Best Wide Receivers Ever Hierarchy

These are the best Wide Receivers ever ranked according to tiers. This list is based off the overall talent and career accomplishments. To no surprise this list includes the top 10 Wide Receivers of all-time as well as some of the best Wide Receiver seasons ever.

Tier 1:

From left to right: Jerry Rice and Randy Moss.

I have never been so confident in my tier 1 ranking. Jerry Rice is clearly the best Wide Receiver ever according to stats. His record breaking career lasted 20 seasons still holding the records for most receiving yards, receptions and touchdowns.

Randy Moss’ career only lasted 14 seasons and his stats compared to Rice reflect it. I think that Randy Moss was the more gifted and talented Wide Receiver, but the longevity and consistency compared hurt him in the GOAT conversation. It also doesn’t help that he didn’t have Joe Montana and Steve Young throwing to him his entire career.

Tier 2:

From left to right: Terrell Owens, Calvin Johnson and Larry Fitzgerald.

Much like tier 1, i’m very confident with these 3 players. If we saw more of Calvin Johnson past 9 seasons, there is no doubt more would add him to the GOAT conversation. Larry Fitzgerald has the most longevity and consistency, but never had the really dominant season where he was unanimously considered the best Wide Receiver in the NFL. Terrell Owens has both the really dominant seasons and longevity which to me slots him at #3 for the best Wide Receivers ever.

Tier 3:

From left to right: Steve Largent, Cris Carter, Don Hutson and Marvin Harrison

This is where it gets hard for me. I think all of the players in this tier are top 10 WRs, but it was hard to have them on a tier above a couple of players later in this hierarchy. It’s also hard to grade Don Hutson’s dominance considering he played in such a completely different era.

Tier 4:

From left to right: Julio Jones, Michael Irvin, Tim Brown, Lance Alworth, Isaac Bruce.

I think you could easily make a case for each one of these players being in the above tier. I have Julio Jones as an honorable mention for my top 10 Wide Receivers ever list and rightfully so. Michael Irvin is also on the list, but his career was cut short due to injury.

Tier 5:

From left to right: Andre Reed, Steve Smith, Fred Biletnikoff, Don Maynard, Reggie Wayne, Sterling Sharpe and Bob Hayes

Much like tier 4, I could easily move most of these players up a tier on this list. There are also many worthy wide receivers who just missed making the hierarchy. There has been a plethora of Wide Receivers over the NFL’s 100 year history. Credit to Bob Hayes also being one of the fastest NFL players ever.

All-Time Hierarchy Lists:
Best Running Backs Ever Hierarchy
Best Quarterbacks Ever Hierarchy

2020 Hierarchy Lists:
Best Wide Receivers 2020 Hierarchy