The 10 Players With the Most Receiving Yards in NFL History (2024)

When it comes to the top NFL wide receivers of all time, pretty much no matter what the statistical category may be, it's Jerry Rice and everyone else.

The three-time Super Bowl champion is far and away the league's all-time leader in receiving yards with 22,895, and that doesn't even include the postseason. For the record, he tacked on an additional 2,245 yards in his 29 playoff games.

But just to be clear from the start, this list will only include stats from the regular season.

While no other wideout comes within 5,000 yards of Rice, that certainly doesn't mean there hasn't been a ton of talent in the wideout department over the years.

Here's a closer look at Rice and the nine other pass-catchers who've racked up the most receiving yards in NFL history.

1 Jerry Rice: 22,895 Yards

Jerry Rice is the only WR in NFL history with 20,000 receiving yards in a career

It's safe to say Jerry Rice is viewed by most as the greatest wide receiver ever to play in the NFL. And why wouldn't he be?

The San Francisco 49ers legend led the league in receiving yards six times during his 20-year career and recorded more than 1,000 yards in a season a ridiculous 14 times. He is far and away the leader in receiving yards, with 22,895 in his career.

Rice finished in the top three in the MVP voting four times in his career and had his best statistical season in 1995 when he led the NFL with a career-high 1,848 receiving yards. He also hauled in 15 touchdown receptions. Rice also led the NFL in touchdown catches on six occasions, including in 1987, when he had a career-best 22.

The Mississippi Valley State alum played the first 16 years of his career with the 49ers before playing three full seasons with the Oakland Raiders. He split his final season in the NFL in 2004 between the Raiders and the Seattle Seahawks.

Rice was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2010.

2 Larry Fitzgerald: 17,492 Yards

Larry Fitzgerald had no problem adjusting to life in the NFL and spent 17 seasons with the Cardinals

Larry Fitzgerald played all 17 of his NFL seasons with the Arizona Cardinals, who made him the third overall pick in the 2004 NFL Draft.

After a spectacular collegiate career at Pittsburgh, Fitzgerald had no problem with the transition to the NFL, scoring eight touchdowns as a rookie and then leading the NFL in receptions (103) in his second season. In that 2005 season, he also finished with 1,409 receiving yards and 14 touchdowns.

Fitzgerald was as consistent as they come, finishing his career with nine 1,000-yard seasons. His best season came in 2008, when he had a league-high 12 touchdown receptions and finished with a career-high 1,431 receiving yards.

Fitzgerald had 11 Pro Bowl seasons and was also a three-time All-Pro selection. He led the league in receptions twice and finished his career with 17,492 yards.

3 Terrell Owens: 15,934 Yards

Terrell Owens talked a good game but showed he could back it up

Terrell Owens played the first eight seasons of his 15-year NFL career with the San Francisco 49ers, who drafted him in the third round of the '96 draft out of Chattanooga, and he made a name for himself as one of the best wide receivers in the game during his era.

With the 49ers, the talkative Owens had five 1,000-yard seasons and racked up 81 touchdown receptions. He made five straight Pro Bowls from 2000 to 2004, the last season of that run being his first campaign with the Philadelphia Eagles. He also earned four First-Team All-Pro selections during that stretch.

In 2001, Owens led the NFL with 16 touchdown receptions and finished with 1,412 yards. In 2002, he had his only 100-catch season, finishing with 100 receptions for 1,300 yards. He also led the league with 13 touchdown catches despite missing two games that year.

T.O. ultimately played two seasons with the Eagles and then went on to play three with the Dallas Cowboys, recording four 1,000-yard seasons in those five years. Owens closed his career by playing one season each with the Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals.

Owens was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2018.

4 Randy Moss: 15,292 Yards

Randy Moss quickly proved he should've gone higher in the 1998 NFL Draft

There were questions about Randy Moss' maturity level heading into the 1998 NFL Draft. The talented wide receiver out of Marshall had NFL talent, but teams shied away from him until the Minnesota Vikings grabbed him in the first round with the 21st overall pick.

Moss made those who passed on him pay. He was named Offensive Rookie of the Year after racking up 1,313 yards on just 69 catches. He also led the NFL with 17 touchdown receptions. But that was just the beginning.

Moss began his pro career with six straight 1,000-yard seasons and was named to the Pro Bowl in five of them. He played the first eight seasons of his 15-year career with the Vikings, and his best year in Minnesota came in 2003, when he had a career-high 111 catches for a career-best 1,632 yards. His 17 touchdown catches again led the NFL.

After two seasons with the Oakland Raiders, Moss joined the New England Patriots in 2007, giving Tom Brady the biggest weapon at wide receiver he ever had. Moss finished the year with an NFL- and career-best 23 touchdowns and collected 1,493 receiving yards.

Moss finished his career with 15,292 yards and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2018.

5 Isaac Bruce: 15,208 Yards

Isaac Bruce was one half of the 'Greatest Show on Turf' with the Kurt Warner-led Rams

Isaac Bruce was a big part of the St. Louis Rams' famed "Greatest Show on Turf" offense, catching passes from quarterback Kurt Warner.

Despite sharing receptions with Torry Holt for several years as one of the most explosive wide receiver tandems in the NFL, Bruce still put up some big numbers. In 14 seasons with the Rams, the four-time Pro Bowler had eight seasons with 1,000 or more receiving yards.

