I’ve written several posts about how to grade wide receivers and did a three-part series on one ranking system two weeks ago. Grading wide receivers requires one to adjust for era, but there are many different ways to do that.

Calvin Johnson caught 122 passes last year for 1,964 yards and five touchdowns. In 1973, Harold Carmichael had 67 receptions, 1,116 yards and nine scores. Which season was better? You might be inclined to think Johnson’s season was much better regardless of era, but both receivers led their respective leagues in both receptions and receiving yards. But let’s think about it another way.

In 1973, all the players on the 26 teams in the NFL combined for a total of 4,603 catches and 58,009 receiving yards. That means Carmichael was responsible for 1.46% of all receptions and 1.92% of all receiving yards. Of course, with only 26 teams, we need to multiply those numbers by 26/32 make for an apples-to-apples comparison of the modern environment. If we want to transport Carmichael into 2012, that means he needs to be credited with 1.18% of all receptions and 1.56% of all receiving yards accumulated last year. That would give him 128 catches and 1,970 receiving yards, and thanks to recording 1.93% of all receiving touchdowns in 2012, 14.6 touchdowns.

This analysis is actually unfair to active players, as there are more three-, four-, and five-wide receiver sets than ever before. Elroy Hirsch gained 1,495 receiving yards in 12 games — an outstanding rate of production in any era — but that translates to an absurd 2,667 receiving yards in 2012. In Don Hutson’s magical 1942 season, after multiplying by 10/32, he gained 2.3% of the league’s receptions, 2.8% of the receiving yards, and 4.9% of the touchdowns — for a 254/3501/37 stat line.

I don’t think this sort of straight line translation — percentage of the league’s production, on a per team basis — is the best way of evaluating receivers, but it is another piece of evidence in trying to get a better picture of the receiver position. And since just about everyone’s ranking systems tend to be massively favored towards modern receivers, I’m okay with producing one biased towards older players. And because of the longer careers players have today, when you come up with career totals, you end up with a pretty interesting list. Take a look at the top 200 leaders in career receiving yards after translating each player’s production in each season to the 2012 environment. The three columns in the middle table show the adjusted numbers, while the far right columns display actual career numbers.

