Which Receivers Played On The Most Pass-Happy Teams, 2018 Update

by Chase Stuart on June 7, 2018

Which receivers played on the most pass-happy teams? It’s a bit tricky to measure that: if a receiver played on run-heavy teams most of his career, but plays a couple of final seasons for teams that throw for 600+ attempts while he is a reserve, that would skew his average. So we need to adjust for a player’s best seasons when measuring how pass-happy his teams were.

Let’s use Calvin Johnson as an example. He played for the Lions in each season of his career, and Detroit has been very pass-happy throughout his career. In 2015, he had 1,214 receiving yards, which was 10.4% of his career receiving yards. That year, the Lions threw 632 times, or 39.5 times per game. So for Johnson’s career pass-happy grade, 10.4% of it will be based off of an average of 39.5 attempts per game. In 2012, Johnson had 16.9% of his career receiving total, so 16.9% of his pass-happy grade will be based off of the 740 attempts the Lions had that year. Perform that analysis for every season, and Johnson has an adjusted average of teams throwing 39.5 times per game, as per the table below.

I did this calculation for every receiver in NFL history with at least 5,000 pass attempts. The table below is fully sortable and searchable, but it is initially sorted by career receiving yards.

Rk	Receiver	Rec Yd	First Yr	Last Yr	Att/G	HOF
70	Jerry Rice	22895	1985	2004	34.3	Yes
103	Terrell Owens	15934	1996	2010	33.6	Yes
12	Larry Fitzgerald	15545	2004	2017	36.9	Likely
90	Randy Moss	15292	1998	2012	33.8	Yes
29	Isaac Bruce	15208	1994	2009	35.6	No
63	Tony Gonzalez	15127	1997	2013	34.4	Likely
150	Tim Brown	14934	1988	2004	32.1	Yes
174	Steve Smith	14731	2001	2016	31.5	Not El.
52	Marvin Harrison	14580	1996	2008	34.7	Yes
17	Reggie Wayne	14345	2001	2014	36.4	Not El.
110	Andre Johnson	14185	2003	2016	33.5	Not El.
197	James Lofton	14004	1978	1993	30.9	Yes
61	Cris Carter	13899	1987	2002	34.4	Yes
57	Anquan Boldin	13779	2003	2016	34.5	Not El.
191	Henry Ellard	13777	1983	1998	31.1	No
21	Torry Holt	13382	1999	2009	36.2	No
186	Andre Reed	13198	1985	2000	31.2	Yes
187	Steve Largent	13089	1976	1989	31.2	Yes
93	Irving Fryar	12785	1984	2000	33.8	No
145	Art Monk	12721	1980	1995	32.2	Yes
87	Jason Witten	12448	2003	2017	33.9	Not El.
151	Jimmy Smith	12287	1995	2005	32.1	No
62	Brandon Marshall	12215	2006	2017	34.4	Not El.
73	Charlie Joiner	12146	1969	1986	34.2	Yes
203	Hines Ward	12083	1998	2011	30.2	No
148	Derrick Mason	12061	1997	2011	32.1	No
195	Michael Irvin	11904	1988	1999	30.9	Yes
139	Don Maynard	11834	1958	1973	32.4	Yes
2	Calvin Johnson	11619	2007	2015	39.5	Likely
