRushing touchdowns.
Wk 1 @ PHIL	3	2	13	6.5	0	66.7	2.0	−1.6	−0.23	0	0	0
Wk 2 @ DALL	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
Wk 3 vs SEAW	1	1	9	9.0	0	100.0	2.0	+0.8	+0.76	0	0	0
Wk 4 vs INDL	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
Wk 5 vs NYGT	1	1	1	1.0	0	100.0	0.0	−0.7	−0.69	0	0	0
Wk 6 @ SFL	1	1	4	4.0	0	100.0	1.0	−0.3	−0.34	0	0	0
Season	6	5	27	5.4	0	83.3	1.5	−1.9	−0.16	0	0	0

How he compares

2026 tight ends who qualify · dashed lines mark the group average

X axisY axis

Contract

signed 2025 with Commanders

$21Mover 3 years

Avg. per year: $7M
Guaranteed: $11.5M 55%
2026 cap hit: $5.8M 1.8% of the cap
Signed: 2025
Runs through: 2027

2025

2026 · now

2027

Year 2 of 3 ·

Career by season

Career rates are weighted by volume, not averaged across seasons

	Overall		Receiving									Rushing
Season	GamesGames played.	Total EPAExpected points added across dropbacks, runs and targets combined (each scramble counted once).	TargetsPasses thrown to the player.	ReceptionsCatches.	Receiving yardsReceiving yards.	Receiving touchdownsReceiving touchdowns.	Catch rateReceptions per target.	Yards per receptionReceiving yards per catch.	Yards per targetReceiving yards per target, including incompletions.	Target shareShare of the team's targets, averaged across games.	EPA per targetExpected points added per target, including incompletions and interceptions.	CarriesRushing attempts.	Rushing yardsRushing yards.	Rushing touchdownsRushing touchdowns.
2026	6	−1.9	6	5	27	0	83.3	5.4	4.5	5.2	−0.16	0	0	0
2025	15	+7.8	16	11	103	1	68.8	9.4	6.4	6.8	+0.49	0	0	0
2024	17	−0.7	13	8	84	0	61.5	10.5	6.5	3.2	−0.05	0	0	0
2023	17	−5.6	28	19	151	0	67.9	7.9	5.4	5.3	−0.20	0	0	0
2022	16	−2.9	22	14	108	1	63.6	7.7	4.9	7.6	−0.13	0	0	0
2021	17	+15.7	25	20	249	1	80.0	12.4	10.0	7.4	+0.63	0	0	0
Career	88	+12.6	110	77	722	3	70.0	9.4	6.6	5.8	+0.12	0	0	0