From 99-0, TeamFB7 is looking back on the greatest players in NFL history to don each jersey number. No ties allowed, tough decisions will be made — next is No. 80 and Jerry Rice.
With Jerry Rice, the debate isn’t whether he’s the greatest No. 80 in NFL history. It isn’t whether he’s the greatest wide receiver of all-time.
Those are merely incontrovertible truths.
With Rice, the only debate there can be is where he ranks among the greatest players in NFL history, period.
And at one time, he might very well have been the deserved No. 1 choice.
It’s been referenced several times in this series, but one of the most official attempts to rank the NFL’s all-time best players came in the 2010 NFL Network presentation “The Top 100: NFL’s Greatest Players.” The rankings at that time were set by a panel of current and former players, coaches, executives and media.
Rice was chosen No. 1, followed by Jim Brown, Lawrence Taylor, Joe Montana, Walter Payton and on down the list.
The next time such an official and authoritative ranking is compiled, surely quarterback Tom Brady, with his seven Super Bowl rings and slew of passing records, will own the No. 1 spot.
Rice might still be next on the list, though.
It’s probably easiest just to list all of his records, feats and accolades (or as many as we can fit) …
NFL All-Time Receiving Leaders
| Player | Years | Receiving Yards | Receptions | Receiving TDs |
| 1. Jerry Rice | 1985-2004 | 22,895 | 1,549 | 197 |
| 2. Larry Fitzgerald | 2004-2020 | 17,492 | 1,432 (2nd) | 121 (6th) |
| 3. Terrell Owens | 1996-2010 | 15,934 | 1,078 (9th) | 153 (3rd) |
| 4. Randy Moss | 1998-2012 | 15,292 | 982 (19th) | 156 (2nd) |
| 5. Isaac Bruce | 1994-2009 | 15,208 | 1,024 (15th) | 91 (15th) |
– Not only is Rice still the NFL’s all-time leading receiver in every major category more than two decades after retiring, with 1,549 receptions for 22,895 yards and 197 touchdowns, but in all that time nobody has even come especially close to those numbers.
– Larry Fitzgerald now ranks second in receptions (1,432) and yards (17,492), which is 117 catches and 5,403 yards behind Rice. Put another way, Rice still has 30.9% more receiving yards than any player in NFL history!
– Randy Moss is second with 156 receiving touchdowns, which is 41 TDs or 26.3% behind Rice. More to the point, though, Moss and Terrell Owens (153) are the only players even lightyears within range of Rice. Rice has 51.5% more receiving touchdowns than the next tier of players, with Cris Carter ranking fourth all-time at 130, which was the gap Rice held over the entire field when he retired after the 2004 season.
– As much as Brady occupies his own tier among quarterbacks historically, he has just under 10% more passing yards and 13.7% more passing touchdowns than second-place Drew Brees. All-time rushing leader Emmitt Smith has 9.7% more yards than prior record-holder Walter Payton with a tightly bunched field of RBs behind them and 13.1% more rushing touchdowns than second-place LaDainian Tomlinson. So Rice’s dominance atop the receiving charts is simply without comparison.
– With 208 total touchdowns (including 10 rushing and one fumble recovery), Rice is the all-time leading scorer in NFL history among non-kickers. And the all-time leader in yards from scrimmage (23,540, including 645 rushing yards).
Jerry Rice’s Unparalleled Longevity
– Rice put up those seemingly untouchable numbers despite missing almost an entire full season in 1997 when he tore the ACL and MCL in his left knee in the season-opener, ending his streak of 189 consecutive games played. Incredibly, he returned by mid-December of that same season but subsequently cracked the patella in that knee while making a touchdown catch. He was 35 years old at that point, but instead of that injury jeopardizing his career, he returned to play seven more seasons (including three more with at least 1,100 receiving yards).
– His 303 regular-season games played is 40 more than any other WR (Fitzgerald).
– The statistic that best showcases Rice’s truly one-of-a-kind longevity at the position is this:
– Rice was invited to 13 Pro Bowls (a record for WRs and 6th-most all-time overall) and named first-team All-Pro 10 times (tied with Hall of Fame center Jim Otto of the 1960s-70s Raiders for the most all-time). Those All-Pro honors all came in an 11-year span, ending with that 1997 injury-marred season, before he was later named second-team All-Pro at 40 years old when he had 92 catches for 1,211 yards and 7 TDs for the 2002 Oakland Raiders in his 18th NFL season.
