We look at the receiving leaders throughout NFL history, from the most receiving yards in a game, to the most receiving yards in a season, to the most receiving yards in a career.
One of the main ways teams advance the ball upfield in American football is by passing to receivers.
Receiving yards are calculated from the line of scrimmage (essentially where the ball is positioned at the start of a play) to where the play ends following a completed catch.
It is possible to record negative receiving yards. If the ball is received behind the line of scrimmage where a player is then tackled, the yards lost will be deducted from a player's receiving yards.
Rank | Player | Receiving yards |
1 | Jerry Rice | 22,895 |
2 | Larry Fitzgerald | 17,492 |
3 | Terrell Owens | 15,934 |
4 | Randy Moss | 15,292 |
5 | Isaac Bruce | 15,208 |
Legendary wide receiver Jerry Rice tops the list of the most receiving yards in NFL history, more than 5,000 clear of Larry Fitzgerald in second place. Rice is the only player to top 20,000 receiving yards and also holds the record for the most receptions with 1,549 - the only player with more than 1,500.
Tony Gonzalez holds the record for the most receiving yards by a tight end, with 15,127 from 1,325 receptions.
Rank | Player | Team | Receiving yards | Year |
1 | Calvin Johnson | Detroit Lions | 1,964 | 2012 |
2 | Cooper Kupp | Los Angeles Rams | 1,947 | 2021 |
3 | Julio Jones | Atlanta Falcons | 1,871 | 2015 |
4 | Jerry Rice | San Francisco 49ers | 1,848 | 1995 |
5 | Antonio Brown | Pittsburgh Steelers | 1,834 | 2015 |
Despite breaking the record for the most receiving yards in a season, and holding the record for 17 years, Jerry Rice has three players above him in terms of receiving yards in a single season.
Calvin Johnson came closest to the 2,000-yard mark in the 2012 season with the Detroit Lions, eclipsing Rice, and while nobody has bettered that, Cooper Kupp and Julio Jones have both surpassed Rice's tally back in 1995.
Rank | Player | Receiving yards | Fixture | Date |
1 | Flipper Anderson | 336 yards | Rams v Saints | 26 Nov 1989 |
2 | Calvin Johnson | 329 yards | Lions v Cowboys | 27 Oct 2013 |
3 | Stephone Paige | 309 yards | Chiefs v San Diego Chargers | 22 Dec 1985 |
4 | Jim Benton | 303 yards | Cleveland Rams v Lions | 22 Nov 1945 |
5 | Cloyce Box | 302 yards | Lions v Baltimore Colts | 3 Dec 1950 |
Only six players have reached 300 receiving yards in an NFL game with 250 being reached on 32 occasions.
Flipper Anderson holds the record with a monster 336 yards in the Los Angeles Rams' 20-17 win over the New Orleans Saints in 1989. Despite the mammoth total, Anderson's longest reception of the game was 50 yards, and he only recorded one touchdown.