Rank	Name	G	Teams	Adj Rec	Adj Recyd	Adj RTD	Act Rec	Act Recyd	Act RTD
1	Don Hutson	116	gnb	1948	25668	241	488	7991	99
2	Jerry Rice	303	sfo-rai-sea	1774	25498	227	1549	22895	197
3	Terrell Owens	219	sfo-phi-dal-buf-cin	1177	17528	170	1078	15934	153
4	Randy Moss	218	min-rai-nwe-oti-sfo	1065	16776	172	982	15292	156
5	Isaac Bruce	223	ram-sfo	1118	16693	102	1024	15208	91
6	James Lofton	233	gnb-rai-buf-phi-ram	978	16646	92	764	14004	75
7	Tim Brown	255	rai-tam	1226	16573	116	1094	14934	100
8	Charlie Joiner	239	oti-cin-sdg	1103	16551	86	750	12146	65
9	Steve Largent	200	sea	1105	16185	124	819	13089	100
10	Don Maynard	186	nyg-nyj-crd	1046	16177	99	633	11834	88
11	Marvin Harrison	190	clt	1214	16153	144	1102	14580	128
12	Tony Gonzalez	254	kan-atl	1339	15504	113	1242	14268	103
13	Cris Carter	234	phi-min-mia	1242	15429	149	1101	13899	130
14	Harold Jackson	205	phi-ram-nwe-sea	959	15417	109	579	10372	76
15	Henry Ellard	228	ram-was-nwe	958	15375	75	814	13777	65
16	Torry Holt	173	ram-jax	1002	14793	83	920	13382	74
17	Andre Reed	234	buf-was	1115	14780	101	951	13198	87
18	Raymond Berry	154	clt	1221	14725	91	631	9275	68
19	Art Monk	224	was-nyj-phi	1158	14566	79	940	12721	68
20	Billy Howton	142	gnb-cle-dal	1032	14338	87	503	8459	61
21	Irving Fryar	255	nwe-mia-phi-was	984	14275	96	851	12785	84
22	Reggie Wayne	189	clt	1028	14058	85	968	13063	78
23	Lance Alworth	136	sdg-dal	903	13960	97	542	10266	85
24	Charley Taylor	165	was	1122	13811	107	649	9110	79
25	Fred Biletnikoff	190	rai	1040	13772	109	589	8974	76
26	Jimmy Smith	171	jax	954	13591	75	862	12287	67
27	Michael Irvin	159	dal	857	13330	77	750	11904	65
28	Jim Benton	91	ram-chi	1003	13308	94	288	4801	45
29	Derrick Mason	230	oti-rav-nyj-htx	1022	13251	73	943	12061	66
30	Hines Ward	217	pit	1080	13232	95	1000	12083	85
31	Harold Carmichael	182	phi-dal	952	13188	113	590	8985	79
32	Paul Warfield	157	cle-mia	747	13154	117	427	8565	85
33	Stanley Morgan	196	nwe-clt	730	13038	88	557	10716	72
34	Elroy Hirsch	127	cra-ram	865	12745	88	387	7029	60
35	Rod Smith	183	den	941	12633	77	849	11389	68
36	Muhsin Muhammad	202	car-chi	944	12614	68	860	11438	62
37	Keenan McCardell	209	cle-jax-tam-sdg-was	975	12605	72	883	11373	63
38	Cliff Branch	179	rai	776	12529	99	501	8685	67
39	Tommy McDonald	152	phi-dal-ram-atl-cle	892	12453	105	495	8410	84
40	Steve Smith	167	car	823	12362	70	772	11452	63
41	Gary Clark	167	was-crd-mia	832	12209	77	699	10856	65
42	Chad Johnson	166	cin-nwe	826	12127	74	766	11059	67
43	Carroll Dale	189	ram-gnb-min	759	12117	64	438	8277	52
44	Andre Johnson	138	htx	871	12100	60	818	11254	56
45	Joey Galloway	198	sea-dal-tam-nwe-was	769	12072	86	701	10950	77
46	Dante Lavelli	123	cle	872	12010	88	386	6488	62
47	Haven Moses	199	buf-den	736	11904	80	448	8091	56
48	Jackie Smith	198	crd	829	11818	53	480	7918	40
49	Keyshawn Johnson	167	nyj-tam-dal-car	903	11717	72	814	10571	64
50	Jimmy Orr	149	pit-clt	717	11688	80	400	7914	66
51	Roy Jefferson	162	pit-clt-was	788	11579	70	451	7539	52
52	Drew Pearson	156	dal	772	11489	66	489	7822	48
53	Andre Rison	186	clt-atl-cle-jax-gnb-kan-rai	859	11470	101	743	10205	84
54	Gary Garrison	134	sdg-oti	710	11398	81	405	7538	58
55	Bobby Mitchell	148	cle-was	919	11300	78	521	7954	65
56	John Stallworth	165	pit	749	11265	87	537	8723	63
57	John Gilliam	149	nor-crd-min-atl	676	11220	70	382	7056	48
58	Shannon Sharpe	204	den-rav	911	11217	72	815	10060	62
59	Drew Hill	211	ram-oti-atl	775	11175	69	634	9831	60
60	Larry Fitzgerald	140	crd	810	11147	84	764	10413	77
61	Wes Chandler	150	nor-sdg-sfo	740	11107	72	559	8966	56
62	Pete Retzlaff	132	phi	839	11095	56	452	7412	47
63	Donald Driver	205	gnb	799	11070	67	743	10137	61
64	Eric Moulds	186	buf-htx-oti	842	11061	54	764	9995	49
