Most Receiving Touchdowns in NFL History Tier List

Most receiving touchdowns in NFL history is one of the cleanest ways to measure scoring greatness. Yards matter. Receptions matter. But touchdowns are where receivers and tight ends turn production into scoreboard damage. The players on this list were not just volume targets. They were finishers.

This is a stats-based tier list, not a subjective ranking of the best pass catchers ever. The tiers are built around career receiving touchdown ranges. Jerry Rice sits alone in Tier 1 because nobody else is close to 197 receiving touchdowns. Randy Moss and Terrell Owens are the only other players above 150. Cris Carter owns the 130-plus tier by himself.

Career receiving touchdowns decide the tier placement. The write-ups add context for longevity, red-zone dominance, route running, contested-catch ability, quarterback chemistry, era, playoff moments and positional value. That distinction matters because the best touchdown scorers are not always ranked the exact same way as the best overall wide receivers or tight ends.

The result is a list that mixes legendary wide receivers like Jerry Rice, Randy Moss, Terrell Owens, Cris Carter, Marvin Harrison and Larry Fitzgerald with tight end scoring monsters like Antonio Gates, Tony Gonzalez, Rob Gronkowski and Jimmy Graham. It also includes active or recently active names like Davante Adams, Mike Evans and DeAndre Hopkins, who continued climbing the touchdown leaderboard deep into the 2020s.

Career Receiving TDs Leaderboard Table

Note: This table is ranked by career receiving touchdowns. The tiers group players by touchdown range, while the exact rank and total come from the career receiving touchdown leaderboard.

Data note: Career receiving touchdown totals are current through the 2025 NFL season. The table is ranked by receiving touchdowns, with position, main teams and tier placement included for extra context.

How We Ranked the Most Receiving TDs in NFL History

This list is ranked by career receiving touchdowns. The tier cutoffs are based on the scoring ranges shown in the graphic: 190-plus, 170-plus, 150-plus, 130-plus, 110-plus, 90-plus and 85-plus receiving touchdowns.

Touchdowns are not the only way to judge a pass catcher, but they reveal something important. The best receiving touchdown leaders were trusted near the goal line, dangerous on deep shots and consistent enough to keep scoring across many seasons. Some were wide receivers. Some were tight ends. All of them became scoring weapons that defenses had to respect.

Era context matters too. Don Hutson and Lance Alworth played in very different passing environments than Mike Evans, Davante Adams or Rob Gronkowski. Tight ends like Antonio Gates, Tony Gonzalez and Gronk also built their touchdown totals differently than wide receivers, often through red-zone mismatches and seam routes instead of traditional outside receiver volume.

For a broader legacy ranking that weighs career production, peak dominance, route running, playoff moments and all-around résumé more heavily, check out our best wide receivers of all-time list and our best tight ends of all-time rankings.

Tier 1: 190+ Receiving TDs

Tier 1 includes Jerry Rice with 197 career receiving touchdowns.

Tier 1 belongs to one player only. Jerry Rice is not just the leader in this category. He is separated from the field by a gap that still feels ridiculous.

Jerry Rice

Career stats/accolades: 197 receiving TDs, 1,549 receptions, 22,895 receiving yards, 13 Pro Bowls, 10 First-Team All-Pro selections, 3 Super Bowl titles, Super Bowl XXIII MVP, Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Jerry Rice is the standard for receiving touchdown greatness. His 197 career receiving touchdowns are not just the most in NFL history; they are a number that still feels almost unreachable. Rice scored with route running, timing, yards after the catch, red-zone precision and deep-ball chemistry.

The craziest part is that touchdowns are only one piece of his résumé. Rice also owns the all-time receiving yards and receptions records, which means he combined volume, efficiency, longevity and scoring better than any pass catcher the league has ever seen.

Tier 2: 170+ Receiving TDs

Tier 2 represents the 170+ receiving touchdowns range with no players listed in this graphic.