123	Antonio Gates	11508	2003	2017	33.0	Not El.
166	Muhsin Muhammad	11438	1996	2009	31.8	No
137	Rod Smith	11389	1995	2006	32.4	No
118	Keenan McCardell	11373	1992	2007	33.1	No
78	Chad Johnson	11059	2001	2011	34.0	No
170	Joey Galloway	10950	1995	2010	31.7	No
42	Roddy White	10863	2005	2015	35.1	Not El.
122	Gary Clark	10856	1985	1995	33.0	No
235	Stanley Morgan	10716	1977	1990	28.7	No
98	Keyshawn Johnson	10571	1996	2006	33.7	No
267	Harold Jackson	10372	1969	1983	26.5	No
152	Santana Moss	10283	2001	2014	32.1	Not El.
204	Lance Alworth	10266	1962	1972	30.1	Yes
102	Andre Rison	10205	1989	2000	33.6	No
22	Donald Driver	10137	1999	2012	36.0	No
111	Shannon Sharpe	10060	1990	2003	33.4	Yes
154	Eric Moulds	9995	1996	2007	32.1	No
11	Wes Welker	9924	2005	2015	37.0	Not El.
16	Antonio Brown	9910	2010	2017	36.6	Likely
116	Drew Hill	9831	1979	1993	33.1	No
1	Marques Colston	9759	2006	2015	39.8	Not El.
68	Amani Toomer	9497	1996	2008	34.3	No
34	DeSean Jackson	9487	2008	2017	35.4	Not El.
80	Rob Moore	9368	1990	1999	34.0	No
224	Raymond Berry	9275	1955	1967	29.2	Yes
165	Herman Moore	9174	1991	2001	31.8	No
99	Anthony Miller	9148	1988	1997	33.7	No
215	Charley Taylor	9110	1964	1977	29.6	Yes
126	Vincent Jackson	9080	2005	2016	32.9	Not El.
115	Tony Martin	9065	1990	2001	33.2	No
9	Julio Jones	9054	2011	2017	37.1	Likely
222	Harold Carmichael	8985	1971	1984	29.3	No
14	Mark Clayton	8974	1983	1993	36.8	No
243	Fred Biletnikoff	8974	1965	1978	28.3	Yes
23	Wes Chandler	8966	1978	1988	36.0	No
155	Roy Green	8965	1979	1992	32.1	No
125	Ricky Proehl	8878	1990	2006	32.9	No
27	Mark Duper	8869	1983	1992	35.8	No
79	Terry Glenn	8823	1996	2006	34.0	No
119	Terance Mathis	8809	1990	2002	33.1	No
147	Mark Carrier	8763	1987	1998	32.1	No
101	Joe Horn	8744	1996	2007	33.6	No
246	John Stallworth	8723	1974	1987	28.2	Yes
96	Johnnie Morton	8719	1994	2005	33.7	No
253	Cliff Branch	8685	1972	1984	27.8	No
10	Demaryius Thomas	8653	2010	2017	37.1	Not El.
177	Laveranues Coles	8609	2000	2009	31.5	No
279	Paul Warfield	8565	1964	1977	23.7	Yes
160	Plaxico Burress	8499	2000	2012	32.0	No
233	Billy Howton	8459	1952	1963	28.7	No
214	Tommy McDonald	8410	1957	1968	29.6	Yes
142	Eddie Kennison	8345	1996	2007	32.2	No
205	Wesley Walker	8306	1977	1989	30.1	No
53	Greg Jennings	8291	2006	2015	34.7	Not El.
277	Carroll Dale	8277	1960	1973	23.8	No
92	Curtis Conway	8230	1993	2004	33.8	No
46	Ernest Givins	8215	1986	1995	34.9	No
107	A.J. Green	8213	2011	2017	33.5	Not El.
85	Jeff Graham	8172	1991	2001	33.9	No
218	Eric Martin	8161	1985	1994	29.4	No
48	Sterling Sharpe	8134	1988	1994	34.8	No
59	Webster Slaughter	8111	1986	1998	34.4	No
255	Haven Moses	8091	1968	1981	27.7	No
44	Mike Wallace	8072	2009	2017	35.0	Not El.
