Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 2 games
| Wk | Opp | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | L 21-37vs Massachusetts | 9 | 196 | 21.8 | 3 | 78 | Season-high 196 yds |
| Wk 2 | L 21-28@ Boston College | 8 | 137 | 17.1 | 2 | 60 | 2 TD catches |
| Total | 17 | 333 | 19.5 | 5 | 78 |
#8
KJ Duff
KJ Duff led the entire country in contested catches. At 6-6, he's a jump-ball most defensive backs simply can't reach -- and a projected first-round pick who chose to stay at Rutgers as its undisputed No. 1.
6′6″ · 225 lb · Riverhead, NY · St. Anthony's
CFB Index 85 · #19 of 485 WRsHigh confidenceNational watchReturning to Rutgers for 2026
CFB Index
A single number blending on-field production (an EPA-based value lane) with box-score output for this player's position.
0-100, scaled within each position's own cohort — not directly comparable across positions.
On production he ranks #19 of 485 WRs; on reputation he is on a national watch list. The gap between those two numbers is the story.
The numbers
333
receiving yards · 2026
17 catches · 5 TD · 19.6 per catch
2 games into 2026 so far
Career night9 rec · 196 yds · 3 TDvs Massachusetts (FBS) · L 21-37
Top 1% receiving yards game since 2021.
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
KJ Duff led the entire country in contested catches. At 6-6, he's a jump-ball most defensive backs simply can't reach -- and a projected first-round pick who chose to stay at Rutgers as its undisputed No. 1.
- Signed as a 4-star recruit to Rutgers in 2024.
- Named Preseason All-America in 2026.
Buzz vs Tape
Fans hotter than the country
His own fans read him warmer than the wider college football conversation does — a gap of 24.3 points in belief.
24.3own fans
0national conversation
Sheffield has certainly lived up to his hype so far. Great receiver. Hoping he can keep it going to improve his draft stock because he certainly knows how to run routes. KJ Duff is going to be a 1-3 round pick in another year or two as…
Also worth knowing:
In Their Words
112 windows · 2026 fan posts
rutgers×227.6yds×74.2ball×16.8
“i feel like if rutgers' offense just forced the ball to kj duff every down theyd probably be kinda decent”
reddit/CFB · fan post, verbatim
The story
At 6-6 and 225 pounds, Duff is a matchup problem by construction, and 2025 made it official: 60 catches, 1,084 yards, seven touchdowns, second-team All-Big Ten, and a nation-leading 22 contested catches -- the receiver who wins the throw nobody else can. PFF slots him inside its top 20 on the 2027 draft board, the kind of grade that usually leaves school. He stayed. The forward stakes are personal and programmatic: he's a single big year from the Rutgers receiving record and a strong season from cementing first-round status. For a receiver who already owns the contested-catch crown, 2026 is about adding the rest -- and being the player a Big Ten defense has to account for on every snap.
His career
He arrived as a blue-chip recruit and played like one.
The week the volume broke through — put up 241 yds at Purdue.Purdue · W 27-242025
Duff wins where size wins -- above the rim and through contact. The defining number is the one he led the nation in: 22 contested catches, the climb-the-ladder, box-out trait of a true jump-ball receiver at 6-6, 225. Our play-by-play frames the rest honestly: a good (97th-percentile) yards-per-catch and explosive rate, with a more modest catch rate (36th percentile) -- the natural cost of a target who lives on the hardest, most contested throws rather than the easy ones. He's not a separation-by-quickness slot; he's the back-shoulder, red-zone, win-the-50-50 weapon. For a quarterback, he's the answer to "what do I do on third-and-long" -- throw it up and let the big man go get it.
Written by our staff.
202411 games
- Signed with Rutgers4-star out of St. Anthony's
202512 games
- All-Big Tensecond
2026
- Preseason All-AmericaSecond Team
Career arc
HS
Recruit
★★★★
CFB
College
Rutgers
NFL
NFL Draft
—
Trophy case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
🥇
ALL-AMERICA
All-America honors (2026)
1 mentions across the selector pool
🎖
ALL-BIG TEN · 2ND TEAM
All-Big Ten 2nd team (2025)
Badges
- Honors Badge
- Program Benchmark
Coaching lineage · 2024–2026
1 coach2024–2026
Rutgers
Played his entire career under Greg Schiano.
