For the past two weeks, we at EssentiallySports have been honoring some of the greatest players to ever play the game of football. This year’s Pro Football Hall of Fame class includes five new inductees – Drew Brees, Larry Fitzgerald, Luke Kuechly, Roger Craig, and Adam Vinatieri – so before they’re all inducted in August, we’ve taken it upon ourselves to honor their legacy.

We started with Drew Brees before highlighting Luke Kuechly last week, so now it’s time to move on to one of the great wide receivers of all time: Larry Fitzgerald.

Over the next week, we’ll be diving into Fitzgerald’s career to see what made him so great, and to get us started, I went ahead and ranked my top-10 receivers of all time to see where Fitzgerald ended up.

Just How Good Was Larry Fitzgerald?

Before we get into the rankings, let’s take a look at Larry Fitzgerald’s career to see just how good he actually was.

Fitzgerald, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2003 NFL Draft, had a solid rookie campaign, catching 58 passes for 780 yards and eight touchdowns, but after that, his career really took off.

Over the next seven years, Fitzgerald would go for 1,000+ yards six times, including four seasons of 1,400+ yards. The only year he didn’t hit the 1,000-yard mark was 2006, when he played 13 games. Any time he played 15 or more games in a season early in his career, he was a lock to go for 1,000 yards.

Fitzgerald’s 2008 season is arguably one of the best we’ve ever seen from a receiver. He was incredible in the regular season, catching 96 passes for 1,431 yards and 12 touchdowns, but he really made his mark in the playoffs, where he had the greatest postseason run a receiver has ever had.

Fitzgerald’s 2008 playoff run began with a six-catch, 101-yard, one-touchdown performance in the Wild Card Round, which he then followed up with an eight-catch, 166-yard, one-touchdown game in the Divisional Round. But he was just getting started. In the NFC Championship game, a game that came all the way down to the final minute, Fitzgerald led Arizona to a 32-25 win with nine catches, 152 yards, and three touchdowns.

Fitzgerald put the 9-7 Cardinals on his back and carried them to their first, and only, Super Bowl appearance. They may have lost that Super Bowl to the Pittsburgh Steelers, but it was due to no fault of Fitzgerald’s. Arizona’s superstar had another fantastic game, catching seven passes for 127 yards and two touchdowns, including this legendary score to put Arizona up late.

If it weren’t for one of the best catches in NFL history from Santonio Holmes, Fitzgerald would’ve single-handedly willed the Cardinals to a Super Bowl ring.

In four playoff games, Fitzgerald totaled 30 catches for 546 yards and seven touchdowns. In a 17-game regular season, that would’ve put him on pace for 128 catches, 2,448 yards, and 30 touchdowns. Yeah, I think that’s pretty good.

Over the last nine years of Fitzgerald’s career, he was still an elite weapon on the outside, but he wasn’t as efficient as he was early on. He only had three 1,000-yard seasons in those last nine years, but he also broke the 700-yard mark in all but one of those seasons.

Fitzgerald played a total of 17 years in the NFL, which is the second-longest career of any receiver in NFL history, trailing only Jerry Rice. At his peak, he was one of the best receivers in the league, but even once he got older, he was still a massive threat.

Now that we’ve put Fitzgerald’s career into context, where does he rank amongst the best receivers in NFL history?

1. Jerry Rice

Career Stats: 1,549 receptions, 22,895 yards, 197 touchdowns

There is absolutely no competition for who the best receiver in NFL history is. It is absolutely Jerry Rice. Actually, a better question for Jerry is, is he the best player in NFL history, regardless of position? There’s a very strong case to be made that he is.

Rice was phenomenal throughout his career, going for 1,000+ yards 14 times, including 11 times in a row from 1986 to 1996. He also played an unprecedented 20 seasons in the NFL before retiring as the league’s all-time leader in receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns.

Jerry Rice is the GOAT, and I’m not sure anyone will ever take that away from him.

2. Randy Moss

Career Stats: 982 receptions, 15,292 yards, 156 touchdowns

Want to talk about one of the most dominant receivers of all time? Let’s talk a bit about Randy Moss.

From 1998 to 2009, Moss played the full 16-game schedule in 10 of them. In those 10 seasons, Moss never had fewer than 1,000 yards and broke the 1,300-yard mark seven times. During that span, Moss also put together one of the best receiving seasons we’ve ever seen when he caught 98 passes for 1,493 yards and an NFL-record 23 touchdowns.

There’s a reason people say “I Mossed you” when they go up and make a catch over a defensive back. Moss was the king of 50/50 balls during his time in the NFL. What makes his career even crazier is that he finished top-five all-time in yards and touchdowns with just 12 real seasons under his belt. He would play in 2010 and 2012, bringing his total to 14 seasons, but he didn’t top the 500-yard mark in either.

Moss is probably the most dominant receiver we’ve ever seen play the game.

3. Calvin Johnson

Career Stats: 731 receptions, 11,619 yards, 83 touchdowns

If there’s one man who could give Moss a run for his money as being the most dominant receiver of all time, it’s Calvin Johnson.

Johnson’s career was cut far too short. He was just 30 years old and played nine seasons when he retired due to the physical toll football was taking on his body, but when he was on the field, he was an absolute monster.

In nine seasons, Johnson racked up 11,619 yards and 83 touchdowns despite only playing four full seasons. He eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark seven times, including in each of his final six seasons, and averaged nearly 16 yards per reception in his career. I mean, the guy had teams putting two defenders on him in press coverage in the red zone. Nobody else was getting that kind of treatment.

I read a stat that Calvin Johnson is the only player in NFL history to have a higher than 50 percent catch rate on goal-line fades. There’s a reason teams don’t run that play often anymore, and it’s because it’s not very efficient. But Johnson was the only one who made it worth running.