65	Anquan Boldin	140	crd-rav	827	11023	64	772	10165	58
66	Bob Hayes	132	dal-sfo	637	11004	92	371	7414	71
67	Gene A. Washington	140	sfo-det	681	10973	90	385	6856	60
68	Otis Taylor	129	kan	720	10913	75	410	7306	57
69	Ken Burrough	156	nor-oti	703	10795	71	421	7102	49
70	Wesley Walker	154	nyj	604	10574	90	438	8306	71
71	Boyd Dowler	162	gnb-was	831	10569	48	474	7270	40
72	Billy Wilson	100	sfo	890	10562	74	407	5902	49
73	Santana Moss	171	nyj-was	726	10553	70	680	9715	64
74	Amani Toomer	190	nyg	731	10488	61	668	9497	54
75	Rob Moore	153	nyj-crd	716	10477	57	628	9368	49
76	Mac Speedie	86	cle	804	10466	47	349	5602	33
77	Reggie Rucker	159	dal-nwe-nyg-cle	731	10450	63	447	7065	44
78	Art Powell	105	nyj-rai-buf-min	758	10361	85	479	8046	81
79	Roy Green	175	crd-phi	705	10357	76	559	8965	66
80	Isaac Curtis	167	cin	648	10337	77	416	7101	53
81	Anthony Miller	155	sdg-den-dal	690	10233	74	595	9148	63
82	Herman Moore	145	det	750	10170	71	670	9174	62
83	Nat Moore	183	mia	735	10118	98	510	7546	74
84	Tony Martin	177	mia-sdg-atl	666	10035	64	593	9065	56
85	Mark Clayton	158	mia-gnb	701	10033	97	582	8974	84
86	Mel Gray	145	crd	570	10013	68	351	6644	45
87	Ricky Proehl	244	crd-sea-chi-ram-car-clt	764	10005	63	669	8878	54
88	Mark Duper	144	mia	616	9922	67	511	8869	59
89	Pete Pihos	107	phi	802	9911	84	373	5619	61
90	Mark Carrier	177	tam-cle-car	665	9806	56	569	8763	48
91	Terry Glenn	136	nwe-gnb-dal	656	9797	50	593	8823	44
92	Ahmad Rashad	139	crd-buf-min	778	9727	60	495	6831	44
93	Terance Mathis	206	nyj-atl-pit	767	9712	71	689	8809	63
94	Max McGee	148	gnb	650	9684	63	345	6346	50
95	Joe Horn	163	kan-nor-atl	661	9684	65	603	8744	58
96	Lenny Moore	143	clt	713	9679	65	363	6039	48
97	Tony Hill	141	dal	632	9653	60	479	7988	51
98	Ozzie Newsome	198	cle	863	9648	57	662	7980	47
99	Johnnie Morton	182	det-kan-sfo	692	9630	48	624	8719	43
100	Tom Fears	87	ram	872	9629	53	400	5397	38
101	Jason Witten	159	dal	853	9567	47	806	8948	44
102	Del Shofner	113	ram-nyg	639	9554	61	349	6470	51
103	Laveranues Coles	153	nyj-was-cin	733	9528	55	674	8609	49
104	Frank Lewis	155	pit-buf	604	9354	56	397	6724	40
105	Plaxico Burress	147	pit-nyg-nyj	598	9350	71	553	8499	64
106	Lionel Taylor	113	den-oti	898	9316	47	567	7195	45
107	Ernest Givins	147	oti-jax	682	9305	58	571	8215	49
108	Eric Martin	153	nor-kan	666	9260	57	553	8161	49
109	Eddie Kennison	176	ram-nor-chi-kan-den	604	9259	47	548	8345	42
110	Bobby Walston	148	phi	658	9258	65	311	5363	46
111	Sterling Sharpe	112	gnb	702	9231	78	595	8134	65
112	Roddy White	128	atl	649	9203	55	622	8725	52
113	Hugh Taylor	94	was	589	9181	79	272	5233	58
114	Ray Renfro	142	cle	570	9149	72	281	5508	50
115	Elbie Nickel	131	pit	712	9144	53	329	5131	37
116	Webster Slaughter	162	cle-oti-kan-nyj-sdg	661	9105	51	563	8111	44
117	Jack Snow	150	ram	590	9100	61	340	6012	45
118	Curtis Conway	167	chi-sdg-nyj-sfo	654	9052	58	594	8230	52
119	Wes Welker	125	mia-nwe	803	9046	40	768	8580	38
120	Jeff Graham	160	pit-chi-nyj-phi-sdg	604	9019	34	542	8172	30
121	Frank Gifford	136	nyg	760	8995	59	367	5434	43
122	Antonio Gates	147	sdg	685	8971	90	642	8321	83
123	Bill Brooks	169	clt-buf-was	689	8969	53	583	8001	46
124	Red Phillips	119	ram-min	731	8954	43	401	6044	34
125	Danny Abramowicz	111	nor-sfo	646	8790	53	369	5686	39
126	Sammy White	128	min	581	8783	73	393	6400	50
127	Pat Tilley	147	crd	643	8774	45	468	7005	37
128	Anthony Carter	137	min-det	587	8746	64	486	7733	55
129	Charley Hennigan	95	oti	643	8707	53	410	6823	51
130	Sonny Randle	120	crd-sfo-dal	650	8585	78	365	5996	65
131	Rich Caster	160	nyj-oti-nor-was	544	8583	68	322	5515	45
132	Bob Tucker	156	nyg-min	732	8578	41	422	5421	27
