Randy Moss Talks Favorite NFL WRs, Comeback, Vikings and More in B/R Interview

Perhaps nobody in NFL history has a better collection of highlights and jaw-dropping plays than Randy Moss.

Between his speed and ability to come down with contested catches in acrobatic fashion, there was no stopping him on the field. There's a reason the term "Mossed" is used when wide receivers leap over the top of defenders to come down with the ball, as the Hall of Famer made those seemingly impossible plays an every-game occurrence.

So what would it look like if peak Moss was transported into today's game with more of an emphasis on the aerial attack and rules that make it harder for defensive backs to slow down receivers?

"I really do think that I could probably have 2,000 yards," he told Bleacher Report. "I really do. I'm not just saying this. I really believe that Megatron could also probably come back and have 2,000. I think any wide receiver that's a deep threat that was productive, with just the way the rules are and 'don't touch me,' I think 2,000 would be very doable."

Calvin "Megatron" Johnson came the closest with a record 1,964 receiving yards in 2012, but it's hard to argue with Moss' assertion.

After all, he has the fourth-most receiving yards (15,292) and second-most touchdown catches (156) in NFL history and is widely regarded as one of the best of all-time.

Moss wasted no time taking over the league with 1,313 receiving yards and an NFL-best 17 touchdown catches as the Offensive Rookie of the Year for the Minnesota Vikings in 1998 and built from there with 10 seasons of more than 1,000 receiving yards and five years when he led the NFL in touchdown catches.

One of those years was in 2007 when he hauled in an unbelievable 23 touchdowns for the New England Patriots, which still stands as the NFL record for a single season.

Even though he believes he would be dominant in today's game, Moss stressed that he has nothing but respect for today's receivers and that he loves watching the game's elite players excel at the position.

He listed Justin Jefferson, Cooper Kupp, Davante Adams, Stefon Diggs and Garrett Wilson as some of his favorite wide receivers to watch and also specifically highlighted Tyreek Hill when talking about how he believes 2,000 yards is a reachable number.

"I'm so hyped on a guy like Tyreek Hill for the Miami Dolphins because of everything that he's able to do," Moss said. "And to mix that with some speed, you know, the sky's the limit."

Prime Moss would be able to compete with Hill, Jefferson and the other top receivers in the game, but it may be a different story if the 46-year-old came back today.

That was the theme behind the latest commercial from PepsiCo's Frito-Lay and Beverages brands that brought together some of the biggest legends in the game, including Moss, Jerry Rice, Dan Marino, Emmitt Smith, Tom Brady and Julian Edelman.

It provided a glimpse at what might happen if the all-time greats returned with Moss shaking off his hand because it hurt to catch a pass from a fan, Rice asking for a senior discount on the concessions, Marino using glasses to see the play calls and Smith falling asleep on the bench.

"Unretirement? Who'd be dumb enough to do that?" Brady joked at the end in a nod to his decision to just that ahead of the 2022 campaign.

"It was so great," Moss said of filming the commercial with fellow NFL icons.

"Before I became a professional, I used to be in the backyard throwing a pass like Elway or Marino or Warren Moon or trying to catch a ball like Jerry Rice and Herman Moore. Running the ball like Emmitt, Barry or Walter. Just being able to get around those guys, I felt like a rookie again. If they would have told me, 'hey man, go pick up a 12-pack of Pepsi' then I would have picked up some Pepsi or grabbed a bag of chips. It was great to be around the guys in that setting."

He said that he and his family always drink Pepsi and eat Frito-Lay chips whenever they are watching a game, which made the opportunity to work with the company in a commercial that much better.

"My kids were happy just to see me on TV, they were laughing," Moss said. "They were talking about my uniform and how it fit. It was just great to see myself on the TV screen again, it was great to get around the guys."

While the commercial poked fun at what it would look like if the aging stars returned, it was only natural to wonder what it would actually happen if Moss took the field at his age.

"It would probably look similar to the commercial did," he said while laughing. "With us getting hit and things like that. I really feel like I could come back and be a red-zone threat, but I'm almost 50 years old. That's just the mental part of it talking. I think the physical part of it would take its toll. But I miss the game, I love it. That's why I love every Sunday talking about the game."

Moss misses the game, and his former team in the Vikings missed a presence like him during Sunday's season-opening loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

It was a surprising result given how high expectations are once again after Minnesota won the NFC North at 13-4 last season and brought back the core of Kirk Cousins, Justin Jefferson and T.J. Hockenson.

It also drafted wide receiver Jordan Addison from USC in the first round.

Still, 11 of those 13 wins came by one score in 2022. There may be some regression to the mean this season, as Sunday's 20-17 defeat was the exact type of game the Vikings always won a year ago.

"When you're playing at home in Week 1, you can't take things for granted," Moss said of the game. "When you look at how a lot of teams come out in Week 1, a lot of teams come out flat. I think that was the Vikings' case. You're at home, you're expecting this guy to make a play. But it's a team game. I think that's up to your coach. Your coach has to have you up and ready to rock-and-roll. They were sputtering, and they started out slow.

But big ups to Tampa Bay. You can't discredit any team in the National Football League for having a victory. And I think that with all the talk going on with Tom Brady leaving and what the quarterback position is going to look like. Baker Mayfield, first game on the road with a new team. So kudos to the Tampa Bay Bucs for going on the road. I don't know if they stole one or really took one away."

Minnesota averaged just 2.4 yards per carry in the loss, which was notable since it no longer has four-time Pro Bowler Dalvin Cook in the backfield.

That is something of a concern from Moss' perspective.

"Between Justin and Addison, they have a great, young wide receiver core," he said. "I think the biggest question for the Minnesota Vikings is how are they going to make up for what Dalvin Cook brought to the table. Dalvin Cook was a monster when healthy. Teams always had to have a safety down for him, which allowed Justin Jefferson and the wide receivers to have the seasons they did. I'm just anxious to see what the running back position and play-action passing game for the Vikings will look like for the rest of the season."

It would probably look a lot better if the Vikings had prime Moss racking up 2,000 yards on the outside.