Five years ago, I noted the age when receivers produced their best season in terms of receiving yards. Today, I am going to revisit that study.

Irving Fryar is the biggest outlier in NFL history in this regard. He was a top college star and a prized NFL prospect who wound up going first overall in the USFL-depleted 1984 NFL Draft. He spent his 20s on some inconsistent Patriots teams, and then in 1991, at the age of 29, he had his first 1,000-yard season while playing with a below-average quartebrack in Hugh Millen. Fryar then went to Miami, and while playing with Dan Marino, had a career-season at age 31 in 1994. Eventually, Fryar landed in Philadelphia during the lean, pre-Reid/McNabb years. And yet in 1997, at the age of 35, while playing with journeymen Ty Detmer and Bobby Hoying in a Jon Gruden offense, Fryar had the first 1,300-yard season of his career.  In fact, it remains the lone season of 1,300+ yards by a player 35 years or older… which is pretty remarkable given the quarterback presence.

There are 141 players in NFL history who have reached 7,000 career receiving yards.  Fryar is the only one to have his best season (measured by receiving yards) at the age of 35; only four other players — Pete Retzlaff, Charlie Joiner, Bobby Engram, and Joey Galloway — had their best season at age 34.

The graph below shows the age where each of the 141 players with 7,000 career receiving yards had their best season. [continue reading…]