NFL 10,000 Yard Receivers: 2006-2011

In this six-part series, I'm going through NFL history to write about every receiver with at least 10,000 career receiving yards. This is part four. Previous posts:

Part one (Maynard, Alworth, H.Jackson, Joiner, Largent, Lofton, Morgan, Monk, Rice)
Part two (Ellard, Clark, Reed, Fryar, Irvin, Carter, T.Brown, Rison)
Part three (Bruce, J.Smith, Harrison, Sh.Sharpe, Owens, McCardell, R.Smith, R.Moss)

In this post, I'll cover the 10,000-yard receivers who hit the milestone from 2006-11.

Keyshawn Johnson
New York Jets, 1996-99; Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 2000-03; Dallas Cowboys, 2004-05; Carolina Panthers, 2006
814 receptions, 10,571 yards, 13.0 avg, 552 first downs, 64 TD
10,000 yards in: 2006, Week 4
3 Pro Bowls

September 24, 2006, was a good day for Keyshawn Johnson. He caught 7 passes for 97 yards and a touchdown, and scored a 4-yard rushing TD, helping his new team to a 26-24 victory over the reigning division champs — and Johnson's old team — the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. That performance brought Johnson up to 9,999 career receiving yards, so he had to wait until Week 4 to become the 26th receiver in the 10,000-yard club.

Johnson, the top pick in the 1996 draft, was known as much for his attitude as his play. He had four 1,000-yard seasons, and wrote a book (with Shelley Smith) titled Just Give Me the Damn Ball!, setting the tone for a parade of diva receivers ever since. He tied for the NFL lead in first downs in 1998, and he was dismissed from the Buccaneers in mid-season 2003 because the defending champs didn't want to deal with him any more. His name is Joseph Ladarious Keyshawn Johnson, and he was nicknamed Me-Shawn.

In 2016, I named Johnson the toughest receiver of his era. Keyshawn was a self-centered loudmouth, arguably the first of the modern diva receivers. But he was also a gritty possession receiver who would go over the middle, and he was a terrific blocker. Johnson was 6'4", 211 pounds, and if he had been a little heavier, he probably would have been a Shannon Sharpe-style tight end.

Johnson's greatest asset was his size. His height helped him reach balls defensive backs couldn't, he used his body to shield the ball from defenders, and he wasn't easy to tackle. He took a lot of hits over the middle, hits that most receivers aren't willing to take, and his toughness elevated him over some of his peers who had better speed or better hands. Johnson was a terrific back-shoulder receiver, and he was good at getting his feet in on the sideline or in the back of the end zone.

Johnson was the leading receiver on the 2002 Bucs, one of the few offensive weapons on a defense-oriented Super Bowl champion. He was hot-headed and self-centered, and not easy to get along with, but he made a lot of plays.

Torry Holt
St. Louis Rams, 1999-2008; Jacksonville Jaguars, 2009
920 receptions, 13,382 yards, 14.5 avg, 629 first downs, 74 TD
10,000 yards in: 2006, Week 6
1 consensus All-Pro, 2 AP All-Pro, 7 Pro Bowls, 2000s All-Decade Team

October 15, 2006, was a big game for Torry Holt. He caught 8 passes for 154 yards and 3 touchdowns, becoming the 27th player in NFL history with more than 10,000 receiving yards.

Holt was a receiver without weaknesses. He was fast, even for a wideout, and he was a superb route-runner. At 6 feet and 200 pounds, he had enough size to outposition defensive backs, and he had great hands. The only thing missing was longevity, as Holt only played 11 seasons.

Holt outran people over and over, but his speed probably wasn't as exceptional as his hands or his route-running. While composing this post, I came across a random YouTube comment that I think is basically right: "His middle finger is doing a slant route."

Once in a while, you might see someone claim that Holt wasn't the best receiver on his own team. This criticism is silly, because Isaac Bruce is a Hall of Famer, but it also doesn't hold up to scrutiny. Bruce and Holt were teammates for nine seasons, from 1999-2007. In those nine seasons, Holt had more yards than Bruce 8 times, more first downs 6 times, and more touchdowns 6 times. Holt's rookie year was the only season Bruce was clearly better.

Furthermore, most statistically outstanding receivers play with other great receivers. Holt is the 27th player in this series. The majority of the receivers profiled had a teammate who also gained 10,000 yards:

Art Monk & Gary Clark
Andre Reed & James Lofton
Jerry Rice & Terrell Owens
Jerry Rice & Tim Brown
Cris Carter & Randy Moss
Jimmy Smith & Keenan McCardell
Rod Smith & Shannon Sharpe
Isaac Bruce & Torry Holt
Marvin Harrison & Reggie Wayne (Wayne is featured in this post)

I excluded meaningless cups of coffee at the end of a player's career: all of those pairs were together for at least three seasons, and all had at least one season in which both players exceeded 1,000 yards. You can probably think of several more pairs that are coming up in this series. This doesn't even include Keyshawn Johnson & Keenan McCardell, who played together in Tampa for two seasons, Johnson gaining 1,000 yards in '02 and McCardell gaining 1,000 in '03. Johnson and McCardell were the starting WRs for a Super Bowl champion.

