Top 10 Receivers

Below is my list of the Top 10 greatest receivers in the history of the NFL. The list is based on what I've seen, heard and read since watching football over 20 years ago. Feel free to agree or disagree in the comments section.

NOTE: The list goes down in order to the #1 wide receiver of all time.

10. Steve Largent
Largent did not have a lot of physical skills, but he ran routes better than perhaps any other player in league history and had incredible hands. Largent was thought to be too small for the NFL and was almost cut in his rookie season before being traded to Seattle at the end of the 1976 preseason. Largent went on to become one of the most productive receivers in the history of pro football, retiring as the all-time leader in receptions (819), receiving yards (13,089) and receiving touchdowns (100). Named to the NFL’s All-Decade Team of the 1980’s, Largent is one of just seven players to catch at least 100 touchdown passes in a career and went over 1,000 yards eight times, a league record at the time of his retirement. The sure-handed Largent caught at least one pass in 177 consecutive games at one point in his 14-year career, a NFL record that was later broken by several players, including Tim Brown and Jerry Rice. Largent played on many average Seahawk teams and only appeared in seven post-season games, but did fairly well with a pair of 100-yard games and four touchdowns.

9. Tim Brown
Brown played 17 seasons in the NFL and put up some great numbers, currently ranking second in receiving yards (14,934), third in receptions (1,094) and like Steve Largent one of only seven players with 100+ touchdown catches. Brown might have put up even better receiving stats, but was used primarily to return punts and kickoffs early in his career. The former Heisman Trophy winner was in fact a great on punt and kickoff returns, leading the league in kickoff yardage as a rookie and in punt yardage in 1994 and is fifth all time in punt yardage with 3,320 yards in his career. Brown went over 1,000 yards nine times in his career, tied for second in league history, and is tied for third with 11 seasons of at least 50 receptions. The nine-time Pro Bowler never truly dominated, although he led the league in receptions in 1997 (104) and finished second that season in receiving yards (1,408). Despite playing in three AFC Championship Games and a Super Bowl, Brown was not much of a factor in those four games, totaling just 17 receptions for 147 yards with no touchdowns. Brown only scored three times in 12 career post-season games, but was a poster boy for consistency during the regular season (caught at least one pass in 179 straight games at one point in his career) and that makes him worthy of this list.

8. Lance Allworth
Allworth dominated the American Football League (AFL) in the 1960’s and was the first player from that league to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Nicknamed “Bambi” for his speed and grace, Allworth posted seven 1,000-yard seasons in his 11-year career and was named All-AFL seven times. Allworth achieved a rarity for wide receivers in 1965 when he won the triple crown of receiving, recording 69 catches for 1,602 yards (23.2 average) and 14 touchdowns. Allworth went over 200 yards receiving in a game five times in his career, an impressive feat that has never been topped in NFL history, not even by the explosive Jerry Rice. Traded to the Cowboys towards the end of his career, Allworth helped Dallas win a championship in 1971 and caught a touchdown pass in Super Bowl VI. “Bambi” averaged a spectacular 18.9 yards per catch over his career and is tied for 11th all time with 85 receiving touchdowns, but more remarkable is the fact that Allworth did not play in today’s modern era of exaggerated passing numbers and still averaged 75.5 receiving yards per game (seventh all time).

7. Terrell Owens
Owens has the resume to be higher on this list, but he’s never won a championship and his on and off the field antics somewhat take away from his accomplishments. In terms of physical talent, Owens is one of the most gifted receivers in the history of the NFL. Owens is moving in on Cris Carter for second on the all time list for touchdown receptions in a career with 129 scores. Three times in his 12-year career has Owens led the league in touchdown catches with his best season coming in 2001 when he grabbed 16 scores for the 49ers. Ironically, the best game of Owens’ career happened in Jerry Rice’s final home game in San Francisco and it was a record-breaking performance. In that 2000 game, a 17-0 victory over Chicago, Owens hauled in a single-game record 20 passes and finished with a career-high 283 yards. Owens is 10th all time in receiving yards with 13,070, but barring injury should move into the Top Five by the end of 2008 and will probably join the elite 1,000-reception club in around a season and a half. Owens is 34-years old, but still remains an explosive player, although he has never had great hands and has really struggled with drops over the last few seasons.