Tier 2 is empty, and that actually says a lot about Jerry Rice’s lead. Nobody else has reached the 170-receiving-touchdown range. Randy Moss and Terrell Owens are the closest names, but both finished in the 150s.

This gap is what makes Rice’s record feel so safe. A player does not just need elite touchdown production to challenge it. He needs elite scoring production for a very long time.

Tier 3: 150+ Receiving TDs

Tier 3 includes Randy Moss with 156 receiving touchdowns and Terrell Owens with 153.

Tier 3 is where the non-Rice scoring monsters live. Randy Moss and Terrell Owens were different kinds of receivers, but both terrified defenses and finished drives at an all-time level.

Randy Moss

Career stats/accolades: 156 receiving TDs, 982 receptions, 15,292 receiving yards, 6 Pro Bowls, 4 First-Team All-Pro selections, 2007 single-season receiving touchdown record with 23, Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Randy Moss is arguably the greatest deep touchdown threat ever. His speed, size, body control and ball tracking made him nearly impossible to defend vertically. Safeties backed up before the snap because everyone knew one mistake could become a 60-yard touchdown.

Moss also owns the single-season receiving touchdown record with 23 in 2007. That peak is a major reason his touchdown résumé feels even bigger than the final number.

Terrell Owens

Career stats/accolades: 153 receiving TDs, 1,078 receptions, 15,934 receiving yards, 6 Pro Bowls, 5 First-Team All-Pro selections, Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Terrell Owens scored in almost every way a receiver can score. He could win deep, break tackles after the catch, dominate near the goal line and overpower defensive backs with size and strength.

Owens’ career had plenty of drama, but the scoring production is impossible to argue with. Finishing only three receiving touchdowns behind Moss puts him in one of the most exclusive touchdown tiers in NFL history.

Tier 4: 130+ Receiving TDs

Tier 4 includes Cris Carter with 130 career receiving touchdowns.

Tier 4 has one of the best red-zone receivers football has ever seen. Cris Carter made touchdown catching look routine, especially near the sideline and goal line.

Cris Carter

Career stats/accolades: 130 receiving TDs, 1,101 receptions, 13,899 receiving yards, 8 Pro Bowls, 2 First-Team All-Pro selections, Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Cris Carter’s touchdown résumé is built on hands, body control and red-zone craft. “All he does is catch touchdowns” became the famous line, and honestly, it was a pretty good summary of the problem he created for defenses.

Carter was not just a goal-line specialist, but his ability to finish drives is what separates him in this category. He won contested catches, worked the boundary and gave quarterbacks a reliable scoring target for years.

Tier 5: 110+ Receiving TDs

Tier 5 includes Marvin Harrison, Larry Fitzgerald, Davante Adams, Antonio Gates, and Tony Gonzalez.

Tier 5 blends elite wide receivers with two of the greatest tight ends ever. This is the range where longevity, quarterback chemistry and red-zone trust all start to overlap.

Marvin Harrison

Career stats/accolades: 128 receiving TDs, 1,102 receptions, 14,580 receiving yards, 8 Pro Bowls, 3 First-Team All-Pro selections, Super Bowl XLI champion, Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Marvin Harrison was one of the cleanest route runners in NFL history, and his chemistry with Peyton Manning turned timing routes into touchdowns for years. He did not need to overpower defenders. He beat them with precision.

Harrison’s 128 receiving touchdowns show how dangerous that Colts passing game was. He could score deep, on timing throws and in tight windows where most receivers never even looked open.

Larry Fitzgerald

Career stats/accolades: 121 receiving TDs, 1,432 receptions, 17,492 receiving yards, 11 Pro Bowls, Walter Payton Man of the Year, Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Larry Fitzgerald’s touchdown total is impressive, but it might still undersell him. He spent much of his career dealing with quarterback instability and still finished among the greatest receiving touchdown leaders ever.

Fitzgerald had elite hands, body control, toughness and postseason brilliance. His 2008 playoff run remains one of the greatest receiving stretches ever, and his all-time scoring résumé fits perfectly with the rest of his career.

