ESPNs Top 10 WRs

[Blaze_1UP]

Top 10 WRs of All Time

Raymond Berry, Boyd Dowler, Mike Holmgren, Ken Houston, Warren Moon, Keyshawn Johnson and Ted Thompson helped ESPN.com evaluate the best wide receivers in NFL history. ESPN.com weighed their contributions, balancing rankings with anecdotal evidence, to create the following list. (Click here for ZOOM Gallery.)

1. JERRY RICE
Career: Played for 49ers, Raiders and Seahawks from 1985-2004. Holds NFL records for receptions (1,549), receiving yards (22,895), TD receptions (197), TDs (207).
Quick quote: "Jerry had a tremendous combination of speed, size, toughness, smarts." -- Holmgren, Rice's offensive coordinator in San Francisco

2. RANDY MOSS
Career: Set NFL record with 23 TD catches last season with Patriots.
Quick quote: "Randy Moss catches the ball so well almost without looking at it sometimes. He is scary physically." -- Boyd Dowler, retired scout and former NFL receiver.

3. DON HUTSON
Career: Played for Packers from 1935-45. Held 18 NFL records when he retired. Elected to Hall of Fame in 1963.
Quick quote: "Lean and swift, and boy, he could catch the heck out of it." -- Hall of Famer Berry, who studied films of Hutson in detail.

4. MICHAEL IRVIN
Career: Played for Cowboys from 1988-99. Had 750 career receptions for 11,904 yards. Elected to Hall of Fame in 2007.
Quick quote: "People might not like some of the other things, but when he was on those stripes, he was as competitive as there is." -- Hall of Fame QB Moon

5. PAUL WARFIELD
Career: Played for Browns, Dolphins from 1964-77. Averaged 20.1 yards per catch. Elected to Hall of Fame in 1983.
Quick quote: "Warfield was a lot like Charlie Joiner. Every step meant something to those guys. Warfield got into his route and it was like somebody falling off the face of the earth. That's how quick he could be into it." -- Hall of Fame safety Houston

6. CHARLEY TAYLOR
Career: Played for Redskins 1964-77. All-time leading receiver with 649 catches for 9,110 yards when he retired. Elected to Hall of Fame in 1984.
Quick quote: "Those types of athletes who played more than one position --- Charley Taylor -- are worth the price of admission just to see them line up. That is an athlete right there, a subject in itself." -- Berry

7. STEVE LARGENT
Career: Played for Seahawks from 1976-89. Had 819 catches, 13,089 yards, 100 TDs. Elected to Hall of Fame in 1995.
Quick quote: "He was as crafty as anybody I could recall. He wasn't a big guy, but he knew exactly how to lean on people and his hands were unbelievable." -- Packers GM Ted Thompson

8. CRIS CARTER
Career: Played for Eagles, Vikings, Dolphins from 1987-2002. Had 13,899 yards receiving, 130 TD receptions.
Quick quote: "I've never been around a guy as competitive as he is. He is so confident. He was a hard worker, which I enjoyed because whatever I got in practice, I knew that's I was going to get in the game." -- Moon

9. TERRELL OWENS
Career: Has 129 TD receptions in career with 49ers, Eagles, Cowboys.
Quick quote: "My biggest knock on him is he drops too many balls, but he makes a lot of big plays and he's as good as there is after the catch and he makes difficult catches." -- Moon

10. MARVIN HARRISON
Career: Has spent entire 12-yard career with Colts. Set NFL record with 143 receptions in 2002.
Quick quote: "Of all the things that impresses me, it's how he goes about his job, how he goes about his business. He's not a fanfare guy. He's just a football player." -- Holmgren

Wow, never would of seen it like this.

[hit_'em88]

i'd have harrison over owens and wheres john stallworth? lynn swan? fred bilitnekoff(sp)?

[essejm95]

I agree. Swann was maybe the best reciever ever. Also why is`nt Don Maynard on the list

[Blaze_1UP]

Yeah wheres Tim Brown and Andre Reed, I'd also put Harrison ahead of most these receivers.

[essejm95]

Your right they should be on the list along with Rod Woodson .

[Blaze_1UP]

Rod Woodson was a CB.

[Jay]

This should teach kids that when at first you don't succeed, then quit ... and hopefully one day you too could be the #2 all-time receiver in the game.

Quiters Rule!!

[TheFallenOne]

It's easy to hack on the list but if you go and read the article, the panel actually has a pretty sound criteria for ranking guys across various eras.

Read it, then bash. Don't just look at the list.

: 2 cents.

[Rick Astley]

Randy Moss #2? Are you ****ing kidding me?

Talent-wise, yeah. But career? No freaking way.

[essejm95]

meant smith sorry

[Gzus]

Originally Posted by essejm95

Woodson changed to WR.

Honestly dude, you don't know what you're talking about. Rod Woodson never played wideout. He was a CB/S and a kick returner. The guy only scored points off of the 12 interception returns for TDs. you can look it up yourself, but i did it for you:

Rod Woodson: Career Stats

Please before you defend yourself with "Woodson changed to WR" check the stats.

Oh, and no way Randy Moss is ranked higher than Irvin.

[Rick Astley]

Originally Posted by Gzus

Oh, and no way Randy Moss is ranked higher than Irvin.

God damned right.

Personally, I thought that Troy Aikman was a bit overrated (just my opinion, I mean no disrespect.) But Irvin, no matter how much I hate him as a person, was most certainly not. Irvin was a phenominal talent. His career has been far superior to Moss', and that's not hard to see.

The only thing about WR's that is definite is that Jerry Rice is the best there ever was, and no one else is really close at all at this point.

[hit_'em88]

all in all not a great list

[essejm95]

sorry meant rod smith

[TroyAikman]

I was in shock at Randy Moss' position on that list as well, but then I looked at his stats, man time has really flown by...


It has been almost a full career for Randy Moss, Terrell Owens, Hines Ward, and Marvin Harrison already. Their careers are on the home strech. It feels like last week that it was 1998, Moss lit up the leauge in his rookie year and the Vikings went to the NFC championship game with a 15-1 reg season record only to get upset by the Chris Chandler and Jamal Anderson of the Falcons.