6. Michael Irvin
Irvin’s nickname, “The Playmaker” was appropriate, especially in the post-season where is he is second all-time in receptions (86), receiving yards (1,315) and 100-yard games (6) behind only the great Jerry Rice. Irvin caught eight career touchdowns in the playoffs and grabbed 12 passes against San Francisco in the NFC Championship Game in 1994, tied for the second most ever in a single post-season game. “The Playmaker” was great in the Super Bowl too, snagging six passes for 114 yards with a pair of touchdowns in a win over Buffalo in Super Bowl XXVII and finishing with 16 receptions for 255 yards in three Super Bowl appearances. A member of the NFL’s All-Decade Team of the 1990’s, Irvin was a master of the 100-yard game with 47 in just 159 career games. The flamboyant Irvin holds the NFL record for most 100-yard games in a season (11) and is tied with Charley Hennigan for the most consecutive games hitting the century mark (7). Irvin was never a huge touchdown scorer, but the Cowboys ran the ball brilliantly inside the red zone with Emmitt Smith and Troy Aikman threw 20+ touchdown passes in a season just once. Irvin did manage to catch 65 touchdown passes in his career, including 10 in 1995 – the same season in which he had a career-high 111 receptions for 1,603 yards.

5. Cris Carter
Carter was one of the most graceful and acrobatic receivers the game has ever seen. Not blessed with great speed, Carter ran precise routes and used his size and leaping ability to outmuscle defensive backs. Carter finished his career with 1,101 receptions and scored 130 touchdowns, trailing just Jerry Rice in both categories on the NFL’s all-time list. Carter’s best two years came in 1994 and 1995 when he caught 122 passes each season (single season record in 1994 until Herman Moore caught 123 in 1995) and scored a combined 24 touchdowns. Carter was a touchdown machine between 1995 and 1999 when he recorded 65 scores, leading the league in touchdown receptions three times over that five-year span. Although Carter never won a Super Bowl, he was a member of one of the greatest offenses in league history – the 1998 Minnesota Vikings. During that season Minnesota scored a league-record 556 points and Carter was a huge part with 78 receptions and 12 touchdowns. The Vikings were upset in the NFC Title Game, missing a chance to play the defending champion Denver Broncos in what might have been one of the most exciting Super Bowls ever. Named to the NFL’s All-Decade Team of the 1990’s, Carter was very good in the playoffs in general, grabbing eight touchdowns in 12 post-season games with the Vikings.

4. Randy Moss
Moss will be in the Hall of Fame one day and he might even get somewhat close to several of Jerry Rice’s receiving records. In just his 10th year in the league and at the relatively young age of 30, Moss has already caught 122 touchdown passes and is the only receiver in the history of pro football to post three different seasons of 17+ touchdown receptions. One of Moss’ best seasons came in 1998 when he set a rookie record with 17 touchdown receptions, finishing the campaign with 69 catches for 1,313 yards. “The Freak” has led the NFL in receiving touchdowns four times, has posted a pair of 100-catch seasons and if not for ridiculous years by Marvin Harrison in 2002 and Torry Holt in 2003, he would have been the league leader in receiving yards, finishing second both years. Moss is also the only player in league history to begin a career with six straight seasons over 1,000 yards and is already 3rd all time with 54 games of 100+ yards. Moss has some baggage though – he’s admitted to taking plays off and has had some other minor on and off the field issues throughout his career. However, the only thing holding Moss back from being higher on this list is a Super Bowl ring, something he might get with the 2007 Patriots – the most prolific offense in league history.

