2014 Finalists vs. HOF receivers

Hall of Famers Published on : 1/20/2014

First-year eligible nominee Marvin Harrison joins Tim Brown, and Andre Reed as finalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Their career statistics rank among the best receivers in history. Here is how their receiving numbers contrast to the 22 modern era wide receivers enshrined in Canton.

    RECEIVING HONORS
Player Yrs. No. Yds. Avg. TD   All-Pro Pro Bowls
TIM BROWN 17 1,094 14,934 13.7 100   2** 9
MARVIN HARRISON
13 1,102 14,580 13.2 128   6 8
ANDRE REED 16 951 13,198 13.9 87   0 7
HOF WRs
Lance Alworth 11 542 10,266 18.9 85   7 7
Raymond Berry 13 631 9,275 14.7 68   3 5
Fred Biletnikoff 14 589 8,974 15.2 76   2 6
Cris Carter 16 1,101 13,899 12.6 130   2 8
Tom Fears 9 400 5,397 13.5 38   2 1
Bob Hayes 11 371 7,414 20.0 71   3 3
Elroy Hirsch* 12 387 7,029 18.2 60   2 3
Michael Irvin 12 750 11,904 15.9 65   1 5
Charlie Joiner 18 750 12,146 16.2 65   1 3
Steve Largent 14 819 13,089 16.0 100   3 7
Dante Lavelli* 11 386 6,488 16.8 62   4 3
James Lofton 16 764 14,004 18.3 75   4 8
Don Maynard 15 633 11,834 18.7 88   2 4
Tommy McDonald 12 495 8,410 17.0 84   1 6
Bobby Mitchell 11 521 7,954 15.3 65   3 4
Art Monk 16 940 12,721 13.5 68   2 3
Pete Pihos 9 373 5,619 15.1 61   6 6
Jerry Rice 20 1,549 22,895 14.8 194   11 13
John Stallworth 14 537 8,723 16.2 63   1 4
Lynn Swann 9 336 5,462 16.3 51   3 3
Charley Taylor 13 649 9,110 14.0 79   1 8
Paul Warfield 13 427 8,565 20.1 85   6 8
                 
*Includes statistics from the All-America Football Conference (1946-49)
** Earned one All-Pro as a Kick Returner
^^ Earned two All-Conference honors as Kick Returner
^ Earned honors as a special teams player
% Named All-NFC once as a Kick Returner
# Named All-NFL once as defensive end

Brown also has considerable return yards on his football resume. His 3,320 punt return yards are more than any receiver in the Hall. Only one Hall of Fame receiver has more kickoff return yards than Brown’s 1,235 yards. Bobby Mitchell, who also spent time as a halfback, had 2,690 yards on kickoffs in his career.