Who are the top 5 greatest WRs of all-time?

[Jetsfan80]

Leading up to the start of the season, I'll be posting a thread once every day or so devoted to determine the top 5 all-time at each position, as voted on by JN.

I am using football-reference.com's AV (Approximate Value) metric to help compare across eras.  The "Peak AV Average" means the average "score" for each player's among their top 5 performing years in the league, to help establish which players had the high peaks and which players were more of the "compilers" over a long career.  Utilizing a "peak AV" also allows for players with careers shortened by injury to be included.

Also note that AV only goes back so far, so some players from the earliest days in NFL history (primarily the 30s, 40s and early 50s) are, unfortunately, excluded.

 

Earlier in the week, JN voted on 3-4 Inside Linebackers:

 

 

 

Today, we vote on Wide Receivers!

Below are the candidates and their resumes, ranked in the order weighted by AV/Peak AV:

 

1.  Jerry Rice, SF/OAK/SEA (1985-2004)

• Career AV:  251
• Peak AV Average:  19
• 1st Team All-Pro Selections:  10
• Pro Bowl Selections:  13
• Career Receiving TDs:  197

2.  Randy Moss, MIN/OAK/NE/TEN/SF (1998-2012)

• Career AV:  162
• Peak AV Average:  17 
• 1st Team All-Pro Selections:  4
• Pro Bowl Selections:  6
• Career Receiving TDs:  156   

3.  Marvin Harrison, IND (1996-2008)

• Career AV:  160
• Peak AV Average:  17
• 1st Team All-Pro Selections:  3
• Pro Bowl Selections:  8
• Career Receiving TDs:  128

4.  Terrell Owens, SF/PHI/DAL/BUF/CIN (1996-2010)

• Career AV:  167
• Peak AV Average:  16
• 1st Team All-Pro Selections:  1
• Pro Bowl Selections:  5
• Career Receiving TDs:  153

5.  Michael Irvin, DAL (1988-1999)

• Career AV:  126
• Peak AV Average:  17
• 1st Team All-Pro Selections:  1
• Pro Bowl Selections:  5
• Career Receiving TDs:  65 

6.  Reggie Wayne, IND (2001-2014)

• Career AV:  153
• Peak AV Average:  15
• 1st Team All-Pro Selections:  1
• Pro Bowl Selections:  6
• Career Receiving TDs:  82 

7.  Rod Smith, DEN (1995-2006)

• Career AV:  129
• Peak AV Average:  16
• 1st Team All-Pro Selections:  0
• Pro Bowl Selections:  3
• Career Receiving TDs:  68 

8.  Lance Alworth, SD/DAL (1962-1972)

• Career AV:  120
• Peak AV Average:  16
• 1st Team All-Pro Selections:  6
• Pro Bowl Selections:  7
• Career Receiving TDs:  85 

9.  Paul Warfield, CLE/MIA (1964-1977)

• Career AV:  138
• Peak AV Average:  15
• 1st Team All-Pro Selections:  2
• Pro Bowl Selections:  8
• Career Receiving TDs:  85

10.  Don Maynard, NYG/NYT/NYJ/STL (1958-1973)

• Career AV:  132
• Peak AV Average:  15
• 1st Team All-Pro Selections:  1
• Pro Bowl Selections:  4
• Career Receiving TDs:  88

11.  Steve Smith, CAR/BAL (2001-2016)

• Career AV:  139
• Peak AV Average:  14
• 1st Team All-Pro Selections:  2
• Pro Bowl Selections:  5
• Career Receiving TDs:  81

12.  Isaac Bruce, STL/SF (1994-2009)

• Career AV:  136
• Peak AV Average:  14
• 1st Team All-Pro Selections:  0
• Pro Bowl Selections:  4
• Career Receiving TDs:  91

13.  Julio Jones, ATL/TEN (2011-present)

• Career AV:  123
• Peak AV Average:  15
• 1st Team All-Pro Selections:  2
• Pro Bowl Selections:  7
• Career Receiving TDs:  61  

14.  Torry Holt, STL/JAX (1999-2009)

• Career AV:  123
• Peak AV Average:  15
• 1st Team All-Pro Selections:  1
• Pro Bowl Selections:  7
• Career Receiving TDs:  74

15.  Tim Brown, OAK/TB (1988-2004)

• Career AV:  146
• Peak AV Average:  13
• 1st Team All-Pro Selections:  0
• Pro Bowl Selections:  9
• Career Receiving TDs:  100

16.  James Lofton, GB/RAI/BUF/PHI/LAR (1978-1993)

• Career AV:  142
• Peak AV Average:  13
• 1st Team All-Pro Selections:  1
• Pro Bowl Selections:  8
• Career Receiving TDs:  75

