The Best Wide Receivers of All Time
The best wide receivers of all time are a group of elite athletes inclusive of some of the best athletes of all time. The greatest wide receivers are the ones that make amazing plays every game while simultaneously making the little plays that move the ball down the field. These are the top wide receivers ever to play the game of football.
These elite football players are members of pro-bowl squads, Super Bowl winners, and all-around all-star football players. Some, like WR Jerry Rice, became the stuff of football legend while they were still playing, while others like Wes Welker are just making their marks as the go-to wide receivers on franchise teams. Most of the top wide receivers in the NFL are on this list, and whether they are the best wide receivers currently in the NFL or the best wide receivers in the history of the NFL, they all have a fighting chance to land at #1 on the list of the best wide receivers ever.
Who are the best wide receivers of all time? What are the qualities of the top wide receivers? Who is the greatest wide receiver ever? These are some of the questions this list looks to tackle with its compilation of the best wide receivers of all time. There are scores of famous wide receivers in the history of the NFL, so if you don't see your favorite wide receiver on the list, make sure to add him so other users can vote for him to move up this list of the greatest wide receivers of all time.
If you want a little more football after checking out this list of the best wide receivers in NFL history, check out the best touchdown celebrations of all time to see some of these guys in endzone action.
- Mark "Super" Duper (born January 25, 1959) is an American former football wide receiver who played for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League from 1982 to 1992. He played collegiately at ...more
- Odell Cornelious Beckham Jr. (born November 5, 1992) is an American football wide receiver for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). Born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Beckham ...more
- Donald Rogers Maynard (born January 25, 1935) is a former American football player who played professionally in the National Football League (NFL) with the New York Giants and St. Louis Cardinals; ...more
- Anthony Carter (born September 17, 1960) is a former American football wide receiver. He finished his college career as the University of Michigan's all-time leading receiver, and played ...more
- Wesley Sandy Chandler (born August 22, 1956) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for eleven seasons during the 1970s and ...more
- Antonio Michael Freeman (born May 27, 1972) is a former American football wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL), most notably for the Green Bay Packers. He attended the Baltimore ...more
- Drew Pearson (born January 12, 1951) is an American former football wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at the University of Tulsa.
- DeSean William Jackson (born December 1, 1986) is an American football wide receiver for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the University of ...more
- Patrick Lee Tilley (born February 15, 1953) is a former NFL wide receiver who played for the St. Louis Cardinals (1976–1986). He was selected to the Pro Bowl after the 1980 season. Tilley played ...more
- Lee Harold Carmichael (born September 22, 1949) is an American former football wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) who played 13 seasons for the Philadelphia Eagles (1971–1983) and ...more
- Lionel Thomas Taylor (born August 15, 1935) is a former American football wide receiver who led the American Football League (AFL) in receptions for five of the first six years of the league's ...more
- Eugene Marquis "T. Y." Hilton (born November 14, 1989) is an American football wide receiver for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at FIU, and ...more
- Elroy Leon "Crazylegs" Hirsch (June 17, 1923 – January 28, 2004) was an American football player, sport executive and actor. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1967 and the ...more
- Donald Jerome Driver (born February 2, 1975) is a former American football wide receiver. After playing college football for Alcorn State University, Driver was picked by the Green Bay Packers in the ...more
- Dante Bert Joseph "Gluefingers" Lavelli (February 23, 1923 – January 20, 2009) was an American football end who played for the Cleveland Browns in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and ...more
- William Max McGee (July 16, 1932 – October 20, 2007) was a professional football player, a wide receiver for the Green Bay Packers in the NFL. He played from 1954 to 1967, and is best known for his ...more
- Sharod Lamor "Roddy" White (born November 2, 1981) is a former American football wide receiver who played his entire professional career with the Atlanta Falcons. He played college football at UAB, ...more
- Otis Taylor (born August 11, 1942) is a former American college and professional American football player, for Prairie View A&M University and the American Football League's Kansas City Chiefs. ...more
- Emmanuel Niamiah Sanders (born March 17, 1987) is an American football wide receiver for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at SMU, and was drafted ...more
- Jimmy Orr (born October 4, 1935) is a former American Football wide receiver who played for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Colts for 13 seasons from 1958 to 1970. Orr was a two-time Pro ...more
- Keenan Alexander Allen (born April 27, 1992) is an American football wide receiver for the Los Angeles Chargers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the California ...more
- Michael William Thomas Jr. (born March 3, 1993) is an American football wide receiver for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for Ohio State ...more
- William Arthur Johnson (born January 27, 1952), better known as Billy "White Shoes" Johnson, is a former American football player who played in the National Football League (NFL) from 1974 through ...more
- Santonio Holmes Jr. (born March 3, 1984) is a former American football wide receiver. He was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the first round of the 2006 NFL Draft after playing college football ...more
- Robert Cornelius Mitchell (born June 6, 1935) is a former American football halfback and flanker who played in the National Football League (NFL) for the Cleveland Browns and the Washington Redskins. ...more
