best athletes The Best Wide Receivers of All Time
List Rules Please the rank players only based on their on-field accomplishments
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 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 the NFL, check out the best touchdown celebrations of all time to see some of these guys in endzone action.
Jerry Rice
Jerry Lee Rice is a former American football wide receiver who played 20 seasons in the National Football League. He is widely considered to be the greatest wide receiver in NFL history and among the greatest NFL players overall. On November 4, 2010, Rice was chosen by NFL Network's NFL Films production The Top 100: NFL's Greatest Players as the greatest player in NFL history. He is the all-time leader in most major statistical categories for wide receivers, including receptions, touchdown receptions, and yards. Rice was selected to the Pro Bowl 13 times and named All-Pro 12 times in his 20 NFL seasons. He won three Super Bowl rings playing for the San Francisco 49ers and an AFC Championship ...more
Teams: Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils football, Seattle Seahawks, Denver Broncos, Oakland Raiders, San Francisco 49ers
Position: Wide receiver
Birthplace: Crawford, Mississippi, United States of America
Age: 55
Also Ranked
#1 on The Best Football Players Ever
#4 on The Best College Football Wide Receivers of All Time
#1 on The Best NFL Wide Receivers of the '90s
#2 on The Best Super Bowl MVPs of All Time
Randy Moss
Randy Gene Moss is a retired American football wide receiver who played 14 seasons in the National Football League. He holds the NFL single-season touchdown reception record, the NFL single-season touchdown reception record for a rookie, and is second on the NFL all-time regular season touchdown reception list with 156. Randy Moss is generally considered among the greatest wide receivers of all time. Moss played college football for Marshall University, and twice earned All-America honors. He was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the first round of the 1998 NFL Draft, where he played for seven years before a trade in 2005 brought him to the Oakland Raiders. On April 29, 2007, Moss was ...more
Teams: Oakland Raiders, New England Patriots, San Francisco 49ers, Tennessee Titans, Minnesota Vikings
Position: Wide receiver
Birthplace: Rand, West Virginia, United States of America
Age: 38
Also Ranked
#16 on The Best Football Players Ever
#8 on The Fastest NFL Players of All Time
#1 on The Best College Football Wide Receivers of All Time
#41 on Great Athletes Who Waited Too Long To Retire
Calvin Johnson
Calvin Johnson, Jr., nicknamed Megatron, is an American football wide receiver for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League. He played college football for Georgia Tech, and was recognized as an All-American twice. He was selected by the Lions with the second overall pick in the 2007 NFL Draft. On March 14, 2012, Johnson signed an eight-year, $132 million contract extension with the Lions, one of the largest sports contracts ever. Johnson has a rare combination of size, hands, speed, strength, leaping ability, body control and hand-eye coordination. His nickname "Megatron" was given to him by former Lions wide receiver Roy Williams and the name caught on with fans. On December 22, ...more
Teams: Detroit Lions
Position: Wide receiver
Birthplace: Newnan, Georgia, United States of America
Age: 32
Also Ranked
#31 on The Best Football Players Ever
#36 on People Who Should Be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame
#2 on The Best Detroit Lions of All Time
#2 on The Best College Football Wide Receivers of All Time
Terrell Owens
Terrell Eldorado Owens is an American football wide receiver who played 15 seasons in the National Football League. A six-time Pro Bowl selection, Owens holds or shares several National Football League records. His 15,934 career receiving yards rank 2nd in NFL history, and his 153 receiving touchdowns are 3rd. He is also one of only nine players in NFL history to catch 1,000 career passes. As productive as he has been, Owens has been equally controversial, creating firestorms with almost every team he has played for as a professional. Owens played college football and basketball at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, and was selected in the third round of the 1996 NFL Draft by the ...more
Teams: Buffalo Bills, Cincinnati Bengals, San Francisco 49ers, Philadelphia Eagles, Texas Revolution, + more
Position: Wide receiver
Birthplace: Alexander City, Alabama, United States of America
Age: 44
Also Ranked
#35 on The Best Football Players Ever
#45 on People Who Should Be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame
#38 on The Funniest Professional Athletes
#26 on The Most Controversial Athletes in Sports History