17.  Steve Largent, SEA (1976-1989)

• Career AV:  140
• Peak AV Average:  13
• 1st Team All-Pro Selections:  1
• Pro Bowl Selections:  7
• Career Receiving TDs: 100 

18.  Cris Carter, PHI/MIN/MIA (1987-2002)

• Career AV:  135
• Peak AV Average:  13
• 1st Team All-Pro Selections:  2
• Pro Bowl Selections:  8
• Career Receiving TDs:  130

19.  Calvin Johnson, DET (2007-2015)

• Career AV:  94
• Peak AV Average:  14
• 1st Team All-Pro Selections:  3
• Pro Bowl Selections:  6
• Career Receiving TDs:  83 

 

Just missed the cut:  Antonio Brown, Roddy White, Henry Ellard, Andre Reed, Chad Johnson, Andre Johnson, Sterling Sharpe

Honorable mention:  Don Hutson (Pre-1950s)

[Flea Flicking Frank]

If Al Toon was drafted by SF instead of the Jets, he would have been 1 

[slimjasi]

I went with Rice, Moss, Megatron, TO, and Maynard -

in that order 

[rangerous]

what no larry fitzgerald?  i think he'd come in around 2 or 3.

[peebag]

@Jetsfan80

It's a crime you left off Don Hutson.

 

[section314]

No Otis Taylor, John Stallworth, Lynn Swann?

[Untouchable]

1. Rice

2. Moss

3. Megatron

4. Owens

5. Alworth

[Jetsfan80]

3 hours ago, section314 said:

No Otis Taylor, John Stallworth, Lynn Swann?

None of those were as highly graded as the other 19 on the list (plus the 7 I listed who "just missed the cut").

[Jetsfan80]

4 hours ago, rangerous said:

what no larry fitzgerald?  i think he'd come in around 2 or 3.

For some reason he didn't have nearly as high of a peak as the other guys on the list.  His "peak score" was 11, whereas the everyone else in the top 25 had a 13+.

[Jetsfan80]

3 hours ago, peebag said:

@Jetsfan80

It's a crime you left off Don Hutson.

 

 

I tried to find a way to include the pre-1960s guys where possible on other polls.  But for this one the position was just too loaded.  AV wasn't calculated by the database until 1960.  8 first team All-Pros are hard to ignore though, of course.

[prime21]

Show Art Monk some love


Sent from my iPhone using JetNation.com mobile app

[Doggin94it]

Rice

Moss

Megatron

HUTSON

Largent

 

Can't leave Hutson out of this, I'm sorry

[68JET11]

17 hours ago, Flea Flicking Frank said:

If Al Toon was drafted by SF instead of the Jets, he would have been 1 

One of my favorite JETS...

For all you young guys, watch Don Maynard. He was very sneaky fast back then and had some great hands. He deserves to be on that list, and it was fun watching him on game day. All while not playing with STICKUM...

 

[CSNY]

Voted For all the old timers Maynard #1 ( first player to total10,000 yards receiving) because back then d backs could basically mug you all the way down the field. Todays players definitely would not have the gaudy numbers they accumulated if they played in Maynard, Warfield & Alworth era

[chirorob]

22 hours ago, rangerous said:

what no larry fitzgerald?  i think he'd come in around 2 or 3.

Agree.

What about Don Hutson?

[RedBeardedSavage]

Rice had longevity, Joe Montana, Steve Young and Bill Walsh.

Absolutely no disrespect to Rice. He was amazing.

But Randy was better.

[Joe Willie White Shoes]

Don Hutson is top 5 no matter the metric.  You have to account for different eras. When guys like Largent and Maynard set records and hold them for a long time, you know they were dominant.  

 

Rice is by far the best.  

Hutson

Largent

Maynard

Moss

Alworth

Never TO for me.  The biggest locker room cancer in NFL history.  

[chirorob]

Jerry RIce led the league in yards 6 times

TD Receptions, 6 times

Receptions, 2 times

Top 5 MVP vote, 4 times

SB MVP

Plus, all the career stuff.   Yes he had amazing QBs, he also had the 1980s and 1990s rules, which do not exist now.

[Lith]

2 hours ago, CSNY said:

Voted For all the old timers Maynard #1 ( first player to total10,000 yards receiving) because back then d backs could basically mug you all the way down the field. Todays players definitely would not have the gaudy numbers they accumulated if they played in Maynard, Warfield & Alworth era

This is why I had Maynard and Alworth as 4 and 5.  A lot of folks forget that Maynard retired as the all time receptions and receiving yardage leader and second in TDs.  He and Lance Alworth were the Rice and Moss of their era.

