Top Five NFL Wide Receivers in History

These are the top five wide receivers in NFL history. My list probably differs from yours, but hey you have been wrong before, right? Just kidding. Some people would go just by stats when listing the best wide receivers ever. I won't do that because stats can be misleading. A guy may have had a Hall of Fame quarterback for his whole career or maybe he was never injured and played a lot of years. Yes that sounds like Jerry Rice, but Rice was the best ever.

My top five wide receivers in NFL history will have some guys with not so great stats, and leave some off with great ones. I am going by what I have seen on the field or read about when I determine my list of the best wide receivers ever. Check the sources section at the end of this article for the stats of my top five receivers list of all time.

1 Jerry Rice- San Francisco, Oakland and Seattle

Jerry Rice is the best wide receiver in the history of the National Football League. He turned average athletic talent into a Hall of Fame career with hard work and a refusal to be less than the best. Jerry Rice caught 1,549 passes for 22,895 yards and an amazing 197 touchdown receptions. Rice also rushed for over 600 yards and added 10 touchdown runs.

2 Don Hutson- Green Bay

Don Hutson changed the way football was played when he joined the Packers in 1935. His stats do not compare with some but think of when he played. Football was a running game and ruthless to say the least. Teams tried to kill Don Hutson to keep him from catching passes but he excelled anyway. Hutson did catch 99 touchdown passes which are comparable to modern great wide receivers. Don Hutson belongs near the top of any top five wide receivers list.

3 Tim Brown- Oakland and Tampa Bay

I believe Tim Brown was one of the most underrated wide receivers of all time. You can read here that he was one of the few non quarterbacksor running backs to win the Heisman in college. Then Tim Brown played 16 NFL seasons, most of which without a really great quarterback. In addition to being a great wideout Brown also excelled as a returner in his early years.

4 Chris Carter- Philadelphia, Minnesota and Miami

Let me start this out by saying I hated Chris Carter. I thought he was a crybaby and a jerk, with a drug problem. He overcame the drug problem to be one of the best wide receivers in NFL history. All he did was catch touchdowns and like Brown, often from less than great quarterbacks. Chris Carter caught 130 touchdown passes in his career that saw its ups and downs.

5 Randy Moss- Minnesota, Oakland, New England

Randy Moss is the most talented wide receiver to ever play in the NFL, bar none. However his attitude generally sucks and he has been known to take games off. However Randy Moss when he was motivated was the best wide receiver ever.

Thanks for checking out my list of the top five NFL wide receiver of all time. Feel free to bash me, I mean leave a comment below. I will answer the comments within 24 hours if I feel an answer or reply is needed.

Sources

Jerry Rice Stats at Profootballreference.com

Don Huston Stats at Profootballreference.com

Tim Brown stats at Profootballreference.com

Chris Carter Stats at Profootballreference.com

Randy Moss Stats at Profootballreference.com