Torry Holt - Best Wide Receiver in the NFL Today

I first fell in love with Torry Holt - in a platonic, admiring sense - while I was a student at Duke University. I despised the Florida State Seminoles for destroying my Blue Devils on the gridiron every fall, and I was desperate for someone, anyone to beat them in return. But this was the ACC in the mid to late 1990s, and that was easier said than done.

In the fall of 1997, Holt almost carried his North Carolina State Wolfpack to a stunning upset of the Seminoles. Then a junior, the wide receiver pulled in five touchdown catches in a 48-35 loss. The next year, he went one better and led his team to a 24-7 upset of No. 2 FSU, finding paydirt on a 63-yard pass reception and a 68-yard punt return. I figured anyone who could look like a man among boys against the perennially tough Florida State defense was alright with me, and I've been a fan ever since.

The St. Louis Rams also took note of Holt's collegiate exploits, taking him sixth overall in the 1999 NFL draft. He paid immediate dividends, catching 52 passes for 788 yards and six touchdowns in his rookie season. Alongside fellow wideouts Isaac Bruce and Az-Zahir Hakim, running back Marshall Faulk and quarterback Kurt Warner, Holt was a big part of the "Greatest Show on Turf" offense under coach Dick Vermeil and offensive coordinator Mike Martz. Appropriately for a man nicknamed "Big Game," he had one of his best games in the Rams' Super Bowl XXXIV victory over Tennessee, hauling in seven passes for 109 yards and one score.

Shaking off any notions of a sophomore jinx, Holt improved in every statistical category in 2000. He's been a thorn in the side of NFL defenses in every season of the 21st Century, including 2003 when he set career highs across the board with 117 catches, 1696 yards and 12 touchdowns. Holt has proven to be remarkably consistent, never dipping below 80 receptions or 1300 yards since his rookie campaign. He's also been durable - the two games he sat out due to injury in 2005 were the first he missed in his entire career. Holt adapted to a changing role without missing a beat, playing second fiddle to Bruce in his early years and becoming the unquestioned number one option in the Rams aerial attack in more recent times.

Recognition for Holt's accomplishments has come in the form of five Pro Bowl invitations in seven seasons. But he has consistently been overshadowed by his louder, more flamboyant contemporaries. Randy Moss was the marquee name among wide receivers in the early part of the decade, building a well-deserved rep for tracking down the long ball. Terrell Owens racked up numbers (and controversies) for both the San Francisco 49ers and the Philadelphia Eagles. The last two seasons have seen the rise of a pair of stars in the form of the Cincinnati Bengals Chad Johnson and the Carolina Panthers Steve Smith. And it's Marvin Harrison, not Holt, who comes to mind first when most fans think of consistency.

It might surprise those same fans to learn that Holt's body of work outshines them all since the 2000 season. Setting aside Johnson and Smith, who haven't been on the job long enough to enter the conversation, none of the others can touch Holt's 8699 receiving yards. Harrison is second over the last six seasons, but still over 500 yards back at 8190 yards. Harrison does have the most receptions with 616 to Holt's 567, with Owens (494) and Moss (485) far behind. In terms of yards per game, Holt comes out on top at 92.5, and his average yards per reception of 15.3 ties with Moss ahead of T.O. (14.6) and Harrison (13.3). The lone category where Holt lags behind is trips to the end zone - Holt has 48 touchdowns since 2000, while the other three men all have 70 or more. Even there Big Game may be closing the gap, as his three-TD game against the Seahawks on October 15 gave him seven on the 2006 season, tops in the NFL through six weeks.

The Seattle game also proved to be an impressive career milestone. Holt passed 10,000 career receiving yards in just 116 games, four games faster than previous record holder Lance Alworth. Already the second-fastest player in NFL history to reach 600 receptions and just 30 years old, Holt needs only a few more seasons at his current rate of production to have a legitimate shot at reaching career marks held by players like Jerry Rice, Tim Brown and Cris Carter. In fact, assuming Holt can remain healthy through 2010, he would need only average seasons by his standards to reach the top five in career receptions and top two in yards - though continued production by Harrison could set those bars slightly higher. Regardless, only a career-ending mishap or an early retirement a la Barry Sanders appear to stand in the way of an invitation to Canton at the end of Holt's career.

Back in 1998 when Holt was helping to author the upset that sticks in my mind to this day, I knew I was watching a great college receiver. The numbers say he's also become a truly great NFL receiver, one who deserves to be called the best of this young century.

Remember that the next time someone starts yapping about Randy Moss or T.O.