Davante Adams

Career stats/accolades: 117 receiving TDs, 1,017 receptions, 12,633 receiving yards, 6 Pro Bowls, 3 First-Team All-Pro selections, 3-time receiving touchdown leader.

Davante Adams is one of the best red-zone receivers of the modern era. His releases, footwork, pacing and late separation make him a nightmare near the goal line, where defenders have less space and mistakes get punished immediately.

Adams climbed into the top 10 all-time receiving touchdown leaders after a 14-touchdown season with the Rams in 2025. He built a huge chunk of the résumé in Green Bay, then kept adding to it after leaving the Packers.

Antonio Gates

Career stats/accolades: 116 receiving TDs, 955 receptions, 11,841 receiving yards, 8 Pro Bowls, 3 First-Team All-Pro selections, Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Antonio Gates is the highest-scoring tight end on this list, and his basketball background showed up constantly in the red zone. He boxed out defenders, won with body positioning and became Philip Rivers’ favorite scoring target.

Gates changed how defenses had to think about tight ends. He was not just a safety valve. He was a primary touchdown weapon, and 116 receiving touchdowns prove it.

Tony Gonzalez

Career stats/accolades: 111 receiving TDs, 1,325 receptions, 15,127 receiving yards, 14 Pro Bowls, 6 First-Team All-Pro selections, Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Tony Gonzalez has the most complete tight end receiving résumé ever. His 111 receiving touchdowns are only one part of the case, but they show how long he stayed valuable near the goal line.

Gonzalez was smooth, durable, smart and reliable across multiple teams and quarterbacks. He did not need a perfect offensive environment to keep producing. That is what makes his touchdown total so impressive.

Tier 6: 90+ Receiving TDs

Tier 6 includes Mike Evans, Tim Brown, Steve Largent, Don Hutson, Rob Gronkowski, and Isaac Bruce.

Tier 6 is packed with different types of scoring greatness: modern consistency, old-school dominance, tight end power and Hall of Fame wide receiver production.

Mike Evans

Career stats/accolades: 108 receiving TDs, 866 receptions, 13,052 receiving yards, 6 Pro Bowls, Super Bowl LV champion, 11 straight 1,000-yard seasons to open his career.

Mike Evans has quietly built one of the best touchdown résumés of the modern era. He wins deep, wins above the rim and wins in the red zone with size and body control.

Evans does not always get discussed like an all-time scorer, but the numbers say he belongs. More than 100 receiving touchdowns and a historic 1,000-yard streak make his case extremely strong.

Tim Brown

Career stats/accolades: 100 receiving TDs, 1,094 receptions, 14,934 receiving yards, 9 Pro Bowls, Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Tim Brown reached exactly 100 receiving touchdowns while building one of the most productive careers of his era. He was smooth, explosive and valuable as both a receiver and returner early in his career.

Brown’s longevity is the key. He produced through different quarterbacks, different offensive situations and different stages of Raiders football. One hundred receiving touchdowns is the perfect marker for how long he stayed dangerous.

Steve Largent

Career stats/accolades: 100 receiving TDs, 819 receptions, 13,089 receiving yards, 7 Pro Bowls, Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Steve Largent retired as one of the most productive receivers the NFL had ever seen. His 100 receiving touchdowns came in a much less pass-friendly era, which gives the number even more weight.

Largent did not dominate with size or track speed. He won with routes, hands, timing and toughness. That style aged beautifully, and his touchdown total remains one of the strongest older-era marks.

Don Hutson

Career stats/accolades: 99 receiving TDs, 488 receptions, 7,991 receiving yards, 8 First-Team All-Pro selections, 2 NFL MVP awards, 3 NFL championships, Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Don Hutson’s 99 receiving touchdowns are almost impossible to compare normally because he played in an era where passing volume was tiny compared with today. Relative to his time, his scoring dominance was outrageous.

If this list were adjusted only for era dominance, Hutson would look even more absurd. He was decades ahead of the position and still sits one touchdown short of the 100-TD club.

