While the NFL may be more receiver-friendly than ever as the league tries to push ever more to an offense-first, QB-positive sport, pro football has had some unbelievable talents on the perimeter over the past century.
From Hall of Famers Jerry Rice and Steve Largent to Randy Moss, many of the NFL’s most memorable and irreplicable moments were founded on plays made by receivers.
We’ve ranked the 10 best NFL wide receivers (excluding tight ends) of all time:
10. Tyreek Hill (2016 – Present)
GettyTyreek Hill.
Recency bias can often, in fact, be replaced by “rose-tinted glasses” bias — reflecting on the “glory days” of the past without acknowledging the greatness before us right now.
If this were written five or 10 years from now, perhaps names like Ja’Marr Chase and Justin Jefferson would crack the list. As it stands, the only man to do so from the current generation is the speed demon, Tyreek Hill. While fellow elite WRs such as Mike Evans may have comparable numbers, Hill has game-changing speed and unique ability to put utter dread into the hearts of opposing defenses. One of the most unstoppable players ever seen in the NFL, the former Chief has put up elite seasons with three different starting quarterbacks, including six with at 1,000+ receiving yards. With eight Pro Bowls and five first-team All-Pros, the former fifth-round pick has a very strong argument for being a Top 10 receiver of all time.
9. Cris Carter (1987 – 2002)
GettyCris Carter.
A slow burner of a career, it took the Minnesota legend seven years in the NFL to reach the all-important 1,000 receiving yards mark in a season. But when he eventually did, he did not stop: Cris Carter posted eight successive seasons reaching this benchmark, garnering Pro Bowls in each of these seasons along with three All-Pro team nods. A big bodied player with excellent grabs, able to make dazzling catches on the exterior, Carter formed one of the league’s greatest ever tandems with fellow Hall of Famer Randy Moss in 1998-2000 and remains one of the league’s best-ever wide receivers.
8. Lance Alworth (1962-1972)
Wikimedia CommonsLance Alworth, 1969.
Spending the majority of his career with the San Diego Chargers, Lance Alworth produced high volume receiving years, including seven straight at 1,000+ yards, at a time in which throwing the ball was almost a rarity. In 1965, when Alworth posted a career best 1,602 yards, he accounted for more than 57% of his team’s total yards. By comparison, the league’s leading receiver in 2023, All-Pro CeeDee Lamb, accounted for less than 39% of the Cowboys’ total passing yards – over 18% percentage points less than Alworth. A notorious speedster, “Bambi” was regarded by most as the best wide receiver of the 1960s and is certainly one of the greatest of all time.
7. Calvin Johnson (2007 – 2015)
GettyCalvin Johnson.
A scorching career ended early by franchise incompetence, and to a lesser extent injury concerns, Calvin Johnson’s fire ran scintillatingly hot during his nine fantastic seasons in the NFL. The record setter for most receiving yards in a season (1,964) that is still yet to be broken despite the move to a 17-game schedule, Johnson’s career feels like one of the biggest “What If’s?” in football’s long history. Had the Georgia Tech phenom been drafted by a better organization, playing with some semblance of support, what assortment of Lombardi Trophy-looking riches could he have delivered? An all-around dynamo of a receiver and first-ballot Hall of Famer, Johnson is without question one of the greatest talents seen on the football field.
6. Don Hutson (1935 – 1945)
Wikimedia CommonsDon Hutson, 1940.
A trailblazer at the position, Don Hutson was quite possibly professional football’s first ever high-level, No. 1 wide receiver. Hutson dominated the league in the 1930s and ’40s, managing 99 receiving touchdowns in his decade-plus in the pre-merger NFL. An eight-time All Pro, four-time Pro Bowler, three-time NFL champion and two-time league MVP, Hutson won it all and did it all in a spectacular career with the Green Bay Packers.
5. Larry Fitzgerald (2004 – 2020)
GettyLarry Fitzgerald.
An at this point well-known yet still astonishing statistic about Larry Fitzgerald tells you all you need to know: he has more tackles (37) than dropped passes (29) in his storied career. With a drop rate of just 1.37%, “Fitz” had some of the best hands that the NFL has ever seen. An 11-time Pro Bowler and three-time All-Pro, Fitzgerald was rarely put in a position to absolutely dominate in a very up-and-down Cardinals team over the course of his career but was just a mainstay of consistency, excellence and leadership — who sadly never managed to get a ring in his whopping 17 years in the league.
4. Steve Largent (1976 – 1989)
GettySteve Largent.
Prior to the selection of Russell Wilson in 2012, Steve Largent was single-handedly the entire history of the Seattle Seahawks. With a 14-year career that ended with the breaking of all important receiving records in the NFL, Largent was a quintessential role model for up-and-coming youths wanting to play professional football. His contributions to the team were so considerable that the Seahawks even named an award for spirit and determination the Steve Largent Award after him — and is still given to this day.
3. Terrell Owens (1996 – 2010)
GettyTerrell Owens.
Off-the-field issues put a damper on what was otherwise a sensational career for the Chattanooga standout. Terrell Owens took the torch passed by receiving GOAT (spoilers) Jerry Rice, and the 49ers receiving corps was kept very much alive and well. A five-time All-Pro and six-time Pro Bowler, the only thing missing from Owens’ arsenal is a Super Bowl ring. Nevertheless a clear Top 3 receiver of all time, one wonders what kind of heights TO could have reached had he managed to keep his extracurricular issues to a minimum.
2. Randy Moss (1998 – 2004)
GettyRandy Moss.
Another player who almost feels like he was robbed of a Super Bowl win, particularly given his stint on the dynastic New England Patriots. Randy Moss was also not one to naturally fall in line. But there is no doubting how special a player the former Viking and Patriot was, one that former coach Bill Belichick called one of the smartest players he’s ever coached. Best remembered for his record-setting 23 receiving touchdowns in the 2007 season en route to a Super Bowl appearance at 18-0, Moss is one of the few players to rank as one of the Top 10 players for multiple franchises.
1. Jerry Rice (1985 – 2000)
GettyJerry Rice.
Not a lot of arguments against this pick: Jerry Rice is simply the greatest receiver of all time. In fact, before Tom Brady — and for that matter, the star that is Patrick Mahomes — many regarded Rice as the greatest player in NFL history. The record holder for catches (1,549), yards (22,895) and touchdown receptions (197), Rice played an incredible two decades in the National Football League, recording 13 1,000+ receiving yard seasons, 13 Pro Bowl nods, 10 first-team All-Pro nods, three Super Bowl rings and two Offensive Player of the Year awards. There is simply no debate against the do-all king of clutch, Jerry Rice.
The list isn’t over yet! See our pick for Number 11 HERE. Sound off to let us know who we missed!
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