The Best Wide Receiver in the History of Every Single NFL Franchise
As the National Football League continues to evolve to a quarterback-driven, pass-happy league, the role of wide receivers is one of change. There are now specialists, slot receivers, three, four and five wide receiver sets. Some are better down-field blockers than others. Some are great in the red zone, while others are the possession receivers, primarily a third-down receiver, good for moving the chains.
We are less than two weeks away from the 2011 NFL draft, and there are two wide receivers that are generally thought to be heads-and-shoulders above the rest of their draft class—A.J. Green from Georgia and Julio Jones from Alabama. What place, in the history of the NFL, will these two talents claim?
Will they remain with the team that drafts them long enough to make their mark on team history, or will they bolt upon the completion of their first contract and wind up playing for multiple teams as their careers wind down? In the modern era of free agency, it will be interesting to see which receivers continue to apply their trade with one organization, and in doing so, continue to move their way up the charts to carve out their place in team history.
This article is dedicated to the receivers that have stayed long enough with one team to be recognized as the all-time leading wide receiver in team history. Some team choices are going to be open for debate, so if you want to make a case for someone else, please be prepared to bring your rationale for why you think your guy should get the nod. On to the presentation.
How and Why We Pick Each Franchise-Best Wide Receiver
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We will nominate the best wide receiver in each NFL team history and if it is debatable, bring up points about other potential nominees.
We will conclude each team page with an honorable mention list. For a player to appear in this article, we want it to be reflected that they had a special career, so we are setting the bar pretty high. If you feel that we set it too high, that is understandable, but this is not intended to highlight average receivers.
For inclusion in honorable mention, the receiver needs to have generated, for the team in question, either 500 career catches, scored more than 40 touchdowns or gained more than 7,000 yards in receptions. If the player has topped at least one of those three categories, that is a significant enough accomplishment for inclusion on the list. But, it has to be done wearing just the jersey of that one team, which is the catch.
In case you show different career numbers for a player on a team than I document, please note that I am using the numbers demonstrated by Pro-Football-Reference-Com, as my source. I enjoy their web site and it was instrumental in creating this list.
I wanted to also mention that the CBA talks will also have an impact on wide receivers from a team history perspective. If the new agreement limits what rookies can earn, it would then make sense that they will have to test free agency after their initial contract expires, if they are to make up for lost wages due to a limited rookie scale. This will really impact what career totals the receivers put up with their initial teams.
Arizona Cardinals
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We start off the slide show with the first NFL team in the alphabet, the Arizona Cardinals, which is a franchise that seen stops in Chicago, St. Louis and now in Phoenix.
The all-time leading receiver is currently still there, as Larry Fitzgerald has quickly taken over as the best Cardinals wide receiver of all-time.
Fitzgerald began at Arizona in 2004. Since then, he has played in 108 games, picking up 613 catches, good for 8,204 yards and 65 touchdowns. Fitzgerald averages 13.4 yards per catch.
Honorable Mention: Anquan Boldin, Jackie Smith, Roy Green, Larry Centers, Pat Tilley, Mel Gray and Sonny Randle.
Atlanta Falcons
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The all-time leading wide receiver of the Atlanta Falcons is Terrance Mathis.
What is interesting about Mathis' career is that he was basically wasting away as a member of the New York Jets in his first four years, mostly seeing time in the return game. In four years in New York, Mathis only had four career starts.
But things changed when he got to Atlanta. During his career in Atlanta, Mathis played in 126 games and generated 573 catches for 7,349 yards. He averaged 12.8 yards per catch and scored 57 touchdowns.
Mathis may be hearing footsteps from Roddy White, who has steadily been zooming up the Falcons all-time charts. White fails to qualify so far for honorable mention. Others falling short for the list were Michael Haynes and Alge Crumpler.
Honorable Mention: Alfred Jenkins and Andre Rison
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Baltimore Ravens
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Since the Baltimore Ravens have only been in existence since 1995, it is understandable that they do not have a long list of all-time career receiving leaders worthy of consideration.
In fact, there are only two Ravens players in team history that have made more than 400 catches or gained more than 5,000 receiving yards. Those players are Derrick Mason and tight end Todd Heap.
