Jerry Rice is #1 in everyone's ranking. Who's #2? I'm having an argument with a friend from Seattle about, so you can guess his pick.
Marvin Harrison Michael Irvin Randy Moss Steve Largent John Jefferson Charlie Joiner Art Monk Not in that order...
I was actually making the Don Hutson argument went my friend flew off the handle. Art Monk's not even in the HoF. (I think that's a mistake, but still.) John Jefferson had only three great years. And Haywood Jeffires is so mediocre that people still misspell his name.
Nobody but Jerry Rice is #1. There's really no argument. Dude holds 15+ NFL records. As for #2, I'll have to defer to some of the older folks on here. But I'd certainly like to think Cris Carter is up there.
Hutson's gotta be up there near the top. Also, us old guys would want to put Lance Alworth near the top, as well.
As usual, this type of question needs to be broken down into modern era vs pre-modern era. Don Hutson no contest in pre-modern era. Jerry Rice no contest in modern era. Second place modern era, IMHO, goes to Marvin Harrison in a slight nod over Cris Carter.
Elroy Hirsch should be in the discussion, Don Hutson as several have mentioned. Surprised Raymond Berry hasnt popped up yet.
Based on stats or talent? Marvin Harrison is very productive and consistent, but he is probably not as physically talented or has the fire that others mentioned on this list. Throughout most of his career, there would be situations when you absolutely knew they were going to Jerry Rice, and defenses couldn't stop it. Moss and TO are the game-breakers in today's NFL. I hope that Roy and Andre Johnson can get to that level very soon. In the 90's I'd probably go with Carter, Irvin, and Tim Brown. I'm less familiar with the 80's, but would probably go with Largent and Monk (again after Rice, of course).
Here's some perspective... Receptions per TD: Lance Alworth - 6.38 Jerry Rice – 7.71 Steve Largent – 8.19 Don Hutson – 4.88 Yards per reception: Lance Alworth – 18.94 Jerry Rice – 14.79 Steve Largent – 15.98 Don Hutson – 16.38
Art Monk not being in the HOF while Lynn Swann is is a ******* crime. Swann never had a year with over 1,000 yds receiving while Monk had at least 5. Monk had over 12,000 yds total for his career while Swann only had just over 5,000. Swann played only 9 years compared to Monk's 16 (14 with the Redskins).
You're just proving my case with those numbers. The mere fact those guys caught passes that frequently speaks volumes of their abilities by themselves. Add that to the fact that Rice is clearly ahead of those other 3 in the raw stats show he's number 1. Seriously, this position is the least debatable in pro football. We can argue for days on end about who was the greatest QB, RB, TE, OL, LB, etc but when it comes to WR, the debate is about who is number 2. What makes a great WR is execution and execution yields stats which are synonymous with the word "production." You cannot be considered a great WR if you do not produce. Raw athletic talent alone is not an argument.
With Rice, you can't go strictly by averages because he stayed for a few years at the end of his career that brought his averages down. There is no question that he's the best receiver in NFL history. He scored 23 touchdowns in 12 games in a single season but also has all of the all-time records based on a long period of excellence. He defined the modern WR position and played at the highest level for 15 years. 15 years. I would go with Hutson as the second because he was so dominant relative to his peers and because he was so essential in the evolution of the WR, inventing pass patterns, etc.