104	Art Powell	8046	1960	1968	33.6	No
175	Bill Brooks	8001	1986	1996	31.5	No
278	Don Hutson	7991	1935	1945	23.8	Yes
161	Tony Hill	7988	1977	1986	32.0	No
112	Ozzie Newsome	7980	1978	1990	33.4	Yes
209	Bobby Mitchell	7954	1958	1968	29.8	Yes
228	Jackie Smith	7918	1963	1977	29.0	Yes
249	Jimmy Orr	7914	1958	1970	28.0	No
40	Jordy Nelson	7848	2008	2017	35.2	Not El.
242	Drew Pearson	7822	1973	1983	28.3	No
71	Bobby Engram	7751	1996	2009	34.3	No
168	Anthony Carter	7733	1985	1994	31.7	No
157	Chris Chambers	7648	2001	2010	32.0	No
182	Brian Blades	7620	1988	1998	31.3	No
18	Pierre Garcon	7568	2008	2017	36.3	Not El.
131	Greg Olsen	7556	2007	2017	32.6	Not El.
258	Nat Moore	7546	1974	1986	27.6	No
248	Roy Jefferson	7539	1965	1976	28.1	No
210	Gary Garrison	7538	1966	1977	29.7	No
56	Dez Bryant	7459	2010	2017	34.5	Not El.
129	Ed McCaffrey	7422	1991	2003	32.8	No
264	Bob Hayes	7414	1965	1975	26.7	Yes
225	Pete Retzlaff	7412	1956	1966	29.1	No
86	Wayne Chrebet	7365	1995	2005	33.9	No
274	Otis Taylor	7306	1965	1974	25.2	No
281	Boyd Dowler	7270	1959	1971	23.0	No
45	Antonio Freeman	7251	1995	2003	34.9	No
64	T.J. Houshmandzadeh	7237	2001	2011	34.4	No
143	Dwayne Bowe	7208	2007	2015	32.2	Not El.
41	Lionel Taylor	7195	1960	1968	35.1	No
6	Rob Gronkowski	7179	2010	2017	37.7	Likely
136	Darrell Jackson	7132	2000	2008	32.4	No
106	Carl Pickens	7129	1992	2000	33.6	No
265	Ken Burrough	7102	1970	1981	26.6	No
238	Isaac Curtis	7101	1973	1984	28.6	No
188	Vernon Davis	7072	2006	2017	31.2	Not El.
207	Reggie Rucker	7065	1970	1981	30.0	No
250	John Gilliam	7056	1967	1977	28.0	No
236	Elroy Hirsch	7029	1946	1957	28.7	Yes
105	Shawn Jefferson	7023	1991	2003	33.6	No
200	Pat Tilley	7005	1976	1986	30.7	No
20	Jake Reed	6999	1992	2002	36.2	No
190	J.T. Smith	6974	1979	1990	31.1	No
58	Derrick Alexander	6971	1994	2002	34.5	No
124	Nate Washington	6954	2006	2015	33.0	Not El.
84	Marshall Faulk	6875	1994	2005	34.0	Yes
146	Michael Crabtree	6870	2009	2017	32.2	Not El.
247	Gene Washington	6856	1969	1979	28.1	No
38	Jeremy Maclin	6835	2009	2017	35.2	Not El.
109	Ahmad Rashad	6831	1972	1982	33.5	No
8	T.Y. Hilton	6827	2012	2017	37.3	Not El.
13	Charley Hennigan	6823	1960	1966	36.9	No
3	Jimmy Graham	6800	2010	2017	39.0	Not El.
47	Larry Centers	6797	1991	2003	34.9	No
51	Dwight Clark	6750	1979	1987	34.7	No
39	Frank Sanders	6749	1995	2003	35.2	No
4	Kellen Winslow	6741	1979	1987	38.2	Yes
252	Frank Lewis	6724	1971	1983	27.8	No
54	Marty Booker	6703	1999	2009	34.7	No
173	Cris Collinsworth	6698	1981	1988	31.5	No
55	Deion Branch	6644	2002	2012	34.6	No
245	Mel Gray	6644	1971	1982	28.3	No
263	Willie Gault	6635	1983	1993	26.8	No
171	Jerricho Cotchery	6623	2004	2015	31.6	Not El.