Rob Gronkowski

Career stats/accolades: 92 receiving TDs, 621 receptions, 9,286 receiving yards, 5 Pro Bowls, 4 First-Team All-Pro selections, 4 Super Bowl titles.

Rob Gronkowski was one of the most unstoppable touchdown weapons football has ever seen. His size, catch radius, strength and chemistry with Tom Brady made him nearly automatic in big moments.

Gronk’s receiving touchdown total is especially impressive because injuries shortened parts of his career. When healthy, he was a matchup problem that defenses never really solved.

Isaac Bruce

Career stats/accolades: 91 receiving TDs, 1,024 receptions, 15,208 receiving yards, 4 Pro Bowls, Super Bowl XXXIV champion, Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Isaac Bruce was one of the smoothest receivers of his era. He could separate, win deep and produce in volume, especially during the Greatest Show on Turf years.

Bruce’s Super Bowl XXXIV touchdown is the signature moment, but the full scoring résumé is bigger than that. Ninety-one receiving touchdowns and more than 15,000 yards make him one of the great long-career receivers.

Tier 7: 85+ Receiving TDs

Tier 7 includes Jimmy Graham, Don Maynard, Andre Reed, Lance Alworth, DeAndre Hopkins, Hines Ward, and Paul Warfield.

Tier 7 still has Hall of Famers, Super Bowl stars, tight end mismatches and modern route artists. That is the thing about the most receiving TDs in NFL history: even the lowest tier here is full of serious scoring résumés.

Jimmy Graham

Career stats/accolades: 89 receiving TDs, 719 receptions, 8,545 receiving yards, 5 Pro Bowls, 1 First-Team All-Pro selection.

Jimmy Graham was one of the most dangerous red-zone tight ends of his generation. At his peak with the Saints, he looked more like a power forward than a traditional tight end.

Graham’s touchdown total shows how valuable that size and athleticism were near the goal line. He created mismatches against linebackers, safeties and basically anyone too small to contest him in the air.

Don Maynard

Career stats/accolades: 88 receiving TDs, 633 receptions, 11,834 receiving yards, 4 Pro Bowls, Super Bowl III champion, Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Don Maynard was one of the AFL’s defining deep threats and Joe Namath’s top big-play target. His 88 receiving touchdowns came in an era where passing attacks were far less friendly than modern spread offenses.

Maynard’s role in the Jets’ Super Bowl III story gives him historical weight, but the touchdown production stands on its own. He was a true vertical scorer.

Andre Reed

Career stats/accolades: 87 receiving TDs, 951 receptions, 13,198 receiving yards, 7 Pro Bowls, Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Andre Reed was a central piece of Buffalo’s K-Gun offense. He was tough over the middle, productive after the catch and reliable in one of the most famous passing attacks of his era.

The Bills never got the Super Bowl win, but Reed’s role in four straight AFC championship teams still matters. His 87 receiving touchdowns are part of a much bigger winning-era résumé.

Lance Alworth

Career stats/accolades: 85 receiving TDs, 542 receptions, 10,266 receiving yards, 7 Pro Bowls, AFL MVP, Super Bowl VI champion, Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Lance Alworth was one of the great vertical receivers of the AFL era. His speed, fluidity and big-play ability made him feel ahead of his time.

Alworth’s 85 receiving touchdowns came with huge yards-per-catch impact, which made him more than a volume scorer. He was a home-run threat who helped define early modern passing football.

DeAndre Hopkins

Career stats/accolades: 85 receiving TDs, 1,006 receptions, 13,295 receiving yards, 5 Pro Bowls, 3 First-Team All-Pro selections.

DeAndre Hopkins built one of the best contested-catch résumés of the modern era. He never needed elite burner speed to dominate because his hands, leverage, body control and catch-point strength were so good.

Hopkins’ touchdown total sits at 85 in this graphic, but his overall résumé is bigger than that. He reached the 1,000-catch club and produced with several different quarterbacks across his career.

