Throwback Thursday: NFL Career Receptions Leaders

It's fun to take a peak at the NFL's career leaders lists. In the case of career receptions it will be a long time before we see any movement at the very top of the list. Jerry Rice put the record so far out there that he's in a class by himself. It might surprise some that a tight end is #2. Tony Gonzalez would have thrown a scare into Rice if he'd played another five seasons. While it will take a while for receivers to approach the reception numbers put up by Rice, and even Gonzalez, it shouldn't be considered impossible. The football is just being thrown so often these days. In 2002, Marvin Harrison had a ridiculous 144 receptions. That number felt as untouchable as Rice's career mark. Now, it doesn't feel so untouchable. Antonio Brown and Julio Jones each caught 136 passes last year. Brown's 136 receptions was only seven more than his 2014 total of 129. 265 receptions in only two seasons! And it feels like Brown is just getting started. After only six seasons he's #109 on the career receptions list with 526. If he can keep up his pace of the past two seasons for another eight season he'll pass Rice. That would be something.

Here are the NFL's Top-30 in career receptions

1	Jerry Rice	1,549	1985-2004	3TM
2	Tony Gonzalez	1,325	1997-2013	2TM
3	Marvin Harrison	1,102	1996-2008	clt
4	Cris Carter	1,101	1987-2002	3TM
5	Tim Brown	1,094	1988-2004	2TM
6	Terrell Owens	1,078	1996-2010	5TM
7	Reggie Wayne	1,070	2001-2014	clt
8	Andre Johnson	1,053	2003-2015	2TM
9	Isaac Bruce	1,024	1994-2009	2TM
10	Jason Witten	1,020	2003-2015	dal
11	Larry Fitzgerald	1,018	2004-2015	crd
12	Anquan Boldin	1,009	2003-2015	3TM
13	Hines Ward	1,000	1998-2011	pit
14	Randy Moss	982	1998-2012	5TM
15	Steve Smith	961	2001-2015	2TM
16	Andre Reed	951	1985-2000	2TM
17	Derrick Mason	943	1997-2011	4TM
18	Art Monk	940	1980-1995	3TM
19	Torry Holt	920	1999-2009	2TM
20	Wes Welker	903	2004-2015	5TM
21	Keenan McCardell	883	1992-2007	5TM
22	Brandon Marshall	882	2006-2015	4TM
23	Jimmy Smith	862	1992-2005	2TM
24	Muhsin Muhammad	860	1996-2009	2TM
25	Irving Fryar	851	1984-2000	4TM
26	Rod Smith	849	1995-2006	den
27	Antonio Gates	844	2003-2015	sdg
28	Larry Centers	827	1990-2003	4TM
29	Steve Largent	819	1976-1989	sea
30	Shannon Sharpe	815	1990-2003	2TM

I wanted to hit #30 because I remember the day in 1987 that Steve Largent passed Charlie Joiner. Art Monk passed Largent five years later. Then Rice took the record to a whole other orbit.

Of the top-30 on the receptions list, eight are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame

Jerry Rice
Marvin Harrison
Cris Carter
Tim Brown
Andre Reed
Art Monk
Steve Largent
Shannon Sharpe

Tony Gonzalez should join those eight as soon as he's eligible in 2018. Terrell Owens missed in his first year of eligibility but should get in soon. Despite some issues with actually catching a football. Receiver is arguably the most competitive position for Hall of Fame admittance. The voters have chipped away at the receiver logjam in recent years but there are still a lot of deserving players waiting for that call. Owens, Isaac Bruce, and Torry Holt are at the top of the list. Hines Ward and Randy Moss will join the line, perhaps move to the front of it, in the next couple of years. Reggie Wayne a few years after that. Derrick Mason is a receiver that I feel should get some Hall of Fame attention. He had a terrific, consistent career. Jimmy Smith and Keenan McCardell did as well. While Mason, McCardell, and Smith should be in the conversation they are probably closer to Hall of Very Good. Steve Smith, Anquan Boldin, and Andre Johnson are nearing the end of their great careers. Larry Fitzgerald, Jason Witten, and Antonio Gates are not too far behind them. All had Hall of Fame careers.

One of the more interesting, but not unexpected, things about the receptions list is the lack of players that started their careers before the AFL-NFL merger. Running the football was by far the preferred mode of moving it in those days so there were a limited number of passes to catch. Joiner started his career in 1969. He's sitting at #38 on the receptions list with 750. Charley Taylor started in 1964. He's at #54 with 649. Raymond Berry and Don Maynard are the really old guys. They started their great careers in the 1950s. Berry (1955-67) was Johnny Unitas's favorite pass catcher and caught 631. He's at #57. Maynard (1958-73) is at #56 with 633. There was a time when their totals paced the NFL. That was a long time ago.