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On Monday, I explained my methodology for ranking every wide receiver in football history, and yesterday, I presented a list of the best single seasons of all time. Today the career list of the top 150 wide receivers. As usual, I implemented a 100/95/90 formula, giving a player credit for 100% of his production in his best season, 95% of his value in his second-best season, 90% in his third year, and so on. The table below is fully sortable and lists the first and last year each person played wide receiver [1]Note that I have excluded seasons where a wide receiver played running back or tight end. This is generally not a big deal, but does hurt someone like Lenny Moore.; you can use the search feature to find the best receiver to ever play for each team (for example, typing ‘ram’ for the Rams ‘clt’ for the Colts.)

RankNameValueFirstLastTeams
1Jerry Rice802319852004sfo-rai-sea
2Don Hutson783919351945gnb
3Marvin Harrison588419962008clt
4Terrell Owens554019962010sfo-phi-dal-buf-cin
5Randy Moss539719982012min-rai-nwe-oti-sfo
6Lance Alworth499619621972sdg-dal
7Michael Irvin489219881999dal
8Steve Largent459619761989sea
9Steve Smith457820012012car
10Andre Johnson453520032012htx
11Tim Brown402419882004rai-tam
12Jimmy Smith400919952005jax
13James Lofton394119781993gnb-rai-buf-ram-phi
14Torry Holt393019992009ram-jax
15Cris Carter392619872002phi-min-mia
16Paul Warfield389519641977cle-mia
17Herman Moore380519912001det
18Rod Smith368119952006den
19Henry Ellard357819831998ram-was-nwe
20Bob Hayes356219651975dal-sfo
21Chad Johnson352920012011cin-nwe
22Hines Ward350919982011pit
23Harold Jackson349919691983phi-ram-nwe-sea
24Charley Taylor346319661977was
25Cliff Branch343719721984rai
26Isaac Bruce343019942009ram-sfo
27Reggie Wayne341920012012clt
28Don Maynard340719581973nyg-nyj-crd
29Brandon Marshall326920062012den-mia-chi
30Otis Taylor319919651974kan
31Raymond Berry318519551967clt
32John Stallworth317819741987pit
33Stanley Morgan317319771990nwe-clt
34Jim Benton316919381947ram-chi
35Gary Clark314819851995was-crd-mia
36Art Monk314119801995was-nyj-phi
37Roddy White299120052012atl
38Sterling Sharpe297619881994gnb
39Larry Fitzgerald295920042012crd
40Wes Welker294720052012mia-nwe
41Andre Reed291319852000buf-was
42Billy Wilson285819511960sfo
43Wes Chandler281919781988nor-sdg-sfo
44Derrick Mason279719972011oti-rav-nyj-htx
45Elroy Hirsch277319481957cra-ram
46Harold Carmichael273919721984phi-dal
47John Gilliam257219671977nor-crd-min-atl
48Anquan Boldin257120032012crd-rav
49Billy Howton254919521963gnb-cle-dal
50Andre Rison254919892000clt-atl-cle-gnb-jax-kan-rai
51Joe Horn254719962007kan-nor-atl
52Calvin Johnson253620072012det
53Cris Collinsworth253119811988cin
54Gene A. Washington252419691979sfo-det
55Harlon Hill246119541962chi-pit
56Fred Biletnikoff245619651978rai
57Art Powell244219601968nyj-rai-buf-min
58Buddy Dial243919591966pit-dal
59Dante Lavelli243719461956cle
60Del Shofner243319581967ram-nyg
61Wesley Walker242819771989nyj
62Mac Speedie241519461952cle
63Hugh Taylor240019471954was
64Tony Hill231919771986dal
65Mark Clayton229619831993mia-gnb
66Eric Moulds229319962007buf-htx-oti
67Pete Pihos227419471955phi
68Roy Green225319791992crd-phi
69Muhsin Muhammad224519962009car-chi
70Tommy McDonald220219581968phi-dal-ram-atl-cle
71Tom Fears217619481956ram
72Ken Burrough212619701981nor-oti
73Drew Pearson212519731983dal
74Bobby Mitchell210919621968was
75Drew Hill210619791993ram-oti-atl
76Nat Moore210219741986mia
77Dwight Clark208419791987sfo
78Mike Quick206219821990phi
79Lynn Swann205319741982pit
80Mel Gray202219711982crd
81Gary Garrison200019661977sdg-oti
82Joey Galloway199419952010sea-dal-tam-nwe-was
83Santana Moss198320012012nyj-was
84Anthony Miller195719881997sdg-den-dal
85Eric Martin193519851994nor-kan
86Mal Kutner189919461950crd
87Roy Jefferson188919651976pit-clt-was
88Alfred Jenkins188719751983atl
89Steve Watson186219791987den
90Homer Jones185819641970nyg-cle
91Mark Duper184719831992mia
92Keenan McCardell184219922007cle-jax-tam-sdg-was
93John Jefferson183419781985sdg-gnb-cle
94Plaxico Burress181420002012pit-nyg-nyj
95Charlie Brown180119821987was-atl
96Lionel Taylor177319601968den-oti
97Lance Rentzel174219661974min-dal-ram
98Laveranues Coles173220002009nyj-was-cin
99Carl Pickens172119922000cin-oti
100Darrell Jackson171720002008sea-sfo-den
101Keyshawn Johnson171319962006nyj-tam-dal-car
102Charley Hennigan168019601966oti
103Antonio Freeman167819952003gnb-phi
104Charlie Joiner166919691986oti-cin-sdg
105Greg Jennings166020062012gnb
106Sonny Randle162919591968crd-sfo-dal
107T.J. Houshmandzadeh161120012011cin-sea-rav-rai
108Carroll Dale160719631973ram-gnb-min
109Gary Collins160619621971cle
110Al Toon160519851992nyj
111Isaac Curtis159119731984cin
112Frank Lewis156519711983pit-buf
113Terance Mathis156219902002nyj-atl-pit
114Bob Chandler154319711981buf-rai
115J.T. Smith153319791990kan-crd
116David Boston152419992005crd-sdg-mia
117Carlos Carson148619801989kan-phi
118Eddie Brown147319851991cin
119Anthony Carter146519851994min-det
120Irving Fryar142619842000nwe-mia-phi-was
121Max McGee141519541967gnb
122Yancey Thigpen141219922000pit-oti
123Rob Moore140019901999nyj-crd
124Vincent Jackson139820052012sdg-tam
125Donald Driver137119992012gnb
126Louis Lipps137019841992pit-nor
127Warren Wells136119641970det-rai
128Marques Colston135420062012nor
129Pat Tilley134619761986crd
130Terry Glenn134619962006nwe-gnb-dal
131Dwayne Bowe133220072012kan
132Gaynell Tinsley133019371940crd
133Gordie Soltau131319501958sfo
134Tony Martin131019902001mia-sdg-atl
135Reggie Rucker130519701981dal-nwe-nyg-cle
136Jimmy Orr127819581970pit-clt
137George Sauer125119651970nyj
138Elbie Nickel124319471956pit
139Cloyce Box123919501954det
140Ed McCaffrey123619912003nyg-sfo-den
141Dave Parks123019641973sfo-nor-oti
142James Scott122419761982chi
143Brett Perriman121719881997nor-det-mia-kan
144Robert Brooks120019922000gnb-den
145Perry Schwartz118419381946bkn-naa
146Alyn Beals117919461951sfo
147Sammy White117219761985min
148Amani Toomer116119962008nyg
149Red Phillips115019581967ram-min
150Danny Abramowicz114719671974nor-sfo