Three may be a bit high for a guy that’s not even top-25 in yards or touchdowns, but that’s how good he was when he was on the field.

4. Terrell Owens

Career Stats: 1,078 receptions, 15,934 yards, 153 touchdowns

Terrell Owens is another guy who just dominated opposing defensive backs every single play. At 6-foot-3, 225 pounds, Owens was a major downfield threat, but he was also a terrific route runner who made play after play after the catch.

During Owen’s 15-year career, he topped the 1,000-yard mark nine times, including in eight of nine years from 2000 to 2008 (and the only year he didn’t hit 1,000, he only played seven games). In those eight years, he also caught 13+ touchdown passes in every seven of them, helping him climb to No. 3 all-time in receiving touchdowns, trailing only Jerry Rice and Randy Moss.

I personally don’t think Owen’s peak was as high as Moss or Johnson, which is why he’s behind them, but he was one of the best receivers in the league for 15 years. His longevity has rarely been rivaled.

5. Lance Alworth

Career Stats: 542 receptions, 10,266 yards, 85 touchdowns

As a 2000s baby, I obviously never saw Lance Alworth play, but his legend alone is enough for me to put him in the No. 5 spot.

Alworth was Randy Moss before Randy Moss. He played in an age where throwing the football wasn’t very popular, but he still managed to top the 1,000-yard mark in seven straight seasons while leading the league in yards three times. On top of that, Alworth also averaged over 19 yards per catch in his first seven seasons in the league.

Alworth was considered the greatest receiver in NFL history for nearly 30 years before Jerry Rice stole that title from him. He was far ahead of his time, but he still managed to put up numbers some players nowadays could only dream of replicating.

6. Larry Fitzgerald

Career Stats: 1,432 receptions, 17,492 yards, 121 touchdowns

Here’s where I put Mr. Fitzgerald. We already went in-depth into Fitzy’s career, so I won’t waste too much of your time, but I feel like this is a great spot for him. Fitzgerald’s peak probably wasn’t as high as those above him, but he played at a high level for longer than pretty much anyone on this list outside of Jerry Rice, and he’s No. 2 all-time in receptions and yards. It would’ve been hard to put him any lower than No. 6.

7. Steve Largent

Career Stats: 819 receptions, 13,089 yards, 100 touchdowns

Steve Largent was another receiver who was a bit ahead of his time. He played in a more pass-heavy era than Alworth, but he still put up massive numbers for his era.

Largent played 14 seasons in the NFL, eclipsing the 1,000-yard mark eight times in nine years, and the only year he didn’t, he played just eight games. While a lot of the guys towards the top of the all-time receiving yards list were big and fast, Largent got it done at 5-foot-11, 187 pounds by being one of the best route runners the league has ever seen.

Largent is another guy I never saw play, but his reputation alone has to put him in the top-10.

8. Marvin Harrison

Career Stats: 1,102 receptions, 14,580 yards, 128 touchdowns

Marvin Harrison and Peyton Manning formed one of the most lethal QB/WR duos in NFL history. I know we just talked about Steve Largent being one of the best route runners in NFL history, but Marvin Harrison might have been even better.

Harrison was a reception machine, totaling over 100 receptions in four straight seasons from 1999 to 2002, including 143 in 2002, which used to be the NFL record, but even after that stretch, he consistently finished with 80+ catches each season. Only four players in NFL history have more 100+ reception seasons than Harrison.

But he wasn’t just great at catching a high volume of passes. Harrison totaled over 1,000 yards in eight seasons, which included four straight 1,400-yard seasons from 1999 to 2002. He also caught 10+ touchdowns every year from 1999 to 2006.

Harrison is one of the most complete receivers we’ve ever seen play the game of football.

9. Cris Carter

Career Stats: 1,101 receptions, 13,899 yards, 130 touchdowns

Cris Carter is a really interesting player. He dealt with some drug problems early in his career, which caused him to miss some time when he was with Philadelphia, and then after that, it took him some time to fully recover in Minnesota, so it took Carter seven years to finally have his first 1,000-yard season. But once he did, he didn’t look back.

From 1993 to 2000, Carter went for 1,000+ yards every single year, which included three seasons where he led the league in receiving touchdowns, and one year where he led in receptions. During that stretch, Carter was one of the most dominant receivers in the league, and would go on to finish 13th in receiving yards and 4th in receiving touchdowns, but can you imagine where he would’ve ended up if he were elite from the start?

Carter was an elite route runner with some of the best hands this league has ever seen. It’s a shame we didn’t get to see him ball out for his entire career.

10. Tim Brown

Career Stats: 1,094 receptions, 14,934 yards, 100 touchdowns

Rounding out our top-10 list is Tim Brown, who I think is one of the most underrated receivers in NFL history. Maybe if I grew up earlier, I wouldn’t think that, but I feel like a lot of kids my age don’t think of Tim Brown as a top-10 receiver of all time, but he absolutely should be in the conversation.

Brown was a lot like Carter in the fact that he didn’t break out until much later in his career. It took six seasons for him to hit the 1,000-yard mark, but once he did in 1993, he would live in the 1,000+ yard zone for the next nine years.

Brown was never the best receiver in the NFL, but he was widely considered as a top-three to top-five receiver for a decade in the late 90s/early 2000s. After 17 years in the NFL, a feat only Jerry Rice and Larry Fitzgerald have been able to match, Brown retired and now ranks 7th in receiving yards and 11th in receiving touchdowns.

His name flies under the radar on a lot of these lists, but if he’s not top-10, he’s certainly top-15 all-time.