---
slug: "true-completion-percentage"
title: True Completion Percentage
depth_tier: entry
side: OFFENSE
category: Analytics
source_id: "ANA-0016"
created: 2026-04-19
updated: 2026-04-19
canonical: https://learningfootball.xyz/terms/true-completion-percentage
aliases:
  - "true completion %"
  - adjusted completion percentage
  - catchable ball percentage
---
# True Completion Percentage

## Short Definition

Completion percentage adjusted by removing drops, throwaways, and batted balls—isolating quarterback accuracy from outcomes outside their control.

## Definition

True completion percentage adjusts raw completion percentage by removing passes that are considered outside the quarterback's control—drops by receivers, passes thrown away intentionally to avoid a sack, passes batted at the line, and incompletions caused by receiver route errors or pass interference. The result is a completion rate that reflects only what the quarterback actually threw accurately, stripped of noise from team and situational factors.

Raw completion percentage is distorted by too many variables to be a clean quarterback accuracy metric. A quarterback playing with receivers who drop balls regularly will appear less accurate than one with elite hands behind him. A quarterback who frequently throws the ball away under pressure avoids interceptions but depresses his completion percentage. True completion percentage attempts to neutralize these distortions.

Different analysts and data providers calculate true completion percentage with slightly different adjustments—some include only drops, others include batted balls and throwaways, and the most rigorous versions also remove passes where the quarterback had no catchable option due to coverage. This methodological variation means true completion percentage numbers from different sources are not always directly comparable.

When combined with air yards, true completion percentage becomes particularly powerful. A quarterback completing 78% of his throws on an adjusted basis at 10 average air yards is demonstrating accuracy on deep and intermediate routes—something raw completion percentage cannot confirm because it doesn't account for depth. The two metrics together answer the question raw statistics cannot: is this quarterback accurately completing difficult throws?

## Example

"His raw completion percentage is 61%—looks average. But remove the 8 drops and 4 throwaways, and his true completion percentage is 74%. The ball placement is elite. The hands around him aren't."

## Common Confusion

True completion percentage removes dropped passes from the denominator—it does not add them as completions. A quarterback who throws 30 catchable balls and sees 5 dropped goes from 25/30 (83%) to 25/25 (100%) true completion percentage only if the other 5 were caught. Drops are removed from the denominator entirely; incompletions that were uncatchable are also removed. The metric isolates what the quarterback controlled.

## Related

- cpoe
- passer-rating
- air-yards
- qbr
- epa-expected-points-added

---
Source: https://learningfootball.xyz/terms/true-completion-percentage