I have an entire post dedicated to Jimmy Smith, so I’ll leave his ranking alone for today. Let’s look at some other interesting results.

Rice vs. Huston

It’s difficult to compare Rice and Hutson, but it’s pretty obvious that they are the two greatest receivers of all time. What’s really amazing is how far ahead those two are compared to every other receiver that’s ever played.

Moss vs. Owens vs. Harrison

I was a little surprised to see that these three never finished 1-2-3 in the rankings, as it certainly seemed for a few years that they were head and shoulders above the rest of the league. In 2001, 2002, 2003, and 2005, they were the first three wide receivers selected in the average fantasy draft, and Harrison and Moss were the first two receivers off the board in 2000 and 2004, too. [2]In 2000, Isaac Bruce was WR3, and in 2004, Torry Holt was WR3 while Owens was WR4. Here is a look at the production of each player from 1996 to 2010; Harrison is in blue and white, Moss in purple and yellow, and Owens in red and gold.

Moss Harrison Owens

Harrison had the longest sustained period of success: he was just outstanding from ’99 to ’06. On the other hand, he didn’t contribute much outside of those years. That’s why Harrison ranks “only” 6th in receiving yards, behind players like Tim Brown and Isaac Bruce. But among retired players, Harrison ranks 2nd in career receiving yards per game (Torry Holt), while Bruce is 12th (and Brown is way down the list due to some real junk years).

Moss had that three-year stretch during the middle of his career — an injury-plagued final year in Minnesota before his two seasons in Oakland — that really hurt his career numbers. Owens is a bit up and down, but antics aside, he was an outstanding receiver. It’s hard to really separate these three in my mind, and many will point to the quarterbacks when looking for ways to separate the trio.