For the honor of all-time greatest receiver, we are going to go with Todd Heap, as a result of being the only person that qualified for one of our three criterion for the honorable mention list.
Heap joined the Ravens in 2001, and since then has played in 133 games. He has caught 467 passes, for 5,492 yards and 41 touchdowns. His average per catch is 11.8 yards.
Unfortunately, nobody else qualifies for consideration, given our higher standards for consideration.
Honorable Mention: None
Buffalo Bills
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Andre Reed, Hall-of-Famer-in-waiting, is the choice for the Buffalo Bills.
Eventually, Reed will gain entry to the Hall of Fame, because his career statistics prove that he is worthy.
Reed caught 941 passes for the Bills, picked up 13,095 yards which comes out to an average of 13.9 yards per catch. He scored 86 touchdowns for the Bills. Reed was a fearless receiver going over the middle of the field and withstood a number of hits that laid him out, but he still kept running the same routes.
Even though there are a number of other great receivers that donned Bills uniforms over the years, from Frank Lewis, Elbert Dubenion, James Lofton, Jerry Butler and Bob Chandler, there were only two other receivers that made the grade for our honorable mention criterion.
Honorable Mention: Eric Moulds and Lee Evans.
Interesting side note: Thurman Thomas was just 44 catches short of earning honorable mention status as he had 456 career catches with the Bills.
Carolina Panthers
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Joining the NFL as an expansion team in 1995, the Carolina Panthers have already established two clear-cut receivers as being worthy of all-time career leader recognition.
Steve Smith gets the nod here, but Mushin Muhammad also qualifies for strong consideration.
Smith has been a member of the Panthers since 2001. During that time, he has played in 135 games, making 620 catches, good for 8,884 yards. Smith averages 14.3 yards per catch and has scored 52 touchdowns.
Mushin Muhammad played from 1996-2009. He appeared in 155 games and made 696 catches. He averaged 13.3 yards per catch and scored 50 touchdowns during his career.
As you can see from their overall numbers, the two receivers are basically neck and neck. But since Smith is still playing, he will no doubt surpass Muhammad when it is all said and done.
Honorable Mention: One entry, Wesley Walls, based on his 44 career touchdowns.
Chicago Bears
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If it seems odd to be using an old football card instead of an action photo, it is because when it comes to wide receivers and the Chicago Bears, there appears to be a certain kind of asymmetry going on. I realize we are talking about the "Windy City" here, but half of the games are on the road and there is some reasonable weather in the fall. I must admit that I was surprised to see the following Bears results.
The Chicago Bears have only player in their entire long and glorified history that has ever had more than 5,000 receiving yards in their team history. That was Johnny Morris, and he just barely made the grade with 5,059 yards. Morris played for the Bears from 1958-1967, and in 121 games, he made 365 catches. Morris averaged 14.2 yards per catch and he scored 31 touchdowns.
The Bears have never had, in their team history, anyone catch at least 500 passes in their career. The closest one, believe it or not, was running back Walter Payton, who had 492 career catches.
Honorable mention: Based on career touchdown catches: Harlon Hill and Ken Kavanaugh.
Cincinnati Bengals
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Chad Ochocinco is the leading receiver in Cincinnati Bengals team history. Ochocinco is the only Bengals player that has ever topped 10,000 yards in career reception yards. Ochocinco joined the Bengals in 2001 and has played in 151 games. He has made 751 catches, averaging a gain of 14.4 yards per catch. He has also scored 66 touchdowns.
There are a number of Bengals that were able to crack the honorable mention list, but the one name that I was surprised to see that didn't make it for any of the three possibilities is Cris Collinsworth. You would think that with as much face time as he gets and opinions he has on everything, that he would have been higher, but that is just not the case.
Honorable Mention: Carl Pickens, Issac Curtis, T.J. Houshmandzadeh and Eddie Brown.
Cleveland Browns
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In the entire history of the Cleveland Browns franchise, there has only been one player that has topped either 400 career catches or cracked the 7,000 receiving yards barrier. That is none other than Ozzie Newsome. Because of his ability to produce for a long time (Newsome played from 1978-1990), he is the clear-cut designated all-time Browns receiver.
I recall watching Paul Warfield and Gary Collins when I was very young, like watching Collins catch those post route touchdown passes from Frank Ryan. Warfield was a talented receiver that I always enjoyed watching.
There were, interestingly enough, a number of Browns that made the honorable mention list.
Honorable Mention: Dante Lavelli, Ray Renfro, Gary Collins and Paul Warfield.
Dallas Cowboys
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The only Dallas Cowboys receiver ever to crack the 10,000 career yards in receptions barrier is NFL Hall-of-Famer Michael Irvin, who is our top Cowboys wide receiver.
Irvin played in 159 games from 1988-1999, and caught 750 passes, good for 65 touchdowns and 11,904 yards in receptions. He averaged a healthy 15.9 yards per catch.
The Cowboys have a rich history of wide receivers that put up big numbers over the years, but the one statistic that I still marvel at is that Bob Hayes averaged 20.0 yards per catch over his entire career. I really enjoyed watching him play as a kid.
Another interesting stat is that Emmitt Smith just fell 14 catches short of our Honorable Mention, as he came up with 486 catches out of the backfield.
Honorable Mention: Jason Witten, Tony Hill, Drew Pearson, Bob Hayes, Frank Clarke, and Billy Joe DuPree.
Denver Broncos
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There is only one Denver Broncos wide receiver that was able to amount more than 10,000 receiving yards in their career, and that player is Rod Smith. Smith played from 1995-2006 and saw action in 183 games. During his career, Smith made 849 catches, good for 11,389 yards and 68 touchdowns. He averaged 13.4 yards per catch.
The Broncos have had their fair share of excellent wide receivers that have been able to take advantage of the thin air in Denver to put up some impressive stats over the years.
Honorable Mention: Shannon Sharpe, Lionel Taylor, Ed McAffrey, Riley Odoms and Haven Moses.
Detroit Lions
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If you asked yourself who would be the greatest wide receivers in the history of the Detroit Lions, how many names would come to mind? I think most people will recognize their all-time leading receiver, but after him you do not need to feel bad if the picture started to get hazy.
Herman Moore is the all-time leading Detroit Lions wide receiver. Moore played from 1991-2001 and appeared in 145 games. During that time, he made 670 catches, good for 9,174 yards, 62 touchdowns and an average of 13.7 yards per catch.
While it seems that the Lions had gone wide receiver crazy with their draft picks under ex-general manager Matt Millen, the stark reality of the matter is that no other Lions player, besides Moore, has ever caught 500 passes in team history. Nobody else has topped 7,000 receiving yards or caught 40 touchdown passes.
Maybe if Calvin Johnson sticks around long enough in Detroit, he can be added to the list in due time.
Honorable Mention: none
Green Bay Packers
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There is perhaps no NFL team that has as many contenders for the all-time franchise receiving title than the Green Bay Packers. So, with so many players up for consideration, it would not surprise me if Packers fans dispute this selection.
Reviewing all of the Packers wide receivers in history, there is one statistic about Hutson that I keep coming back to, which is 99 career touchdowns. That is just unreal.
Obviously, we are talking about a much different time period. Hutson played from 1935-1945. He appeared in 116 games and made 488 catches for 7,991 yards, and the 99 touchdowns. He averaged 16.4 yards per catch.
The Packers have such a deep history of wide receivers that this will be a long list of honorable mentions.
Honorable Mentions: James Lofton, Donald Driver, Sterling Sharpe, Boyd Dowler, Antonio Freeman, Max McGee, Billy Howton and Greg Jennings.
Houston Texans
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In the short existence of the Houston Texans franchise, which was founded in 2002, there has not been sufficient years, in team history, for enough wide receivers to have compiled the statistics needed to reach the criterion we established for this piece.
There is only one noteworthy receiver in Texans history, and he has rung the bell across the board as being qualified and is a runaway winner of the Texans all-time leading wide receiver: Andre Johnson.
Johnson joined the Texans in 2003 and is still there adding on his impressive totals. During that time span, Johnson played in 115 games, made 673 catches for 9,164 yards and has already scored 50 touchdowns. He is averaging 13.6 yards per catch.
To show you how lopsided his totals are to the rest of the Texans receivers, nobody else in the history of the team has ever made at least 250 catches, gained at least 3,500 yards or scored 20 touchdowns.
Honorable Mention: none
Indianapolis Colts
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There is only one player in the long history of the Indianapolis Colts, including the Baltimore Colts history, that has been able to place himself head and shoulders above all the other wide receivers to wear a Colts uniform, and that is Marvin Harrison.
Harrison played for the Colts from 1996-2008, and during that time, he appeared in 190 games. Harrison is the only player to have topped 1,000 career catches, with 1,102 total. He has gained an impressive 14,580 yards and caught a whopping 128 career touchdowns. Harrison averaged 13.2 yards per catch. It helps when you are the favorite target of a guy like Peyton Manning, who can throw the ball all over the field.
It is also noted that the list of honorable mention Colts receivers have been added as a result of the longevity of Peyton Manning, as his passing skills have resulted in some serious stats for his main targets.
Honorable Mention: Reggie Wayne, Raymond Berry, Lenny Moore, Jimmy Orr, Dallas Clark and Jim Mutscheller.
Jacksonville Jaguars
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Since coming in to the NFL in 1995 along with the Carolina Panthers, there has not been sufficient time in Jaguars team history for their wide receivers to log enough games or years to have a long list of all-time wide receivers. There is clearly only one all-time wide receiver, and he meets our criteria across the board.
Jimmy Smith played for the Jacksonville Jaguars from 1995-2005, during which he played in 171 games. Smith made 862 catches over his career, which was good for 12,287 yards and was credited with 67 touchdowns. He averaged 14.3 yards per catch over this 10-year period.
Nobody else comes close to Smith's totals. On our three areas of reaching honorable mention, there is only one player that is close. Keenan McCardle finished his career one catch short of qualifying at 499, so we will give him the benefit of the doubt, and include him on the honorable mention list. He did not have enough yards (6,393) or touchdowns (30) to qualify on the other two areas.
Honorable Mention: Keenan McCardle
Kansas City Chiefs
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It must pain Kansas City Chiefs fans whenever they see Tony Gonzalez catching passes in an Atlanta Falcons. The Chiefs all-time leading receiver, Gonzalez continues to add to his certain Hall-of-Fame career numbers turning in one solid season after another.
Gonzalez played in Kansas City from 1997-2008, during which time he played in 190 games. He made 916 catches, good for 10,940 yards and 76 touchdowns. He averaged 11.9 yards per catch. Nobody else is close.
Honorable mention: Otis Taylor, Stephone Paige and Chris Burford
Miami Dolphins
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Mark Clayton and Mark Duper. What an exciting duo they turned out to be. Having Dan Marino there to throw the ball to the duo, they had equally exciting and prolific careers with the Dolphins.
It is rare that a team can see a pair of receivers join the team in the same year and depart in the same year, but that is how it went down. They became Dolphins in 1983 and left in 1992.
As to who is the best all-time receiver, it is a question of what you like more, touchdowns, total yardage, or average per catch.
Mark Clayton led the Dolphins with 550 catches and scoring with 81 touchdowns.
Mark Duper led the Dolphins with 8869 yards and an average of 17.4 yards per catch.
To complete the whole picture, Clayton had an average of 15.7 yards per catch and gained 8,643 yards. Duper had 511 catches and scored 59 touchdowns. Duper played in 144 games, Clayton in 142.
For the sake of argument, I will go ahead and give the nomination to Clayton, due to the much higher touchdowns total. But I can see where Dolphins fans can make a case for Duper.
Honorable Mention: Nat Moore and Chris Chambers.
Minnesota Vikings
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Cris Carter and Randy Moss are easily the top two wide receivers in Minnesota Vikings history. Moss put up amazing numbers in a Vikings uniform, and his totals on the surface would easily be good enough to be the all-time leading receiver for quite a few NFL teams.
But if you compare the two legends, Carter put up stronger numbers, and will be noted here as the Vikings all-time wide receiver.
Carter played in Minnesota from 1990-2001 and played in 188 games. He caught 1,004 passes, which led to 12,383 yards in receptions and 110 touchdowns. Carter averaged 12.3 yards per catch.
Moss, on the other hand, played in far fewer games, 113, as he was with the Vikings from 1998-2004 and then again for a handful of four games in his 2010 debacle campaign. Moss caught 587 catches for 9,316 yards, 92 touchdowns and an average of 15.9 yards per catch.
It can be argued that Moss did more per season than Carter, but Carter gets the all-time nod based on service time and almost doubling the number of catches that Moss had in Minnesota.
Honorable Mention: Anthony Carter and Sammy White
New England Patriots
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Randy Moss did not get the nod for the Vikings all-time honor, and he won't for the New England Patriots team either. That distinction goes to Stanley Morgan.
Morgan played for the Patriots from 1977-1989, in which he appeared in 180 games, catching 534 passes for 10,352 yards and 67 touchdowns. Morgan was a deep threat, as his average yards per catch was a very impressive 19.4, which puts him in Bob Hayes territory.
While Moss had very productive years in New England, he simply didn't play there long enough to be close to what Morgan did. It should be noted that Moss caught 50 touchdowns in New England, while only playing in 52 games, which is impressive in its own right.
Honorable Mention: Troy Brown, Ben Coates, Gino Capelletti and Randy Moss
New Orleans Saints
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Another team that could easily have a debate as to their all-time leading wide receiver is the New Orleans Saints. This would be a two-headed monster argument, coming down to either Joe Horn or Eric Martin.
Joe Horn played for the Saints from 2000-2006, appearing in only 102 games. During that time, Horn made 523 catches, good for 7,622 yards, 50 touchdowns and an average of 14.6 yards per catch.
Eric Martin played in New Orleans from 1985-1993 and played in 143 games. Martin tallied 532 catches, 7,854 yards, 48 touchdowns and an average of 14.8 yards per catch.
As you can see by stacking up the numbers side by side, there really isn't that much difference that separates the two talented receivers. But, I need to make a decision, so I will go ahead and select Joe Horn as the Saints all-time receiver. My rationale is that Horn did more with less, meaning that he put up similar numbers in 41 fewer games. One other reason is that Horn took better care of the football, as he fumbled it only 7 times in New Orleans, while Martin fumbled the ball 18 times.
Honorable Mention: Marques Colston
New York Giants
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Another team that surprised me in doing research for this piece, besides the Chicago Bears, was the New York Giants. In the long and storied history of the Giants team, I was baffled to learn that there has only been one receiver in the Giants organization that has topped the meager total of 5,500 career yards in receptions. That was a real head-scratcher for me.
That one receiver qualifies as the all-time leading wide receiver for the Giants and that is Amani Toomer. Toomer played in New York from 1996-2008. He appeared in 190 games and made 668 catches, which accounted for 9,497 yards. He scored 54 touchdowns and had an average of 14.2 yards per catch.
Giants fans might be interested to know that there is only one other Giants player to have notched at least 500 catches with the team in their history besides Toomer, and that is Tiki Barber.
Honorable Mention: Tiki Barber, Frank Gifford, Joe Morrison and Kyle Rote.
New York Jets
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Their is only one player in New York Jets team history that ever topped 10,000 yards in career receptions, and he is thereby the all-time leader receiver. That would be Don Maynard.
Maynard played for the Jets in the old AFL days, from 1960-1972. He appeared in 172 games and made 627 receptions. Those catches were good for 11,732 yards and a very high average of 18.7 yards per catch. Maynard scored 88 touchdowns for the Jets.
Besides Maynard, there are two other Jets receivers that had extremely high yardage per catch averages, and they were Wesley Walker (19.0) and Rich Caster (18.1). That is some pretty heady stuff.
Honorable Mention: Wayne Chrebet, Al Toon, Wesley Walker and Jerome Barkum.
Oakland Raiders
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Tim Brown enjoyed a lengthy career with the Oakland Raiders. Brown played from 1988-2003 and appeared in a whopping 240 games with the team. He made 1,070 catches, which was good for 14,734 yards and 99 touchdowns. Brown averaged 13.8 yards per catch.
I am sure Brown wished he had come up with one more touchdown to equal the century mark. It just seems strange to see him leave with that 99 touchdowns mark.
There have been a long line of strong wide receivers in Raiders team history. There are a number that qualified for honorable mention and a number that fell just short of inclusion.
Honorable mention: Fred Biletnikoff, Cliff Branch, Todd Christensen, Art Powell and Warren Wells.
Philadelphia Eagles
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The all-time leading wide receiver for the Philadelphia Eagles is Harold Carmichael. Carmichael played for the Eagles from 1971-1983, appearing in 180 games. During that time, Carmichael made 589 catches, which accounted for 8,978 yards and 79 touchdowns. He had an average catch of 15.2 yards.
Over the years, the Eagles' other notable receivers seem to be from the older time periods in NFL history. Perhaps DeSean Jackson will change that, as he is well on his way to moving up team charts. He just needs to stay in Philadelphia long enough to make it up to the upper echelon levels.
Honorable Mention: Pete Retzlaff, Mike Quick, Pete Pihos, Tommy McDoanld and Bobby Walston.
Pittsburgh Steelers
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Hines Ward continues to extend his lead on all-time receiving categories for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Ward began his career in Pittsburgh in 1998 and is now the all-time leader in quite a few categories.
Ward has played in 202 games, made 954 catches for 11,702 yards. He has scored 83 touchdowns and averages 12.3 yards per catch. He is also known as a fierce competitor and a very competent downfield blocker.
There are a number of talented wide receivers that fell short of our lofty requirements, but the one that fell ever so close was Louis Lipps, who had 39 career touchdowns, one short of making the grade.
Honorable Mention: John Stallworth, Lynn Swann and Buddy Dial.
San Diego Chargers
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When you think about passing the football, you have to think about the San Diego Chargers passing attack of Dan Fouts and Air-Coryell. Playing in perfect weather in San Diego, the Chargers have long been known as a team that likes to air out the football, throwing it all over the field.
Is it any wonder that the Chargers wide receiver honorable mention list is one of the longest in the NFL? But there is one Chargers receiver that stands out as the best, and he goes by the name of a famous Walt Disney movie, Bambi. We are talking of course, about Lance Alworth.
Alworth played in San Diego from 1962-1970, and he appeared in only 110 games. During that time, Alworth made 493 catches, but they totaled 9,584 yards, 81 touchdowns and an average catch of 19.4 yards. That is right up there with Bob Hayes.
It is questionable how much pass defense was actually played in that era of the AFL, but it is a given that Alworth had great hands, was able to track the ball as good as anyone, and made one long touchdown catch after another.
Honorable Mention: Charlie Joiner, Antonio Gates, Kellen Winslow, LaDainian Tomlinson, Gary Garrison and Wes Chandler.
San Francisco 49ers
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San Diego and San Francisco. Two great cities to play football in, and two teams that have a rich tradition of filling up their stadium with passes going all over the field.
The San Francisco 49ers have a long list of great receivers, so it is only fitting that they also can boast the greatest wide receiver of all-time—the great Jerry Rice. It must have been daunting for Terrell Owens to have amassed the totals that he did in San Francisco, and look up to see that he was not even close to the totals that Rice put up.
Jerry Rice played for the 49ers from 1985-2000, appearing in 238 games. Over that time period, Rice made 1,281 catches for an unbelievable 19,247 yards and 176 touchdowns. He also turned in an impressive 15.0 yards per catch average.
Rice stayed in great shape and was able to play for a long time as a result. It is hard to fathom that anyone could top his yardage totals with one team, as this appears to be one of those unbreakable records that will stand the test of time.
Honorable Mention: Terrell Owens, Dwight Clark, Roger Craig, Gene Washington, Billy Wilson, John Taylor, Freddie Solomon and Alyn Beals.
Seattle Seahawks
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Steve Largent is the runaway leader in all of the major Seattle Seahawks career receiving totals.
Largent played for the Seahawks from 1976-1989, appearing in 200 games. During his career, Largent made 819 catches, good for 13,089 yards and an even 100 touchdowns. His average yards per catch was an impressive 16.0.
Only two other Seahawks in team history qualified for honorable mention, but there were three that fell just short: Joey Galloway, Daryl Turner and John L. Williams.
Honorable Mention: Brian Blades and Darrell Jackson.
St. Louis Rams
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The Rams franchise has seen stops in Cleveland, Los Angeles and now St. Louis. From the warm weather in Los Angeles to playing in the dome in St. Louis, the Rams have generated some very strong wide receiver totals during their team history.
This is one more team where there could be a reasonable debate over who is the all-time best wide receiver. The battle comes down to Issac Bruce versus Torry Holt. Let's take a closer look at their numbers.
Issac Bruce played from 1994-2007, appearing in 197 games. He made 942 catches, good for 14,109 yards, had 84 touchdowns and an average catch of 15.0 yards. These are impressive numbers across the board.
Torry Holt played from 1999-2008. He played in 158 games, had 869 catches for 12,660 yards and 74 touchdowns. Holt's average catch was 14.6 yards—also very impressive totals.
This one is really close to call. Holt did more with less games, but Bruce found a way to play longer in St. Louis. The crowd always got excited when he caught the ball, with the long cheers for "Bruce." I give the nod to Issac.
Notable exceptions that fell just short of the honorable mention list: Marshall Faulk, Tom Fears and Harold Jackson.
Honorable Mention: Torry Holt, Henry Ellard, Elroy "Crazy Legs" Hirsch, Jack Snow and Jim Benton.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
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This late in the presentation and we come to the team that I am absolutely stumped as to who is the all-time wide receiver in Tampa Bay Buccaneers team history. Considering that the team has been around since 1976, in the 35 years of existence, the Bucs do not have one receiver that qualifies for any of our three honorable mention categories. Not one single receiver. That is mind boggling.
The weather is great. They play in sunny Florida. They had Jon Gruden as a coach. Did they not hear about the invention of the forward pass?
Rather than create a collage of small pieces of each of the receivers on this list I will insert a picture of the Tampa Bay Bucs cheerleaders, because they might actually catch more offers than the receivers catch passes. For Bucs fans, I am sorry, but you should be all over team owner Malcolm Glazer to actually draft a wide receiver that can amount to something.
The following list is the Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver leaders in team history. The crazy thing is you will notice there is not one repeat name for any of these categories. End result is that they all cancel each other out.
Receptions: James Wilder - 430
Total Reception Yards: Mark Carrier - 5,018
Average Yards Per Catch - Morris Owens (17.8), Kevin House (17.2) and Horace Copeland (17.2)
Touchdowns - Jimmie Giles - 34
Most Receptions/Game Average: Keyshawn Johnson - 5.2
Honorable Mention: None. Johnny Depp for catching the most lead roles in Buccaneer movies.
Tennessee Titans
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From the days of the Houston Oilers to the current Tennessee Titans, this franchise has seen some gifted wide receivers over the years. As with other teams, there is also a reasonable debate here about who is the best all-time wide receiver. The debate centers around Ernest Givins versus Drew Hill.
Givins played in more games, had more catches and more receiving yards. Hill caught more touchdown passes, had a higher average per catch and took better care of the football. This decision could go either way, but I will side with Drew Hill. For what it is worth, here are the numbers for both:
Drew Hill: Played from 1985-1991, appearing in 106 games. He made 480 catches, for 7,477 yards and 47 touchdowns. His average yards per catch was 15.6, and he had 4 fumbles in his career.
Ernest Givins: Played from 1986-1994, appearing in 138 games. Made 542 catches, for 7,935 yards and 46 touchdowns. Average yards per catch was 14.6, and he had 15 fumbles in his career.
You can see from the above comparison how a case could be made for either guy, but I like Drew Hill better. For the record, Derrick Mason fell just short of being included in the honorable mention list.
Honorable Mention: Ken Burrough, Charley Hennigan and Haywood Jeffires.
Washington Redskins
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Art Monk is the Washington Redskins all-time leading wide receiver. Monk played in Washington from 1980-1993 and in 205 games for the team. During that span, he made 888 catches, good for 12,026 yards and 65 touchdowns. His average catch went for 13.5 yards.
There are a long list of talented Redskins receivers over the years, and a few noteworthy ones that fell just shy of our honorable mention list, which were: Chris Cooley, Santana Moss and Ricky Sanders.
Honorable Mention: Charley Taylor, Gary Clark, Bobby Mitchell, Jerry Smith and Hugh Taylor.
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