The NFL has gravitated towards relying on the air attack in recent years. Through this philosophy, assaults on record books have surfaced by wide receivers.
Yet for many years, Hall of Famer Jerry Rice owned some of the major receiving records. As we head towards the 2024 season, we examine if Rice still owns most of these marks, or discover who are the new receiving record holders by the following categories: season records, career marks, plus rookie achievements that still stand.
NFL WR Season Records
- NFL Season Receiving Yards Leader: Calvin Johnson, Detroit Lions, 1,964 Yards, 2012
- NFL Season Receiving Touchdowns Leader: Randy Moss, New England Patriots, 23 Touchdowns, 2007
- NFL Season Receptions Leader: Michael Thomas, New Orleans Saints, 149 Receptions, 2019
All three of these single-season marks were rewritten starting in 2007. It all began with Moss’s epic 23-touchdown campaign. Moss went on to break Rice’s 22-touchdown mark, which had stood for 20 years. Moss also accomplished his feat during his first season with the New England Patriots.
Five years after Moss shattered the single-season touchdown mark, Johnson produced 11 different 100-yard outings, including two 200-yard games, to become the NFL’s first 1,900-yard WR in a season. Cooper Kupp of the Los Angeles Rams nearly broke Megatron’s record in 2021, racking up 1,947 yards.
Thomas went on to solidify his name in the NFL record books by hauling in 149 catches during the 2019 season, which came before the league moved to a 17-game regular season schedule.
NFL All-Time WR Career Records
- NFL All-Time Career Receiving Yards Leader: Jerry Rice, San Francisco 49ers, 22,895 Career Yards
- NFL All-Time Career Receiving Touchdowns Leader: Jerry Rice, San Francisco 49ers, 197 Touchdowns
- NFL All-Time Career Receptions Leader: Jerry Rice, San Francisco 49ers, 1,549 Receptions
It’s a clean sweep for the legendary Rice here.
Rice delivered 14 seasons of 1,000 or more yards to help fuel his career yardage mark. That includes leading the league in receiving yardage six times during his illustrious career, which was between 1986-95.
To this day, Rice is the closest WR to 200 career touchdowns. He also led the NFL in receiving touchdowns six times in his career from 1986-93.
Lastly, Rice is one of 14 different wideouts who snatched 1,000 career catches. The closest one to his mark is Larry Fitzgerald, who caught 1,432 receptions in his decorated career with the Arizona Cardinals.
NFL WR Rookie Records
- NFL Rookie Receiving Yards Leader: Puka Nacua, Los Angeles Rams, 1,486 Yards, 2023
- NFL Rookie Receiving Touchdowns Leader: Randy Moss, Minnesota Vikings, 17 Touchdowns, 1998
- NFL Rookie Receptions Leader: Puka Nacua, Los Angeles Rams, 105 Receptions, 2023
Puka Nacua shattered two of these three marks just one season ago.
First arriving to the Rams as a fifth-round draft find, Nacua rose as a stunning impact player for a pass-happy offense right away, catching 25 combined passes and surpassing 100 yards in his first two games.
Even in an offense with the established Pro Bowler Kupp, Nacua remained the surprise go-to option for Super Bowl-winning quarterback Matthew Stafford. The end result was Nacua breaking two NFL rookie marks for the Rams.
As for Moss, he also had a widely publicized draft fall as the 21st overall selection of his class. He went straight to torturing defenses right away during the Vikings’ historic offensive output of 1998 and still holds the record for most season touchdowns by a first-year receiver. Ja’Marr Chase of the Cincinnati Bengals emerged as the closest one to Moss’s rookie record, catching 13 touchdowns in his All-Pro debut of 2021.