When I broke the numbers down last summer, I found that Harrison had 87% of his yards from Peyton Manning and 8% from Jim Harbaugh, Moss had 38% from Daunte Culpepper, 19% from Tom Brady, 10% from Randall Cunningham, and 7% each from Kerry Collins, Jeff George, and Matt Cassel. Owens had the most eclectic group, with 34% from Jeff Garcia, 20% from Tony Romo, 15% from Steve Young, 12% from Donovan McNabb and 6% from Carson Palmer. All three should be in the Hall of Fame soon, with Harrison up for induction first. He’s actually eligible in the next class, but as we’ve seen, wide receivers often have to wait their turn to get to Canton.

Steve Smith and Andre Johnson lead active wide receivers

As with Jimmy Smith, I’ve got a Steve Smith rant coming for another day, but let’s just say this system validates his standing in my mind as the most under-appreciated receiver of his time. I was very surprised to see Andre Johnson come in at #10, but he’s had a pretty flawless career so far. His 2008 and 2009 seasons were top-80 seasons of all time, playing for a pass-happy Houston team that couldn’t stop anyone. And his production in 2007 was even better — he averaged 4.23 ACY/TmAtt, a career best — albeit he was limited to nine games. Then just when it seemed like Johnson might be entering the decline phase of his career, he came through with a dominant 2012 season. Johnson and Calvin Johnson are the only players to average over 80 receiving yards per game for their careers, although that will change for both players as they age. Perhaps more relevant: only Jerry Rice and Lance Alworth averaged more receiving yards per game through their first ten seasons.

Placing Paul Warfield in proper context

Mike Tanier recently wrote the following about Warfield:

Criticizing Warfield in any way is about the worst thing a football historian can ever do. I once compared a more contemporary receiver – it may have been Michael Irvin – on a message board devoted to pro football history, and was promptly pummeled into submission with a barrage of pish-poshes. No one can ever be compared to Paul Warfield. It should be noted that this particular site was the stomping ground for some spectacularly anti-stat thinkers, so Warfield was a patron saint to them: the receiver too amazing to do anything banal like catch passes.

Tanier’s correct: Warfield’s numbers underwhelm at first glance. He never led the league in receiving yards, finishied in the top five only twice, and finished in the top ten only four times (with three of those coming in the pre-merger era). But I take some pride in noting that Warfield ranks 16th in this system, impressive for a player who ranks 68th in career receiving yards and 164th career receptions. This system takes into account what everyone knows: Warfield played for a very run-heavy team in the worst passing era of the last 60 years. Warfield was the league’s best receiver in ’68 with the Browns and in ’71 with the Dolphins. He averaged 4.50 ACY/team attempt in 1971, which would be outstanding in today’s game.

Tim Brown vs. Cris Carter vs. Andre Reed

The logjam has been broken, of course, but this was the classic Hall of Fame debate for several years. My system has Brown slightly ahead of Carter, but places Reed as a distant third. I wrote a lengthy piece advocating for the same order a little over three years ago.

Anything but another Steeler in Canton

John Hannah

John Hannah.

One side effect to an otherwise very enjoyable project of mine is the fact that Hines Ward comes across as a Hall of Fame-caliber player. All kidding aside, it does seem like Ward has a compelling HOF case. In addition to being the best blocker at any position ever and having won two Super Bowls and a Super Bowl MVP, Ward’s regular-season stats make him a top-25 career receiver. That’s largely because Ward played for very run-heavy teams, and this system (appropriately) credits him for putting up strong numbers on teams that rarely (for their era) passed. Considering the Steelers already have one Hall of Fame wide receiver and a second receiver also in the Hall of Fame, I don’t think anyone outside of Steelers Nation is particularly looking forward to the debates surrounding Ward once he’s eligible for the Hall. But they’re coming. Ward’s best year was a 4th-place ranking among wide receivers in 2002, but he also finished 6th, 8th, 9th, 12th, 14th, 15th, 19th, and 20th in other seasons.

Wes Welker will drive Hall of Fame voters nuts

Welker has topped the 110-catch mark five times in his career, and no other player has done it more than twice. Welker has 672 receptions over the last six years, the most by any player in football history in a six-year period. But because the Patriots pass a ton and Welker’s yardage and touchdown totals are less impressive, he doesn’t stand out as great in this system (at least, yet). And that’s before you start with the Tom Brady adjustment. If Welker stays in New England, he may have a chance to finish with Hall of Fame numbers by any standard, but if switches teams this off-season, it’s hard to imagine him padding his resume that significantly. But if Hall of Fame voters look at the raw reception totals, Welker will be tough to keep out.

What stands out to you on the career list?

References

References
1 Note that I have excluded seasons where a wide receiver played running back or tight end. This is generally not a big deal, but does hurt someone like Lenny Moore.
2 In 2000, Isaac Bruce was WR3, and in 2004, Torry Holt was WR3 while Owens was WR4.
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