133	Bobby Engram	176	chi-sea-kan	713	8551	39	650	7751	35
134	Alfred Jenkins	110	atl	534	8514	53	360	6267	40
135	Brian Blades	156	sea	667	8462	40	581	7620	34
136	Riley Odoms	153	den	637	8462	59	396	5755	41
137	Chris Chambers	153	mia-sdg-kan	585	8435	65	540	7648	58
138	Harlon Hill	96	chi-pit	507	8434	61	233	4717	40
139	Henry Marshall	165	kan	579	8379	43	416	6545	33
140	Dwight Clark	134	sfo	668	8295	57	506	6750	48
141	Jerry Smith	168	was	721	8281	79	421	5496	60
142	Bobby Joe Conrad	144	crd-dal	722	8242	44	422	5902	38
143	Ed McCaffrey	185	nyg-sfo-den	631	8233	63	565	7422	55
144	Dave Parks	118	sfo-nor-oti	617	8217	56	360	5619	44
145	Kyle Rote	121	nyg	629	8183	69	300	4797	48
146	Mike Ditka	158	chi-phi-dal	728	8174	50	427	5812	43
147	Kellen Winslow	109	sdg	708	8158	55	541	6741	45
148	Calvin Johnson	92	det	505	8137	57	488	7836	54
149	Brandon Marshall	107	den-mia-chi	636	8132	47	612	7755	45
150	Wayne Chrebet	152	nyj	641	8109	45	580	7365	41
151	Gail Cogdill	122	det-atl	616	8072	39	356	5696	34
152	Antonio Freeman	132	gnb-phi	532	8016	68	477	7251	61
153	J.T. Smith	160	kan-crd	679	8005	41	544	6974	35
154	Ken Kavanaugh	90	chi	446	7979	83	162	3626	50
155	Cris Collinsworth	107	cin	546	7978	41	417	6698	36
156	Darrell Jackson	123	sea-sfo-den	546	7923	58	499	7132	51
157	Buddy Dial	98	pit-dal	467	7910	54	261	5436	44
158	T.J. Houshmandzadeh	144	cin-sea-rav-rai	673	7895	48	627	7237	44
159	Bob Chandler	140	buf-rai	614	7865	67	370	5243	48
160	Lynn Swann	115	pit	527	7864	70	336	5462	51
161	Carl Pickens	129	cin-oti	600	7833	71	540	7129	63
162	Marques Colston	102	nor	555	7798	62	532	7394	58
163	Shawn Jefferson	195	sdg-nwe-atl-det	523	7769	33	470	7023	29
164	Gary Ballman	128	pit-phi-min-nyg	550	7729	44	323	5366	37
165	Derrick Alexander	126	cle-rav-kan-min	463	7682	45	417	6971	40
166	Jake Reed	154	min-nor	495	7657	40	450	6999	36
167	Raymond Chester	172	rai-clt	602	7645	69	364	5013	48
168	Charlie Sanders	128	det	594	7644	46	336	4817	31
169	Frank Clarke	140	cle-dal	500	7623	58	291	5426	50
170	Joe Carter	109	phi-gnb-bkn-crd	618	7600	69	132	1989	22
171	Marshall Faulk	176	clt-ram	845	7559	41	767	6875	36
172	Bernie Casey	105	sfo-ram	603	7558	46	359	5444	40
173	Larry Centers	192	crd-was-buf-nwe	919	7510	32	827	6797	28
174	Gary Collins	127	cle	556	7498	84	331	5299	70
175	Carlos Carson	126	kan-phi	452	7494	38	353	6372	33
176	John Mackey	139	clt-sdg	561	7478	45	331	5236	38
177	Freddie Solomon	151	mia-sfo	517	7469	59	371	5846	48
178	Al Toon	107	nyj	630	7457	35	517	6605	31
179	Willie Gault	170	chi-rai	403	7441	50	333	6635	44
180	Frank Sanders	136	crd-rav	563	7415	27	507	6749	24
181	Marty Booker	157	chi-mia-atl	586	7414	42	539	6703	37
182	Dave Casper	147	rai-oti-min	585	7407	76	378	5216	52
183	Michael Haynes	147	atl-nor	491	7390	57	428	6588	47
184	Ricky Sanders	134	was-atl	576	7334	44	483	6477	37
185	Brett Perriman	153	nor-det-mia-kan	597	7323	35	525	6589	30
186	Joe Morrison	184	nyg	692	7317	56	395	4993	47
187	Charle Young	187	phi-ram-sfo-sea	648	7315	36	418	5106	27
188	Lance Rentzel	104	min-dal-ram	465	7275	49	268	4826	38
189	Mike Quick	101	phi	446	7265	68	363	6464	61
190	Charley Malone	84	was	640	7249	39	137	1932	13
191	Roger Carr	115	clt-sea-sdg	410	7246	44	271	5071	31
192	Deion Branch	140	nwe-sea	555	7219	42	518	6644	39
193	Bob Trumpy	128	cin	536	7205	51	298	4600	35
194	Steve Watson	126	den	457	7197	42	353	6112	36
195	Ben Hawkins	102	phi	452	7176	41	261	4764	32
196	Quinn Early	179	sdg-nor-buf-nyj	520	7175	47	460	6448	40
197	John Jefferson	102	sdg-gnb-cle	475	7174	57	351	5714	47
198	Haywood Jeffires	132	oti-nor	624	7155	60	535	6334	50
199	Jerome Barkum	158	nyj	525	7154	58	326	4789	40
200	Johnny Morris	121	chi	621	7146	37	356	5059	31

This list doesn’t address any of the other concerns my other ranking system did — it is still biased in favor of players on heavy passing teams and players who had a bunch of junk seasons ^[1]In addition, I have provided no AFL, AAFC, or war-time adjustments. — but it does yield some interesting names.

Harold Jackson might be the most interesting one on the list. Jackson should have been on the All-Decade team of the ’70s, but he didn’t have as many memorable playoff moments or play for national teams like Drew Pearson and Lynn Swann. Jackson led the league in receiving yards in ’69 and ’72 with the Eagles, then led the league in touchdowns with the Rams in ’73. He finished in the top three in my wide receiver ranking system in each of those seasons, and added a 5th-place finish in ’75 and top-15 seasons in ’76, ’77, ’78. He also had a couple other decent years with the Eagles and a 1,000 yard season with the Patriots. Voters faced a Carter/Brown/Reed logjam with Jackson, Cliff Branch, Harold Carmichael and Pearson in the ’70s, but Jackson would have been a worthy Hall of Fame choice had he made it. Instead, he’s only a Hall of Very Good member.

Jackson’s career numbers are slightly inflated because of some junk years, but in other ways, his numbers underrate him. Jackson made five Pro Bowls in his career, all before he played for the Patriots. But because of a revolving door at quarterback, Steve Grogan is actually the man responsible for more of Jackson’s yards (23%) than any other quarterback, followed by Norm Snead (15%), James Harris (14%), John Hadl (10%), Pete Liske (10%), Pat Haden (8%) and John Reaves (6%). Jackson was a compiler, no doubt — he played in 205 games, and he actually ranked second to only Don Maynard in receiving yards when he retired — so this system overrates him a little bit. But it overrates him to a much less severe degree than how underrated he is, by playing in the ’70s for some teams with mediocre quarterbacks. Had he played with Roger Staubach or Terry Bradshaw, he’d have likely been an All-decade receiver, have a couple of rings, and probably a bust in Canton.

What else stands out to you on this table? My favorite tidbit from this exercise actually isn’t on display here, but someone actually topped Hutson’s 1942 season in a category. That player was another Green Bay wide receiver, Johnny McNally, who caught 11 of the 59 touchdown passes thrown in 1931. Pro-rated to 2012 and adjusted for 32 teams, and McNally’s season translates to a 44-touchdown campaign.