Years before Warner's arrival, the Memphis alum made his first Pro Bowl in 1996 after leading the NFL with 1,338 receiving yards, but perhaps his best season came the year before. In 1995, Bruce had a career-best 1,781 receiving yards, hauled in a career-high 13 touchdown passes, and was somehow not named to the Pro Bowl.

Bruce, who had four straight 1,000-yard campaigns from 1999 to 2002, finished with 15,208 receiving yards in his career. After 14 years with the Rams, he played two seasons with the San Francisco 49ers, collecting 1,099 yards. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2020.

6 Tony Gonzalez: 15,127 Yards

Tony Gonzalez is the only tight end to make an appearance on this list

The only player on this list who isn't a wide receiver is Hall of Fame tight end Tony Gonzalez, who played 17 seasons in the NFL, the first 12 years with the Kansas City Chiefs and the final five with the Atlanta Falcons.

The athletic Gonzalez was a two-sport athlete at Cal, also playing basketball for the Golden Bears. At 6-foot-5 and 247 pounds, Gonzalez was a force in the NFL after the Chiefs made him the 13th pick in the 1997 NFL Draft.

In his third NFL season, Gonzalez began a string of 10 straight Pro Bowl appearances after catching 76 passes for 849 yards. He also had 11 touchdown catches. His best season came in 2004 when he led the league with 102 catches and finished with a career-high 1,258 yards. He also had seven touchdowns.

Gonzalez had four Pro Bowl seasons in five years with the Falcons, finishing with 4,187 yards to give him a career total of 15,127. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2019.

7 Tim Brown: 14,934 Yards

It took a while for Tim Brown to make a name for himself as a wide receiver in the NFL

It took Tim Brown several years to adjust to NFL life after a stellar career at Notre Dame. The sixth overall pick in the 1988 NFL Draft, Brown spent much of his time on special teams as a punt and kick returner before becoming the team's primary wideout in 1992.

After never having caught 50 passes in a single season in his first five years, Brown became a consistent offensive weapon for the Raiders in 1993. As the team's top receiver, he caught 80 passes for 1,180 yards and seven touchdowns, beginning a stretch of nine straight seasons in which he had at least 1,000 receiving yards.

Brown led the NFL in receptions in 1997 with a career-best 104 and recorded a career-high 1,408 yards, earning Second-Team All-Pro honors, which was the lone All-Pro selection of his career.

Brown played 16 years with the Raiders and ended his career by playing one season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, finishing his career with 14,934 receiving yards. He was named to the Pro Bowl nine times and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2015.

8 Steve Smith: 14,731 Yards

Steve Smith overcame a broken leg with the best season of his career in 2005

Things did not look good for Carolina Panthers wide receiver Steve Smith in 2004. The fourth-year player was coming off a season where he caught 88 passes for 1,110 yards, but he broke his leg in the '04 season opener against the Green Bay Packers and was lost for the year.

He came back with a vengeance in 2005, putting together the best year of his Hall of Fame career. He led the NFL with 103 catches, 1,563 receiving yards, and 12 touchdown receptions, all career highs. Smith notched the second of his two All-Pro selections that year and was named the league's Comeback Player of the Year.

The five-time Pro Bowler played 16 seasons in the NFL, the first 13 with the Panthers and the final three seasons with the Baltimore Ravens. He had eight seasons of 1,000 receiving yards or more and finished his career with 14,731 receiving yards.

9 Marvin Harrison Sr.: 14,580 Yards

Marvin Harrison quietly became the Colts' all-time receiving leader

Marvin Harrison Sr. quietly did his thing with the Indianapolis Colts. Taken with the 19th overall pick in the '96 draft, the soft-spoken and mild-mannered wide receiver out of Syracuse put together an eight-year stretch of 1,000-yard seasons from 1999 to 2006 and was considered by many to be the best wideout in the NFL during that stretch.

Having Peyton Manning to catch passes from certainly didn't hurt.

In 1999, Harrison earned the first of his eight All-Pro selections after catching 115 passes for an NFL-best 1,663 yards. He also finished with 12 touchdowns. Three years later, he again led the league with 1,722 receiving yards and also recorded an NFL-high 143 receptions, which remains one of the highest single-season totals of all time.

Harrison spent all 13 years of his NFL career with the Colts. He is the team's all-time leading receiver with 14,580 yards and also racked up 128 touchdown catches in his career.

Harrison was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2016.

10 Reggie Wayne: 14,345 Yards

Reggie Wayne teamed with Marvin Harrison to form an elite NFL wideout tandem

Reggie Wayne teamed with Harrison to form quite the wide receiver tandem for Manning.

Beginning in 2004, his fourth season in the league, Wayne started a stretch of seven straight years with 1,000 receiving yards or more. His 1,510 during the 2007 season led the NFL. From 2006 to 2010, Wayne earned a trip to the Pro Bowl each season and was named a First-Team All-Pro for the only time in his career in 2010, catching 111 passes for 1,355 yards.

Like Harrison, Wayne spent his entire career with the Colts. He played 14 seasons and finished with 14,345 yards.

All stats courtesy of Pro Football Reference unless stated otherwise.