Even if you don't count Keyshawn, 60% of 10,000-yard receivers to this point in history spent significant time, in or near their primes, with a teammate who also topped 10k.

Marvin Harrison and Terrell Owens were drafted in 1996. Randy Moss began his NFL career in 1998. Torry Holt was drafted in 1999, and played at basically the same time as three legends at the same position. The table below shows 1,600-yard seasons, 1,400-yard seasons, 1,200-yard seasons, 1,000-yard seasons, and seasons with fewer than 1,000 yards.

Holt has as many big seasons as the others; he's behind on low- and medium-impact seasons at the beginning and end of his career. Holt had the most catches, most yards, and most first downs of any receiver in the '00s. His seven Pro Bowls are more than Moss or Owens (6 each), and almost twice as many as Isaac Bruce (4).

Holt averaged 1,217 yards per season, the most in history by any player with at least 10 seasons. He's a 7-time Hall of Fame finalist, and I'd be shocked if he isn't in Canton by 2030.

Joey Galloway
Seattle Seahawks, 1995-99; Dallas Cowboys, 2000-03; Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 2004-08; New England Patriots, 2009; Pittsburgh Steelers, 2009; Washington, 2010
701 receptions, 10,950 yards, 15.6 avg, 481 first downs, 77 TD
10,000 yards in: 2007

Joey Galloway was a throwback to early 10,000-yard receivers like speedsters Don Maynard and Stanley Morgan: a downfield receiver, a burner with 4.18 speed. Galloway scored 5 punt return TDs and rushed for 496 yards, one of the highest totals ever by a receiver. His 11% TD percentage is very high for his era: the only players with a higher rate who also debuted in the '90s are Marvin Harrison, Terrell Owens, and Randy Moss. Galloway repeatedly got open deep, and no one could ever catch him from behind.

Galloway was so devastating that Jerry Jones traded two first-round choices to get Galloway for the Cowboys. He had a disappointing tenure in Dallas, but rebounded in Tampa. Altogether, Galloway had six 1,000-yard receiving seasons and three years of double-digit touchdowns, retiring with 83 total TDs.

Galloway's production is spread across numerous, mostly undistinguished quarterbacks. He gained more yardage catching passes from Quincy Carter than any other passer, followed by late-career Warren Moon, Rick Mirer, and Chris Simms.

It is not an error that I don't have a line to list Galloway's Pro Bowl and All-Pro selections. He never made a Pro Bowl, and he never won postseason honors from a major organization. But he was a good player with a 16-year career.

Muhsin Muhammad
Carolina Panthers, 1996-2004, 2008-09; Chicago Bears, 2005-07
860 receptions, 11,438 yards, 13.3 avg, 569 first downs, 62 TD
10,000 yards in: 2008, Week 2
1 AP All-Pro, 2 Pro Bowls

The Panthers drafted Muhsin Muhammad in the second round in 1996. The famous 1996 receiver class includes Marvin Harrison, Terrell Owens, Keyshawn Johnson, Muhsin Muhammad, Eric Moulds, Joe Horn, Amani Toomer, Terry Glenn, Eddie Kennison, and Bobby Engram. All ten had over 500 receptions, over 7,500 receiving yards, and at least 35 touchdowns. Seven of the 10 made at least one Pro Bowl, and they combined for 27. Taken as a group, they averaged 768 catches, 10,568 yards, and 69 TDs — about the same numbers as Keyshawn.

I mentioned last week that Keenan McCardell, Rod Smith, and Muhammad have virtually identical statistics. We could also throw Keyshawn into the McCardell-Muhammad-Smith group. His stats are basically the same: 800-900 receptions, about 11,000 yards, 60-70 TDs. Chad Johnson is also very similar if you don't mind a lower reception total.

Other players with similar stats include Michael Irvin, Gary Clark, and Shannon Sharpe.

Muhammad had more receptions, more yards, and more first downs than Keyshawn (Johnson had two more TDs). While Keyshawn was the quintessential diva and Muhammad attracted far less controversy, they had similar body types and playing styles. Muhammad was big (6-2, 215) and physical, and used his size to beat defensive backs. Like Johnson, he was an excellent blocker, and probably about three spaghetti dinners from being a tight end.

Muhammad had three 1,000-yard seasons, including 1,405 yards and 16 TDs in 2004, when he was first-team All-Pro. Panthers QB Jake Delhomme had a tendency to focus on one receiver, sending a huge percentage of targets his way. Usually, that was Steve Smith, but when Smith was injured in '04, Muhammad was the beneficiary. After getting 93 targets in '01, 108 targets in '02, and 100 targets in '03, he saw a whopping 160 looks in '04. Moose led the NFL in receiving yards, first downs, and touchdowns. The following year, Smith led the league in yards and TDs.

Muhammad was a popular player, with both fans and teammates. The Panthers put together a really nice 15-minute video celebrating his career, which I highly recommend.

Tony Gonzalez
Kansas City Chiefs, 1997-2008; Atlanta Falcons, 2009-13
1,325 receptions, 15,127 yards, 11.4 avg, 864 first downs, 111 TD
10,000 yards in: 2008, Week 3
Hall of Fame, 5 consensus All-Pro, 10 AP All-Pro, 14 Pro Bowls, 2000s All-Decade Team, 100th Anniversary Team