By RICK GOSSELIN
Staff Writer
rgosselin@dallasnews.com
Published 07 July 2011 12:41 AM
The NFL annually crowns its pass receiving champion based on total number of receptions.
I’ve always believed yards and touchdowns were a better barometer of a pass catcher than his number of catches. So I place a greater premium on quality over quantity when I judge receivers.
For instance, Cris Carter of the Minnesota Vikings won the NFL receiving title in 1994 with 122 catches. But Jerry Rice was the best receiver in the game that season. He caught 10 fewer balls than Carter but gained 243 more yards (1,499-1,256) and caught almost twice as many touchdown passes (13-7).
John Turney is a member of the Professional Football Research Association (PFRA), so he specializes in crunching numbers. He’s devised a system that ranks pass catchers based on four categories: catches per game, yards per game, yards per catch and touchdown percentage. His twist is that all four of the categories are weighted equally.
Turney recently ranked the top 283 receivers of all time and, based on his computations, the most productive pass catcher was Hall of Famer Don Hutson of the Green Bay Packers. He averaged 4.21 receptions per game, 68.8 yards per game, 16.4 yards per catch and scored a touchdown on a staggering 20.5 percent of his catches (100 in 488).
The two wide receivers on my personal all-time team -- Lance Alworth and Paul Warfield -- rank second and 10 all-time on Turney’s list. Here’s his rating scale for the Top 20:
Rank, Receiver
Catches
Yards
TDs
Rating
1. Don Hutson
488
7,981
100
.842
2. Lance Alworth
542
10,267
85
.828
3. Randy Moss
954
14,858
153
.816
4. Art Powell
479
8,046
81
.800
5. Marvin Harrison
1,102
14,580
128
.791
6. Terrell Owens
1,078
15,934
153
.7904
7. Jerry Rice
1,545
22,895
197
.7901
8. Mike Quick
363
6,464
61
.775
9. Larry Fitzgerald
613
8,204
65
.773
10. Paul Warfield
427
8,565
85
.772
11. Bob Hayes
371
7,414
71
.771
12. Charlie Hennigan
410
6,823
51
.764
13. Andre Johnson
673
9,164
50
.757
14. Sterling Sharpe
595
8,134
65
.754
15. Torry Holt
920
13,382
74
.746
16. Don Maynard
633
11,834
88
.742
17. Marques Colston
369
5,097
40
.741
18. Anquan Boldin
650
8,357
51
.739
19. Michael Irvin
750
11,904
65
.737
20. Tommy McDonald
495
8,410
84
.725
(Hall of Famers in bold)
Powell (Raiders) and Hennigan (Oilers) played their careers in the AFL in the 1960s. Owens, Fitzgerald, Johnson, Colston and Boldin are all still active.
The three receivers who were finalists for the Hall of Fame last February but failed to garner enough support for induction were Carter, Tim Brown and Andre Reed. Carter ranks 44 on Turney’s list, Brown 85 and Reed 95.
Others of note include Hall of Famers Steve Largent (21st), Elroy Hirsch (25), Raymond Berry (51), James Lofton (53), Tom Fears (55), Charley Taylor (64), Bobby Mitchell (66), Lynn Swann (68), John Stallworth (83), Fred Biletnikoff (101), Art Monk (110), Lenny Moore (121) and Charlie Joiner (128).
Past and present Cowboys include Anthony Miller (59th), Keyshawn Johnson (62), Terry Glenn (63), Tony Hill (67), Joey Galloway (78), Roy Williams (91), Drew Pearson (118) and Raghib Ismail (184).
As a footnote, in Turney’s ratings the receivers are ranked 1 through 283 in all four categories. Boldin has the highest average of catches per game at 5.86, so all other receivers fall in under him. He gets the 100 points for being No. 1, Andre Johnson gets 99 points for ranking No. 2 with 5.85 receptions per game and so on down the line. Add a receiver’s ranking in each category and then divide by four for the receiver’s rating on Turney’s scale.
