The evolution of wide receivers

By Brad Oremland Sports Central Columnist

Bonus Seven Quick Hits

* Emmitt Smith has left Dallas. Junior Seau's on his way out of San Diego. I suppose next season the Raiders will trade Tim Brown and Darrell Green will come out of retirement to play for the Eagles.

* Washington has promised Chad Morton playing time at running back. But they already have Trung Canidate, Ladell Betts, and Kenny Watson, all of whom are young and have similar styles. What are Daniel Snyder and Steve Spurrier thinking?

* I think they're thinking they'll use Morton mostly as a returner. If I'm right, he's going to be really pissed off. And if I'm wrong, they have four of the same player. Trouble either way.

* The Patriots are quietly having a very good offseason.

* I like Kordell Stewart more than most people, but I don't understand the thinking in Chicago. Stewart isn't a superstar who can resurrect a franchise; he's a fill-in, the football equivalent of an innings-eater. A great team could win with him. The Bears can go 6-10.

* Late last season, I guaranteed that the Browns would win the AFC North this year. I take it back. They've had a miserable offseason so far.

* Long live the '69 Mets.

You've already read 20 articles analyzing offseason moves in the NFL, so I won't bore you with more of the same. Fine, teams who have added players are doing well, and teams who have lost players aren't. But the draft hasn't been held, a lot of free agents will be released after June 1, and an April roster really doesn't mean much.

With that in mind, here's a look at the evolution of the wide receiver position. I'm inclined to skip past the ancient history when they were just called "ends", though if you don't know who Don Hutson is, you owe it to yourself to learn a little about his accomplishments. Hutson fundamentally changed the game, and with the likely -- but not definite -- exception of Jerry Rice, was the greatest receiver ever.

But Hutson and the other players of his era -- he retired after the 1945 season -- are not my concern here. Neither are the "flankers" of the '50s and '60s, the bridge between ends like Hutson and early wide receivers like Charlie Joiner. No, I'm going to pick up in 1978, after the 16-game schedule was introduced and several crucial rules changes opened up the passing game.

Steve Largent was the first dominant wide receiver of the era. His 71 receptions led the league in '78, and in 1979, he caught 66 passes and led the NFL in receiving yards. The numbers above are totally accurate: the greatest receiver in the NFL caught a total of 137 passes in two seasons. Last year, Marvin Harrison beat Largent's two-year tally by six catches: 143 in a single season. Clearly, wide receivers have come a long way.

Before we continue, I feel like I'm being intellectually dishonest. Largent was certainly the greatest receiver in the NFL in 1978 and '79, but he didn't have the most receptions. Ahmad Rashad did, with 146. Largent was second, though, and he easily had the most receiving yards.

Moving on, the early-'80s belonged to Largent, James Lofton, and tight ends. In fact, from 1979-1986, no wide receiver led the AFC in receptions. Running backs led the NFC in 1978, 1980, and 1985. The men who brought wide receivers back to dominance were Art Monk and Jerry Rice.

In 1984, Cleveland tight end Ozzie Newsome led the AFC with 89 receptions. John Stallworth was the top AFC wide receiver, with 80. Cardinals wideout Roy Green set an NFL record with 1,555 receiving yards on 78 catches, but Tampa Bay running back James Wilder beat him with 85 receptions. Art Monk had 106.

Seventeen more than Newsome, 21 more than Wilder, 26 more than Stallworth, and 28 more than Green. Monk's 106 catches were in 1984 what Harrison's 143 were last season. He didn't just break the record (93); he shattered it. The next season, he caught 91 passes. No other wide receiver got to 80.

And in 1986, Jerry Rice took the league by storm. But first, another aside. I told the truth above, but it's asterisk truth, because I omitted AFL statistics. Green broke the NFL record for receiving yards, but he didn't beat the numbers put up by Charley Hennigan and Lance Alworth in the AFL (in 14-game seasons, no less). And although the NFL single-season record for receptions was 93, Hennigan caught 101 balls for the AFL Oilers in 1961.

Now, with a clean conscience, the late-'80s. In '86, Rice had 86 catches for 1,570 yards and 15 touchdowns. Raiders tight end Todd Christensen had 95 catches, but otherwise, Rice led in every category. The next year, he had 65 receptions for 1,078 yards and 22 touchdowns -- in 12 games. Without the missed games during the strike, Rice's projected season totals would have been: 87 receptions, 1,437 yards, and 29 TDs.

He also scored a rushing touchdown that season which would have brought the rounded total to 31. Rice's 22 receiving TDs are still the record, but he's never again come close to the single-season record for total touchdowns: it was then 24 and now stands at 26; with 23 in 12 games, Rice was a virtual lock to not only break the record, but to put it far out of reach.

The late-'80s and early-'90s saw Rice's dominance challenged by Sterling Sharpe and anyone playing on the same team as Warren Moon. Although Oilers Drew Hill, Ernest Givins, Haywood Jeffires, and Curtis Duncan were consistently among the most accomplished receivers in the league, Rice was the first player after Monk to catch 100 passes in a season (1990) and it was Sharpe who eventually broke his record, with 108 catches in 1992. By that time, Largent had retired as the game's all-time leading receiver (819), Lofton held the record for career receiving yards (13,821), and Monk had broken Largent's receptions record (847) but had his last good season. He continued to play until 1995, but never again caught 50 passes or gained 1000 yards.

Sharpe's dominance, especially after he teamed with Brett Favre starting in '92, sparked legitimate debate as to whether he or Rice was the best wide receiver in the NFL. His career was cut short by injury, though, and ironically, the league's best year ever for wide receivers was Sharpe's first in retirement.

In 1995, nine players got more than 100 catches. Ten had more than 1,300 receiving yards. And 11 had 10 or more touchdown receptions. Herman Moore set the NFL record with 123 catches, a mark which stood until Harrison wiped it out last year, and Rice set a record for receiving yardage (1,848) which has never been challenged. And although no one approached Rice's 1987 TD record, Cris Carter and Carl Pickens joined Rice to give the NFL its only trio of 15-TD receivers in a season ever.

Lest we forget where we were a mere three paragraphs ago, compare that to 1985, just 10 seasons before: no one had 100 receptions, nobody got 1,300 receiving yards, and no one had 15 TD catches. Largent led the league in receiving yards, Roger Craig had the most catches, and an otherwise anonymous Seahawks receiver named Daryl Turner was the man at the top of the touchdown list.

Since 1990, only once has the NFL failed to produce a 100-reception season (1998). Harrison hasn't had fewer than 100 catches since Peyton Manning's rookie year in '98, and his 143 last season open the possibility of a 150-catch season in the near future. What is so amazing is that wide receivers have come so far with no major rules changes and moderate expansion -- though the latter makes a bigger difference than most people realize.

The biggest factor I have yet to mention is quarterbacking. The wave of great quarterbacks who joined the league in the mid- and late-'80s made the statistical surge in receiving possible. The West Coast Offense has had even more impact, but that's far too big a subject to discuss here. I leave you with the current career receiving records, all held by Rice. Largent never came close.

1,456 receptions. 21,597 yards. 192 touchdowns.

Article courtesy of Sports Central.