2026 snapshot
Season context · Team result + system
3 seasons under Greg Schiano — 12-15 over that span.
2024Rutgers7-6HC: Greg Schiano · Run-leaning
2025Rutgers5-7HC: Greg Schiano · Run-leaning
2026Rutgers0-2HC: Greg Schiano · Balanced
Where this profile ranks vs the WR cohort
Box-score + play-by-play EPA percentiles
High confidence
Elite: yards / catch (90th percentile). Strength: epa / target (87th percentile).
Real play-by-play efficiency
Box-score rates (5)
Season trend
Last seasonThis season
EPA / target
96th → 87th percentile
Explosive rate
97th → 63rd percentile
Catch rate
36th → 44th percentile
TD rate
61st → 50th percentile
Yards / catch
97th → 90th percentile
Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season. Most bars are box-score rates; EPA / success-rate bars are computed from real play-by-play (offense only — no defensive EPA model exists yet).
Splits & context
Splits
Per-game splits
Through 2 games: 8.5 REC/g, 166 YDS/g, 19.5 YPR, 2.5 TD/g — splits start at 3 games.
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Greg Schiano
Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.
Awards
Player standing · 2026
National watch / fringe AA
In the All-America conversation, short of a selector's first team.
Recognition
Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
2026 outlook
In the mix to repeat All-Big Ten
Based on 2025: #4 of 61 Big Ten WRs
How the All-Big Ten estimate is computed
35% estimated, 95% confidence interval 31–38%. Base rate measured from players who finished at a comparable rank in their conference and came back the next season. It is an estimate from a small sample, not a forecast of this player.
Selector Grid · 2026
AP—
FWAA—
AFCA—
WCFF—
SN—
SI—
Career stats
Signature plays
Signature plays · top plays by |EPA|
The plays that mattered most
- Week 1 · Massachusetts · 4&13 · Q4 · EPA +7.34(07:09) No Huddle-Shotgun #12 D.Lonergan pass complete deep left to #8 K.Duff caught at UMASS45, for 78 yards to the UMASS00 TOUCHDOWN, clock 07:09, 1ST DOWN #29 D.Pizzaro kick attempt good (H: #21 R.McCann, LS: #58 M.O’Connor)
- Week 2 · Boston College · 1&10 · Q4 · EPA +4.76(06:26) No Huddle-Shotgun #10 A.Surace pass complete deep left to #8 K.Duff caught at BC 16, for 60 yards to the BC 00 TOUCHDOWN, clock 06:18, 1ST DOWN #29 D.Pizzaro kick attempt good (H: #21 R.McCann, LS: #58 M.O’Connor)
- Week 2 · Boston College · 4&3 · Q4 · EPA +2.83(01:59) No Huddle-Shotgun #10 A.Surace pass complete short left to #8 K.Duff caught at BC 49, for 8 yards to the BC 47 (#14 A.Cunningham), 1ST DOWN
- Week 2 · Boston College · 3&7 · Q3 · EPA +2.79(11:37) No Huddle-Shotgun #10 A.Surace pass complete short middle to #8 K.Duff caught at BC 44, for 17 yards to the BC 34 (#7 C.Davis), 1ST DOWN
- Week 1 · Massachusetts · 2&12 · Q4 · EPA +2.76(02:24) No Huddle-Shotgun #10 A.Surace pass complete deep right to #8 K.Duff caught at UMASS15, for 36 yards to the UMASS15 (#7 T.Magee), out of bounds, 1ST DOWN, PENALTY UMASS Pass Interference declined
- Week 1 · Massachusetts · 3&4 · Q1 · EPA +2.70(08:20) No Huddle-Shotgun #12 D.Lonergan pass complete short right to #8 K.Duff caught at UMASS00, for 4 yards to the UMASS00 TOUCHDOWN, clock 08:20 #29 D.Pizzaro kick attempt good (H: #21 R.McCann, LS: #58 M.O’Connor)
- Week 1 · Massachusetts · 3&1 · Q4 · EPA +2.50(01:57) No Huddle-Shotgun #10 A.Surace pass complete short right to #8 K.Duff caught at UMASS00, for 6 yards to the UMASS00 TOUCHDOWN, clock 01:57, 1ST DOWN #29 D.Pizzaro kick attempt good (H: #21 R.McCann, LS: #58 M.O’Connor)