130	Al Toon	6605	1985	1992	32.6	No
179	Brett Perriman	6589	1988	1997	31.4	No
88	Michael Haynes	6588	1988	1997	33.9	No
114	Heath Miller	6569	2005	2015	33.3	Not El.
202	Henry Marshall	6545	1976	1987	30.4	No
282	Dante Lavelli	6488	1946	1956	22.4	Yes
75	Ricky Sanders	6477	1986	1995	34.2	No
216	Del Shofner	6470	1958	1967	29.5	No
83	Mike Quick	6464	1982	1990	34.0	No
149	Quinn Early	6448	1988	1999	32.1	No
76	Golden Tate	6419	2010	2017	34.1	Not El.
30	Sammy White	6400	1976	1985	35.6	No
82	Ike Hilliard	6397	1997	2008	34.0	No
100	Carlos Carson	6372	1980	1989	33.7	No
72	Troy Brown	6366	1993	2006	34.2	No
276	Max McGee	6346	1954	1967	24.7	No
167	Stephone Paige	6341	1983	1991	31.7	No
15	Haywood Jeffires	6334	1987	1996	36.8	No
144	Steve Jordan	6307	1982	1994	32.2	No
180	Sean Dawkins	6291	1993	2001	31.3	No
219	Alfred Jenkins	6267	1975	1983	29.4	No
66	Darnay Scott	6193	1994	2002	34.3	No
19	Emmanuel Sanders	6156	2010	2017	36.3	Not El.
49	Jeremy Shockey	6143	2002	2011	34.8	No
211	Eddie Brown	6134	1985	1991	29.7	No
132	Steve Watson	6112	1979	1987	32.5	No
172	Ronnie Harmon	6076	1986	1997	31.6	No
254	Red Phillips	6044	1958	1967	27.8	No
213	Lenny Moore	6039	1956	1967	29.7	Yes
164	Santonio Holmes	6030	2006	2014	31.9	Not El.
232	Louis Lipps	6019	1984	1992	28.9	No
244	Jack Snow	6012	1965	1975	28.3	No
234	Lee Evans	6008	2004	2011	28.7	No
223	Sonny Randle	5996	1959	1968	29.3	No
108	Brandon Lloyd	5989	2003	2014	33.5	Not El.
189	Doug Baldwin	5945	2011	2017	31.1	Not El.
212	Bobby Joe Conrad	5902	1959	1969	29.7	No
269	Billy Wilson	5902	1951	1960	26.3	No
176	Todd Christensen	5872	1981	1988	31.5	No
181	Todd Heap	5869	2001	2012	31.3	No
35	DeAndre Hopkins	5865	2013	2017	35.3	Not El.
31	James Jones	5861	2007	2015	35.5	Not El.
113	Jessie Hester	5850	1985	1995	33.3	No
163	Freddie Solomon	5846	1975	1985	31.9	No
32	Eric Decker	5816	2010	2017	35.5	Not El.
240	Mike Ditka	5812	1961	1972	28.4	Yes
262	Riley Odoms	5755	1972	1983	27.1	No
65	Roy Williams	5715	2004	2011	34.4	No
120	John Jefferson	5714	1978	1985	33.1	No
259	Gail Cogdill	5696	1960	1970	27.5	No
89	Vance Johnson	5695	1985	1995	33.9	No
121	Jabar Gaffney	5690	2002	2012	33.0	No
192	Danny Abramowicz	5686	1967	1974	31.0	No
183	Antonio Bryant	5685	2002	2009	31.3	No
26	Dallas Clark	5665	2003	2013	35.9	Not El.
67	Owen Daniels	5661	2006	2015	34.3	Not El.
91	Keith Byars	5661	1986	1998	33.8	No
7	Nate Burleson	5630	2003	2013	37.3	Not El.
162	Delanie Walker	5621	2006	2017	31.9	Not El.
141	Dave Parks	5619	1964	1973	32.3	No
230	Pete Pihos	5619	1947	1955	28.9	Yes
280	Mac Speedie	5602	1946	1952	23.7	No
127	John Taylor	5598	1987	1995	32.9	No
97	Eric Metcalf	5572	1989	2001	33.7	No
5	Ben Coates	5555	1991	2000	38.0	No