3. Marvin Harrison
Harrison gets the nod for third place on this list over Randy Moss because has won a Super Bowl while Moss has not and Harrison has been much more consistent over his career. Harrison does not make #2 on the list because of one key reason – he has not produced much of anything in 14 post-season games. In fact, Harrison’s playoff resume is awful for a receiver of his caliber with just one 100-yard game and two touchdowns, all coming in the same game. Harrison has gone over 75 yards receiving in a post-season game just two times and has grabbed more than five passes only twice. Between a pair of AFC Conference Championship Games and Super Bowl XLI, Harrison has 12 receptions for 119 yards with zero touchdowns. Despite his playoff failures, Harrison is a hell of a receiver. Harrison is the only player in NFL history with four consecutive seasons of 100+ catches and eight straight campaigns of 10+ touchdowns. The 12-year veteran owns the league record for the most receptions in a season with 143 grabs in 2002 and despite missing 11 games this year with a knee injury, he is still the all-time leader in average number of catches per season (86.8). Harrison most surely would have moved into second place on the all-time receiving list (currently at 13,994 yards - 990 behind Tim Brown) if not for the injury.

2. Don Hutson
Hutson claims the #2 spot on this list because he was the NFL’s first great wide receiver and innovated the position, dominating in an era of very little passing. Hutson created many of the pass routes that are run today as well as a variety of fakes and moves that receivers still use almost 70 years later. Playing 11 seasons, Hutson held 18 NFL records at the time of his retirement in 1945. Among his many great records none are more impressive than Hutson leading the NFL in receptions on eight different occasions, in receiving yards seven times and in receiving touchdowns an unfathomable nine times. Hutson helped the Packers win three NFL championships and won the league MVP in back-to-back seasons in the early 1940’s. Hutson’s best season came in his 1942 MVP campaign when he caught 74 passes for 1,211 yards and a ridiculous 17 touchdowns. Hutson caught 99 touchdown passes in just 116 career games and is the all-time leader in receiving touchdowns per game (0.85).

1. Jerry Rice
For such a difficult list to comprise, Rice was an easy choice as the best receiver of all time because he might be the greatest PLAYER ever to step onto a pro football field. It would be ridiculous to discuss all of Rice’s records because there are so many, but perhaps Rice’s greatest individual achievement came in the strike-shortened 1987 season when he caught an NFL record 22 touchdown passes in only 12 games. Rice also scored on a rushing touchdown in 1987 to give him 23 scores for the season, nearly averaging two touchdowns per game. In fact, Rice was terrific on reverses and end-arounds as he rushed for more yards than any other receiver in NFL history (645 yards) and finished with 10 rushing touchdowns over his career. Rice owns every major receiving record by a wide margin, but more impressively is the fact that he is all-time leader in touchdowns (207), yards from scrimmage (23,540) and all-purpose yards (23,546) as a receiver. To put Rice’s ability to score in perspective, he is the only non-kicker to rank in the Top 25 on the NFL’s all-time scoring list. The durable and consistent Rice only missed 17 games in his 20-year career with 14 coming in 1997 when he tore his ACL and the other three in 1987 because of the strike. Rice was also a major part of multiple championship teams, winning three Super Bowls with the 49ers between the 1980’s and 1990’s and playing in another Super Bowl with Oakland in 2002. Rice, who went to 13 Pro Bowls and was named All-Pro 12 times, won the MVP of Super Bowl XXIII with 11 receptions for 215 yards and has scored more points (48) than any other player in Super Bowl history.

NOTABLE OMISSIONS (in no particular order):

Torry Holt
Holt won a Super Bowl, is the all-time leader in receiving yards per game (83.5) and is the only player in league history to post six straight seasons of 1,300+ yards. Holt has scored just 71 touchdowns in his career, a relatively low amount for a nine-year player of his caliber. Holt is only 31 years old so he has plenty of time to crack this list, however.

James Lofton
Lofton put up some pretty impressive numbers over his 16-year career, finishing second on the all-time receiving list with 14,004 yards. A true deep threat, Lofton was even successful late in his career as he became the first player in league history to have a 1,000-yard season at the age of 35 years old. For some reason Lofton was not much of a scorer (75 career touchdowns) and that is the main reason he did not make the Top 10 over Steve Largent.

Andre Reed
Reed is in the Top 10 all time in receptions (951), receiving yards (13,198) and touchdowns (87), but never finished in the top three in any of those categories in a single season. Reed had just four 1,000-yard seasons in his 16-year career so although he was very good player, he just does not have the "juice" to make this list.