Lynn Swann played for only nine seasons, and he had an even shorter peak: there was just the 6-year stretch in the middle of his career (1975 to 1980) where he was Lynn Swann. But during that period, he was arguably the most talented — and productive — wide receiver in the NFL. Film analysis of Swann leaves little doubt about the man’s talent, but be playing on a run-heavy team in a dead ball era, his statistics tend to look unimpressive to the modern eye. That goes double for his career statistics, which were produced in only 116 games, the fewest of any modern receiver in the Hall of Fame. The 1970s was a brutal time to be a wide receiver, as the rules of that day made passing much more challenging than it is today. But when he was actually on the field, and his teams dialed up a pass play, Swann was easily one of the best receivers in the NFL.

Let’s start with Swann’s breakout year in 1975. In only his second season, he caught 11 touchdowns, tied with the Mel Gray for the league lead. Swann also ranked 8th in the NFL in receiving yards, and he did so while playing on a run-heavy Steelers team. While Swann’s raw numbers may not look great to the 2020 eye, he had 31% of all Steelers receiving yards and over 50% of his team’s receiving touchdowns. The most productive wide receiver in 1975 was Houston’s Ken Burrough, who that year became the last player in NFL history to gain over half of his team’s receiving yards. Gray had more yards than Swann, and Oakland’s Cliff Branch had a huge year on a run-heavy team, too. But I put Swann as the 4th most productive receiver in the NFL this year based on the following formula:

[ (Receptions * 5) + (Receiving Yards) + (Receiving TDs * 20) ] / (Team Pass Attempts, pro-rated for games played]

Let’s look at that formula again. Swann had a stat line of 49-781-11, which translates to 1,246 adjusted catch yards. Pittsburgh threw 337 passes in 1975, tied for the third fewest in the NFL. That means Swann averaged 3.70 adjusted catch yards per team pass attempt — which is one useful measure of receiver efficiency. Here were the top 15 receivers in 1975 in ACY/TPA:

Now, let’s jump in time to 1978, the first year of the pro-passing game rules changes. Swann and Wesley Walker were both unanimous first-team All-Pro choices at wide receiver this season among the four major news organizations. His numbers may not wow you — 61 catches, 880 yards, and 11 touchdowns — but the recognition was warranted. He ranked 2nd in the NFL in receiving touchdowns and 7th in receiving yards despite playing on a run-heavy, 14-2 team. Leaving aside Walker — who was a worthy All-Pro — the other five players with more receiving yards than Swann in ’78 played for teams that averaged 459 passes; Swann’s Steelers had just 380 pass attempts.

Some argue that playing on a pass-happy team is a sign that the team has a talented set of receivers; in other words, it’s a knock on Swann that his teams didn’t pass much. But I don’t subscribe to that argument, and I don’t think the quality of a single wide receiver has much, if any, impact on how often his team passes. Pittsburgh went 14-2 and finished three games ahead of every team in the AFC. The Steelers had a Hall of Fame quarterback (who won the AP MVP this year) and two Hall of Fame wide receivers… and still ranked 22nd out of 28 teams in pass attempts. That’s in part because the passing game was so good (ranking 2nd in ANY/A) and in part because the defense was dominant (allowing the fewest points in the league). I don’t find it persuasive to suggest that the ’78 Steelers would have passed more often if they had a better wide receiver than Lynn Swann.

With a state line of 61/880/11 on a team with 380 pass attempts, Swann averaged 3.70 adjusted catch yards per team pass attempt, all while fighting John Stallworth for targets. The table below shows the top 15 receivers in ACY/TPA in 1978:

The six-year stretch

Let’s look at the top receivers from 1975 to 1980. You can make a strong argument that Swann was the game’s most productive receiver during this time. He averaged 3.22 ACY/TPA, an extremely impressive number given that era. The only player who outgained him was John Jefferson who didn’t enter the NFL until 1978 but was a superstar from the jump.

I wouldn’t suggest that this alone is the best way to measure wide receivers, but it’s part of the equation.  Here’s another part: from ’75 to ’80, the Steelers ranked 2nd in points and 1st in net yards per pass attempt; Pittsburgh had the 4th fewest pass attempts and the 4th most touchdown passes.  During this six-year stretch, Pittsburgh had a legitimately great passing offense, and while there were four other Hall of Famers on that offense, it’s not like Swann was just along for the ride.  Someone like Chicago’s James Scott has a very good ACY/TPA ratio, but that’s because he was the only real threat on a very bad passing offense. Swann, meanwhile, was a large part of one of the NFL’s elite passing offenses.

The Playoffs

We all know the narrative about Swann, but let’s look at the numbers. He played in 16 playoff games, totaling 48 catches, 907 yards, and 9 touchdowns. But even those numbers obscure what Swann did during his prime. From ’75 to ’80, in 12 games, Swann caught 42 passes for 816 yards and 8 touchdowns, making him the top playoff performer of that era. In those 12 games, Pittsburgh threw 313 passes while going 10-2. This means Swann averaged 3.79 ACY/TPA during the playoffs from ’75 to ’80. That’s essentially an extra, 7th season of dominance, and it came during the most challenging stretch of the season, and often in cold weather against top defenses.

Swann was in the running for most effective wide receiver during the regular season during this six year stretch, at least once you account for Pittsburgh’s run-heavy offense. And then he was noticeably more dominant during the playoffs. If that sounds familiar, it’s a lot like Michael Irvin or Paul Warfield. He retired early, but his short career was due to him leaving the game to make more money as a broadcaster for the USFL; that sort of decision wouldn’t happen today, but NFL money — like NFL passing — was much different during Swann’s era.