169	Mark Jackson	5551	1986	1994	31.7	No
60	Malcom Floyd	5550	2004	2015	34.4	Not El.
185	Braylon Edwards	5522	2005	2012	31.2	No
272	Rich Caster	5515	1970	1981	26.0	No
283	Ray Renfro	5508	1952	1963	21.6	No
239	Chris Burford	5505	1960	1967	28.4	No
226	Chris Calloway	5497	1990	2000	29.0	No
208	Jerry Smith	5496	1965	1977	30.0	No
28	Ben Watson	5485	2004	2017	35.8	Not El.
270	Lynn Swann	5462	1974	1982	26.3	Yes
74	Reggie Langhorne	5446	1985	1993	34.2	No
229	Bernie Casey	5444	1961	1968	28.9	No
275	Buddy Dial	5436	1959	1966	25.0	No
268	Frank Gifford	5434	1952	1964	26.4	Yes
256	Frank Clarke	5426	1957	1967	27.7	No
220	Bob Tucker	5421	1970	1980	29.3	No
193	Marcus Allen	5411	1982	1997	31.0	Yes
184	Tom Fears	5397	1948	1956	31.2	Yes
135	Michael Jackson	5393	1991	1998	32.4	No
260	Gary Ballman	5366	1963	1973	27.4	No
221	Bobby Walston	5363	1951	1962	29.3	No
178	Fred Barnett	5362	1990	1997	31.4	No
138	Flipper Anderson	5357	1988	1995	32.4	No
77	Brandon Stokley	5339	1999	2013	34.1	Not El.
36	Alshon Jeffery	5338	2012	2017	35.3	Not El.
273	Gary Collins	5299	1962	1971	25.7	No
201	Rocket Ismail	5295	1993	2001	30.6	No
199	Elbert Dubenion	5294	1960	1967	30.7	No
95	Wesley Walls	5291	1989	2003	33.7	No
50	Keith Jackson	5283	1988	1996	34.8	No
133	Peerless Price	5281	1999	2007	32.5	No
24	Miles Austin	5273	2007	2015	36.0	Not El.
94	Brandon LaFell	5263	2010	2017	33.8	Not El.
217	Russ Francis	5262	1975	1988	29.5	No
266	Bob Chandler	5243	1971	1981	26.6	No
128	Kellen Winslow	5236	2004	2013	32.8	Not El.
231	John Mackey	5236	1963	1972	28.9	Yes
271	Hugh Taylor	5233	1947	1954	26.2	No
241	Dave Casper	5216	1974	1984	28.3	Yes
206	Tim McGee	5203	1986	1994	30.0	No
117	Brent Jones	5195	1987	1997	33.1	No
69	Mike Pritchard	5187	1991	1999	34.3	No
81	Tiki Barber	5183	1997	2006	34.0	No
153	Kevin House	5169	1980	1987	32.1	No
37	Randall Cobb	5141	2011	2017	35.2	Not El.
25	Qadry Ismail	5137	1993	2002	36.0	No
158	Kenny Britt	5137	2009	2017	32.0	Not El.
257	Elbie Nickel	5131	1947	1957	27.7	No
198	Frank Wycheck	5126	1993	2003	30.8	No
140	Charle Young	5106	1973	1985	32.3	No
159	Mickey Shuler	5100	1978	1991	32.0	No
196	Jimmie Giles	5084	1977	1989	30.9	No
33	Hakeem Nicks	5081	2009	2015	35.4	Not El.
156	Yancey Thigpen	5081	1992	2000	32.0	No
43	O.J. McDuffie	5074	1993	2000	35.1	No
134	Ted Ginn	5072	2007	2017	32.5	Not El.
237	Roger Carr	5071	1974	1983	28.7	No
227	Johnny Morris	5059	1958	1967	29.0	No
261	Duriel Harris	5055	1976	1985	27.3	No
251	Raymond Chester	5013	1970	1981	28.0	No
194	Jim Colclough	5001	1960	1968	30.9	No

I am short on time today, so I will leave the commentary to you.

Tagged as: WR Project, WR Ranking Systems

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