- Week 1 · Massachusetts · 2&10 · Q3 · EPA +2.41(08:09) No Huddle-Shotgun #12 D.Lonergan pass complete short middle to #8 K.Duff caught at RU35, for 19 yards to the RU44 (#38 Z.Daniel), 1ST DOWN
- Week 1 · Massachusetts · 2&10 · Q3 · EPA +2.41(00:49) No Huddle-Shotgun #12 D.Lonergan pass complete short middle to #8 K.Duff caught at RU45, for 15 yards to the UMASS45 (#22 J.Harmon), 1ST DOWN
- Week 2 · Boston College · 2&4 · Q3 · EPA +2.33(02:40) No Huddle-Shotgun #10 A.Surace pass complete short left to #8 K.Duff caught at BC 02, for 4 yards to the BC 00 TOUCHDOWN, clock 02:37 #29 D.Pizzaro kick attempt good (H: #21 R.McCann, LS: #58 M.O’Connor)
Game log
How he plays
Play style
Duff wins where size wins -- above the rim and through contact. The defining number is the one he led the nation in: 22 contested catches, the climb-the-ladder, box-out trait of a true jump-ball receiver at 6-6, 225. Our play-by-play frames the rest honestly: a good (97th-percentile) yards-per-catch and explosive rate, with a more modest catch rate (36th percentile) -- the natural cost of a target who lives on the hardest, most contested throws rather than the easy ones. He's not a separation-by-quickness slot; he's the back-shoulder, red-zone, win-the-50-50 weapon. For a quarterback, he's the answer to "what do I do on third-and-long" -- throw it up and let the big man go get it.
Our classifier reads him the same way: beats you over the top.
2026 Outlook
Rutgers
2026 Depth chart
Projected starter
Wide receiver · Rutgers
Returning around him
- 44% of 2024 offensive production back (Moderate turnover)
- 1 Rutgers player drafted to NFL
- Transfer portal: +0 net (15 in / 15 out)
2026 Award watch
No preseason watch lists yet (most drop June 15 – July 15)
Rutgers · Last season: 5-7 · Talent rank #48 · 2026 recruiting class #36
DNA match
Player DNA
Deep Threat
Stretches the field vertically. Every snap is a potential big play.
WR
His 2026 production profile sits closest to Reed Harris’s 2026 season.
65%match
Matches Reed on
Total EPA (college ability)
Height
Differs from Reed on
Class year (lower)
Reception volume (higher)
Yards / reception (lower)
Through 3 college seasons, his career arc tracks closest to Caleb Chapman’s path through Incarnate Word.
Matches Caleb on
Yards per reception
Recruiting rating
Height
As a junior, his production profile tracks closest to Cameron Latu's junior season at Alabama (2021).
72%match
NFL Rd 3 · Pk 38
Matches Cameron on
Total EPA (college ability)
Height
Reception volume
Differs from Cameron on
Class year (lower)
Weight (lower)
Player DNA
Players who play like KJ Duff
Background
2026 Walter Camp Player of Year Watch List 2026 Biletnikoff Award Watch List 2026 Big Ten Preseason Honors List 2025-26 Bauer Athlete of the Year 2025-26 Athletic Director’s Excellence Award 2025 Honorable Mention All-America (Phil Steele) 2025 Second Team All-Big Ten (Coaches, Media, Associated...
The receiver room · Rutgers
- #8KJ Duff1,084 receiving yards · 2025
- #2Ben Black119 receiving yards · 2025
- #80Michael Thomas III25 receiving yards · 2025
- #5Vernon Allen III18 receiving yards · 2025
- #83Dino Kaliakmanis9 receiving yards · 2025
10 more on the roster · Rutgers team page
Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology