Randy Moss Retires: Where Does He Rank Among 15 Best WRs of All Time?

The surprise announcement that wide receiver Randy Moss would retire after 13 seasons in the NFL have us wondering, where does Moss rank all-time?

A quick look at the top wide receivers ever has to include Randy Moss, right?

Moss was once considered a potential heir apparent to Jerry Rice as the greatest wide receiver in the game, if not all-time. But Moss never lived up to those expectations.

How high does the No. 8 all-time leading receiver rank on our list of the 15 best receivers to ever play the game?

15. Art Monk

Credentials: Hall of Famer, 940 career receptions (No. 11 all-time), three-time Pro Bowler and one All-Pro selection.

Before there was Jerry Rice, there was Art Monk.

Monk became the first player to record over 100-plus receptions in a single season during the Super Bowl era when he snagged 102 passes during the 1984 season. He would go on to set numerous other NFL records before retiring in 1995 as the NFL's all-time leading receiver.

14. Hines Ward

Credentials: No. 8 all-time in receptions (954), four-time Pro Bowler and twice an All-Pro. Super Bowl XL MVP. Two-time Super Bowl winner.

When you think of the greatest active receivers, does Hines Ward cross your mind? If not, he should.

Ward may be known best for his crushing, if sometimes illegal, hits on defenders—but his consistency and production as a receiver a should be well known too.

Ward has broken the 1,000-yard mark six times during his career in Pittsburgh and has contributed as a runner and quarterback at times too.

13. Tim Brown

Credentials: No. 4 all-time career receptions and one of seven players with over 1,000 career receptions (1,094), nine-time Pro Bowler and member of the 1990s NFL All-Decade Team.

Tim Brown changed football with his electric ability as a return man and No. 1 wide receiver for the Raiders during the 1980s and 1990s.

Brown was a dominant receiver, often overshadowed by Jerry Rice and Cris Carter, but in his own right he was one of the greatest of all time.

A true dual threat, Brown ranks No. 16 all-time on career touchdowns.

12. James Lofton

Credentials: Pro Football Hall of Famer, No. 26 all-time career receptions (764), 14,004 career receiving yards.

Younger generations may have forgotten James Lofton, but he should be remembered as one of the most consistent producers in NFL history.

Lofton was the first NFL player to record 14,000 yards receiving and the first to score a touchdown in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. Until Jerry Rice came along, Lofton owned many career receiving marks.

11. Raymond Berry

Credentials: Pro Football Hall of Famer, No. 47 all-time career receptions (631), six-time Pro Bowl and All-Pro selection, retired as NFL's all-time leading receiver

When Raymond Berry retired in 1967, he held every major receiving record at the time, including 631 career receptions for 9,275 yards and 68 touchdowns.

10. Don Maynard

Credentials: Pro Football Hall of Famer, No. 46 all-time career receptions (633), four-time Pro Bowler, holds NFL record 18.7 yards per catch (for players with more than 600 career receptions).

Don Maynard helped legitimize the forward pass and passing offenses as we know them today during his play in the AFL with the New York Jets.

Maynard is one of 20 players to have played in the AFL for its entire 10-year existence.

9. Andre Reed

Credentials: No. 10 all-time career receptions (951), four Super Bowl appearances, seven Pro Bowl invites, No. 11 all-time receiving yards (13,198).

Andre Reed is undoubtedly one of the greatest to ever play the game. It's a travesty that a player with his credentials is not a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Reed was the go-to receiver for the Buffalo Bills during their four-year run of dominance in the AFC during the early 1990s. Reed recorded 27 receptions during the Bills' four Super Bowls, good for No. 2 all-time.

8. Steve Largent

Credentials: Pro Football Hall of Famer, No. 20 all-time career receptions, No. 12 all-time career receiving yards, seven Pro Bowl selections.

When Steve Largent retired in 1989, he held every major NFL receiving record. Those included most receptions in a career (819), most receiving yards in a career (13,089) and most touchdown receptions (100).

While Jerry Rice would go on to break those records, Steve Largent set the bar high for Rice, Cris Carter and other young receivers.

7. Issac Bruce

Credentials: No. 4 all-time career receiving yards, No. 7 all-time career receptions, four-time Pro Bowl selection.

When Issac Bruce retired, he was one of three players with more than 15,000 career receptions and one of seven with more than 1,000 receptions.

Bruce emerged as a No. 1 wide receiver as part of the "Greatest Show on Turf" in St. Louis with Kurt Warner, Marshall Faulk and Torry Holt.

Bruce's 119 receptions and 1,781 receiving yards rank as one of the best years in NFL history.

6. Michael Irvin

Credentials: Pro Football Hall of Famer, five-time Pro Bowler, No. 29 all-time career receptions, No. 18 all-time career receiving yards.

Michael Irvin created the diva mentality of today's receivers with his high-drama antics on and off the field. Regardless of what you think of "The Playmaker," he was one of the most dominating players during a rich time of NFL talent in the 1990s.

Irvin would win three Super Bowls during his time with the Dallas Cowboys.

5b. Terrell Owens

Credentials: No. 2 all-time career receiving yards, No. 5 all-time career receptions, tied No. 2 all-time career touchdowns.

You don't have to like Terrell Owens, but you do have to fear him.

Owens is currently the only player in NFL history to score a receiving TD against all 32 NFL teams—in fact, he has scored two touchdowns against all 32 teams.

Owens was the fifth player in NFL history to reach 150 touchdowns and the sixth player to reach 1,000 career receptions, 100 touchdown receptions and 14,000 receiving yards.

It's hard to argue against the statistics Owens has put up. He should be a first-ballot Hall of Famer when his time comes.

5a. Don Hutson

Credentials: Pro Football Hall of Famer, ranked No. 9 player all-time by NFL Network.

Don Hutson invented today's passing game, and paved the way for intricate offenses when he invented the modern route tree still used today.

Hutson held every major receiving record when he retired, and in fact, he still holds records for most seasons leading the league in receptions and most consecutive seasons leading the league in receptions.

Hutson amassed 7,000 receiving yards, while also doubling as a kicker and safety.

4. Randy Moss

Credentials: No. 8 all-time receptions, tied No. 2 all-time receiving touchdowns, No. 5 all-time receiving yards, seven Pro Bowls and five All-Pro selections.

Randy Moss retires a top-10 receiver in every major statistical category, and as having the greatest single season of all time when he caught 23 touchdowns during the 2007 season.

Moss holds the NFL single-season record for touchdowns by a rookie, too, with 17 during his 1998 rookie season.

History should be kind to Moss, who may have never lived up to those hoping he would top Jerry Rice's all-time marks, but is still one of the best receivers of all time.

3. Cris Carter

Credentials: No. 3 all-time career receptions, No. 8 all-time career receiving yards, No. 4 all-time career receiving touchdowns.

When Cris Carter retired he trailed Jerry Rice in career receptions (1,101) and touchdowns (130). Carter did this while being named to eight straight Pro Bowls and became one of only six players in NFL history with 1,000 or more receptions.

Carter has yet to make the Pro Football Hall of Fame, largely due to the inductions of Jerry Rice and Michael Irvin in previous years.

2. Marvin Harrison

Credentials: No. 2 all-time career receptions, No. 6 all-time career receiving yards, No. 5 all-time career touchdowns, No. 1 all-time single-season receptions.

Marvin Harrison, whether by statistics or opinion, is one of the greatest to ever play the game.

Harrison became the Jerry Rice to Peyton Manning's Joe Montana in the 2000s, setting numerous single-season and career records along the way.

The lone black mark on Harrison's amazing career is that he won just one Super Bowl compared to Rice's three.

1. Jerry Rice

Credentials: No. 1 all-time career receptions, career receiving yards and career touchdowns.

The NFL Network ranked Jerry Rice as the greatest football player of all time. I could go on for 300 words about how great Rice is, was and forever will be, but that one sentence really sums up what he accomplished in his brilliant NFL career.

Well, that and I'm pretty sure that for one play, Rice could still beat the best cornerbacks in the NFL.