[Maynard13]

Greatest NY Jets WR ever & top 5 of All Time. 

Don Maynard 13

The Catch that put us in the Super Bowl. One of the greatest catches ever!

 

[Maynard13]

7 hours ago, chirorob said:

Agree.

What about Don Hutson?

Raymond Berry? He was right there with Hutson in the 50’s. He and Johnny U were like peanut butter and jelly. 

[Spoot-Face]

Why is Antonio Brown not on this list? 

[Dunnie]

On 8/16/2022 at 5:32 PM, section314 said:

No Otis Taylor, John Stallworth, Lynn Swann?

Clayton / Duper

[Maynard13]

2 hours ago, Spoot-Face said:

Why is Antonio Brown not on this list? 

Because he’s on The Who are the top 5 biggest azzhole WR’s of all time. Can’t be on two lists. 

[Jetsfan80]

10 hours ago, Spoot-Face said:

Why is Antonio Brown not on this list? 

 

On 8/16/2022 at 1:22 PM, Jetsfan80 said:

Just missed the cut:  Antonio Brown, Roddy White, Henry Ellard, Andre Reed, Chad Johnson, Andre Johnson, Sterling Sharpe

Honorable mention:  Don Hutson (Pre-1950s)

 

[Spoot-Face]

39 minutes ago, Jetsfan80 said:

 

 

lol I wasn't actually serious.

I also didn't read your post.

[Hael]

Largent was widely viewed as the best WR of all time until Jerry Rice arrived.

So for me its

1) Rice by a huge margin

2) Randy Moss

3) Steve Largent

And then it gets hazy.  B/c TO  followed by Megatron/AB, Sterling Sharpe/Johnson/Harrison , Julio and Chris Carter, Irvin are all better receivers than the old guys (eg Art Monk, Allworth)

But the old guys were kinda more singularly impactful in their eras.

However I will go with

4) TO (yuck)

5) Allworth

[Jetsfan80]

1 hour ago, Spoot-Face said:

lol I wasn't actually serious.

I also didn't read your post.

No one ever does so, par for the course!

[TuscanyTile2]

I chose Rice, TO, Moss, Megatron, Michael Irvin.  Though Hael has convinced me that Steve Largent should've been on the list.  I'd put him ahead of Michael Irvin (who I didn't necessarily think deserved to be there).

[greenwichjetfan]

3 hours ago, Jetsfan80 said:

 

 

The "just missed the cut" list is crazy.

Andre Johnson was already special, but he could have been top 3 if he had any semblance of a real offense or real QB to play with for the majority of his career. 

Chad Johnson is still the crispiest dude I've ever seen run routes. The only man I'd ever seen stay with him consistently over multiple games was Darrelle - and that's partly why Darrelle is in the convo for best ever. 

Sterling Sharpe was a little before my time, but growing up and watching nfl documentaries and classic games and youtube videos....man he was special. He played on some really bad teams with really bad QBs and was still tearing it up. I think he only played with Favre for a season before he got hurt and had to retire in his prime. I can't even imagine how his career would have taken off if he was able to play through those back--to-back-to-back Favre MVP years. 

[greenwichjetfan]

By production, it's Rice and there's no one else even close to #1.

By attributes, it's Moss and there's no one else even close to #1. 

Everything else is preference and based on what you're looking for.

• In order, as a pure X: I'd take Moss, Megatron, TO, Julio, Rice
• In order, as a pure Z: I'd take Moss, Rice, TO, Fitz, CJ
• In order, as a pure slot: I'd take Rice, CJ, Fitz, TO, Moss

[Embrace the Suck]

#5 Wayne "The Flashlight" Chrebet...

I know other guys are better (talent and numbers wise).

[Jetsfan80]

1 hour ago, greenwichjetfan said:

The "just missed the cut" list is crazy.

Andre Johnson was already special, but he could have been top 3 if he had any semblance of a real offense or real QB to play with for the majority of his career. 

Chad Johnson is still the crispiest dude I've ever seen run routes. The only man I'd ever seen stay with him consistently over multiple games was Darrelle - and that's partly why Darrelle is in the convo for best ever. 

Sterling Sharpe was a little before my time, but growing up and watching nfl documentaries and classic games and youtube videos....man he was special. He played on some really bad teams with really bad QBs and was still tearing it up. I think he only played with Favre for a season before he got hurt and had to retire in his prime. I can't even imagine how his career would have taken off if he was able to play through those back--to-back-to-back Favre MVP years. 

 

I wish polls allowed for more than 20 options, that's for sure!