Hines Ward

Career stats/accolades: 85 receiving TDs, 1,000 receptions, 12,083 receiving yards, 4 Pro Bowls, 2 Super Bowl titles, Super Bowl XL MVP.

Hines Ward was not the fastest receiver on this list, but he was tough, reliable, physical and trusted in big moments. Pittsburgh loved him because he fit the franchise perfectly.

Ward’s 85 receiving touchdowns pair nicely with his 1,000 receptions and Super Bowl MVP. He was not just a blocker with good hands. He was a real scoring threat for a long time.

Paul Warfield

Career stats/accolades: 85 receiving TDs, 427 receptions, 8,565 receiving yards, 8 Pro Bowls, 2 Super Bowl titles, Pro Football Hall of Fame, NFL 100 All-Time Team.

Paul Warfield’s touchdown total is especially impressive because he did not play in pass-heavy offenses. He was an explosive, graceful, high-efficiency deep threat who turned limited targets into major damage.

Warfield’s yards-per-catch style made defenses respect every route. He did not need huge reception volume to score 85 receiving touchdowns, and that is what makes his résumé so unique.

FAQ: Most Receiving TDs in NFL History

Who has the most receiving TDs in NFL history?

Jerry Rice has the most receiving TDs in NFL history with 197 career receiving touchdowns.

Who is second in career receiving touchdowns?

Randy Moss is second in career receiving touchdowns with 156.

Who has the most receiving touchdowns by a tight end?

Antonio Gates has the most receiving touchdowns by a tight end with 116 career receiving touchdowns.

Is this list based on career receiving touchdowns or single-season receiving touchdowns?

This list is based on career receiving touchdowns. The totals shown are all-time NFL career receiving touchdown totals, not single-season totals.

Why is Tier 2 empty?

Tier 2 represents the 170-plus receiving touchdown range. No player besides Jerry Rice has reached that range, which shows how large Rice’s lead really is.

Who has the NFL single-season receiving touchdown record?

Randy Moss has the NFL single-season receiving touchdown record with 23 receiving touchdowns in 2007.

Which active or recently active players appear on this list?

Davante Adams, Mike Evans, DeAndre Hopkins and Jimmy Graham are among the active or recently active players shown in this receiving touchdown tier list.

Does this ranking include tight ends?

Yes. This ranking includes all players with receiving touchdowns, including tight ends such as Antonio Gates, Tony Gonzalez, Rob Gronkowski and Jimmy Graham.

What matters most in this tier list?

The tier placement is based on career receiving touchdown totals. The write-ups add context about scoring style, longevity, era, role and overall résumé.

Conclusion

The most receiving TDs in NFL history list is really a scoring greatness list. Jerry Rice stands alone at the top with 197, and the empty 170-plus tier shows just how far ahead he remains. Randy Moss and Terrell Owens are the closest challengers, but even they finished more than 40 touchdowns behind Rice.

The depth behind them is loaded too. Cris Carter, Marvin Harrison, Larry Fitzgerald, Davante Adams, Antonio Gates, Tony Gonzalez, Mike Evans, Tim Brown, Steve Largent, Don Hutson, Rob Gronkowski and Isaac Bruce all reached scoring ranges that most pass catchers never sniff.

Touchdowns are not the only way to judge pass catchers, but they are the final result every offense wants. The players on this list were trusted finishers, big-play threats, red-zone weapons and long-career scoring machines. That is why their names still define the NFL’s receiving touchdown record book.

If you want more all-time NFL tier lists, you can also check out our best wide receivers of all-time rankings, our best tight ends of all-time list and our most receiving yards in NFL history breakdown.

More NFL All-Time Rankings

For more NFL history content, check out our other all-time position rankings, franchise legend lists and historical tier lists. This career receiving touchdowns ranking is part of a larger all-time NFL rankings series built around player legacy, peak dominance, production and era context. You can also follow SOG Football on Instagram for more NFL rankings, debates and football history content.