Staff Writer
rgosselin@dallasnews.com
Published 07 July 2011 12:41 AM
The NFL annually crowns its pass receiving champion based on total number of receptions.
I’ve always believed yards and touchdowns were a better barometer of a pass catcher than his number of catches. So I place a greater premium on quality over quantity when I judge receivers.
For instance, Cris Carter of the Minnesota Vikings won the NFL receiving title in 1994 with 122 catches. But Jerry Rice was the best receiver in the game that season. He caught 10 fewer balls than Carter but gained 243 more yards (1,499-1,256) and caught almost twice as many touchdown passes (13-7).
John Turney is a member of the Professional Football Research Association (PFRA), so he specializes in crunching numbers. He’s devised a system that ranks pass catchers based on four categories: catches per game, yards per game, yards per catch and touchdown percentage. His twist is that all four of the categories are weighted equally.
Turney recently ranked the top 283 receivers of all time and, based on his computations, the most productive pass catcher was Hall of Famer Don Hutson of the Green Bay Packers. He averaged 4.21 receptions per game, 68.8 yards per game, 16.4 yards per catch and scored a touchdown on a staggering 20.5 percent of his catches (100 in 488).
The two wide receivers on my personal all-time team -- Lance Alworth and Paul Warfield -- rank second and 10 all-time on Turney’s list. Here’s his rating scale for the Top 20:
Rank, Receiver
Catches
Yards
TDs
Rating
1. Don Hutson
488
7,981
100
.842
2. Lance Alworth
542
10,267
85
.828
3. Randy Moss
954
14,858
153
.816
4. Art Powell
479
8,046
81
.800
5. Marvin Harrison
1,102
14,580
128
.791
6. Terrell Owens
1,078
15,934
153
.7904
7. Jerry Rice
1,545
22,895
197
.7901
8. Mike Quick
363
6,464
61
.775
9. Larry Fitzgerald
613
8,204
65
.773
10. Paul Warfield
427
8,565
85
.772
11. Bob Hayes
371
7,414
71
.771
12. Charlie Hennigan
410
6,823
51
.764
13. Andre Johnson
673
9,164
50
.757
14. Sterling Sharpe
595
8,134
65
.754
15. Torry Holt
920
13,382
74
.746
16. Don Maynard
633
11,834
88
.742
17. Marques Colston
369
5,097
40
.741
18. Anquan Boldin
650
8,357
51
.739
19. Michael Irvin
750
11,904
65
.737
20. Tommy McDonald
495
8,410
84
.725
(Hall of Famers in bold)
Powell (Raiders) and Hennigan (Oilers) played their careers in the AFL in the 1960s. Owens, Fitzgerald, Johnson, Colston and Boldin are all still active.
The three receivers who were finalists for the Hall of Fame last February but failed to garner enough support for induction were Carter, Tim Brown and Andre Reed. Carter ranks 44 on Turney’s list, Brown 85 and Reed 95.
Others of note include Hall of Famers Steve Largent (21st), Elroy Hirsch (25), Raymond Berry (51), James Lofton (53), Tom Fears (55), Charley Taylor (64), Bobby Mitchell (66), Lynn Swann (68), John Stallworth (83), Fred Biletnikoff (101), Art Monk (110), Lenny Moore (121) and Charlie Joiner (128).
Past and present Cowboys include Anthony Miller (59th), Keyshawn Johnson (62), Terry Glenn (63), Tony Hill (67), Joey Galloway (78), Roy Williams (91), Drew Pearson (118) and Raghib Ismail (184).
As a footnote, in Turney’s ratings the receivers are ranked 1 through 283 in all four categories. Boldin has the highest average of catches per game at 5.86, so all other receivers fall in under him. He gets the 100 points for being No. 1, Andre Johnson gets 99 points for ranking No. 2 with 5.85 receptions per game and so on down the line. Add a receiver’s ranking in each category and then divide by four for the receiver’s rating on Turney’s scale.
