Yesterday, I wrote about the interesting career of Anquan Boldin. If I had written that article a year ago, I would have noted that Boldin was the all-time leader in receptions per game in NFL history. At the time, Boldin had 650 receptions in 111 games, an average of 5.86 receptions per game. But after just 3.6 catches per game with the Ravens in 2011, Boldin’s rate dropped to 5.66 for his career, good enough for only third place in NFL history.
But who is number one? Jerry Rice is one of 10 players to average at least five receptions per game for their career, but he’s number 10. With 303 career games, there’s a limit to what we could have expected from him. The career leader in receptions per game averaged exactly 5.80 receptions per game. To help you out, I broke out my MS paint skills to give you a photo of this man. Can you guess who it is?
With 1102 receptions in 190 career games, Marvin Harrison is the all-time leader in receptions per game. For now, Andre Johnson (706 receptions, 122 games) is second at 5.79, and Larry Fitzgerald is fourth at 5.59. Among retired players, Sterling Sharpe (595 receptions in 112 games – 5.31) and Rice are the only players with more than 5 catches per game for their careers. Here’s a link for the unblemished picture.