– No wide receiver has ever won NFL MVP, but Rice came the closest with two runner-up finishes in 1987 (65-1,078-22 in the strike-shortened 12-game season) and 1995 (122-1,848-15 in 1995), and two third-place finishes in 1993 (98-1,503-15) and 1994 (112-1,499-13). Rice finished top 3 in NFL Offensive Player of the Year voting six times, winning the award twice in 1987 and 1993.
– Rice won three Super Bowl rings with the San Francisco 49ers, two while playing with quarterback Joe Montana and one with QB Steve Young. He then played in a fourth Super Bowl with the Oakland Raiders.
– Rice was named MVP of Super Bowl XXIII after the 1988 season, catching 11 passes for 215 yards and a TD in a 20-16 win over the Cincinnati Bengals. That stands as the only 200-yard receiving performance in Super Bowl history. Rice is the career leader in Super Bowl receiving yards (589) and receiving TDs (8) and second in receptions (33, behind Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce’s 35). Rice is the only player with 3 receiving TDs in a Super Bowl and he did it twice — in Super Bowls XXIV and XXIX. He’s also the only player three 100-yard receiving performances in the Super Bowl.
– Rice long held the record for most postseason receptions (151) — at the time Michael Irvin was second with 87 — but that mark has since been surpassed by Kelce. But Rice’s postseason-record 2,245 receiving yards, which dwarfed Irvin’s 1,315 at the time he retired, remains unthreatened with Kelce now second at 2,078. Rice’s 22 postseason touchdowns — 10 more than second-place John Stallworth when Rice retired — also remains a record with Kelce now second at 20.
– Rice led the NFL in receptions twice, receiving yards six times and receiving touchdowns six times.
– Among the slew of additional records he holds, he had the most career games with at least 100 receiving yards (76), most consecutive games with a reception (274) and most seasons with at least 1,000 receiving yards (14 — with Mike Evans next at 11).
– Rice was named to the NFL’s All-Decade Team for the 1980s and 1990s, was named to both the NFL’s 75th and 100th Anniversary Teams and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame his first year on the ballot in 2010.
Rice An All-Time Success Story
That Hall of Fame career all spawned out of a successful career at little Mississippi Valley State.
Rice had interest from much larger college programs, but as he’s explained, Mississippi Valley State sent a coach to meet with him in person in his hometown of Crawford, Mississippi, and lay out their vision of a pass-heavy offense. That was all he needed to hear.
Despite playing at a small school, Rice was a first-round draft pick — 16th overall — in 1985 and an immediate success in the NFL.
And the rest, as the saying goes, is history.
After 16 seasons with the San Francisco 49ers, Rice played 3.5 seasons with the Oakland Raiders and finished up the second half of his final season in 2004 with the Seattle Seahawks.
Rice signed a one-year contract with the Denver Broncos in 2005, but he announced his retirement that Sept. 5 a little more than a month before his 43rd birthday.
Other All-Time Great No. 80s
There may have been no debate as to who is the greatest No. 80 in NFL history, but that doesn’t mean the list of luminaries to wear the number is lacking in any way.
Rice is one of a large number of Hall of Famers to primarily wear No. 80. That list includes:
– WR Steve Largent: 819 receptions for 13,089 yards and 100 TDs from 1976-89 with the Seahawks, with 7 Pro Bowls, 1 first-team All-Pro and 4 second-team All-Pro honors.
– WR Cris Carter: 1,101 receptions for 13,899 yards and 130 TDs from 1987-2002 with the Eagles, Vikings and Dolphins, with 8 Pro Bowls, 2 first-team All-Pro and one second-team All-Pro honors.
– WR James Lofton: 764 receptions for 14,004 yards and 75 TDs from 1978-93 with the Packers, Raiders, Bills, Rams and Eagles, with 8 Pro Bowls, 1 first-team All-Pro and 3 second-team All-Pro honors. Lofton wore No. 80 in all but two of his 16 NFL seasons.
– WR Isaac Bruce: 1,024 receptions for 15,208 yards and 91 TDs from 1994-2009 with the Rams and 49ers, with a Super Bowl ring, 4 Pro Bowls and 1 second-team All-Pro honor. Bruce wore No. 80 for the duration of his Rams career before taking No. 88 in his two seasons with the 49ers — for obvious reasons.
– TE Kellen Winslow: 541 receptions for 6,741 yards and 45 TDs from 1979-87 with the Chargers as one of the game-changing tight ends who helped evolve the position, posting 3 1,000-yard seasons with 5 Pro Bowls, 3 first-team All-Pro and one second-team All-Pro honors
– SE Tom Fears: 400 receptions for 5,397 yards and 38 TDs from 1948-56 with the Rams with 1 NFL championship, 1 Pro Bowl, 1 first-team All-Pro and two second-team All-Pro honors. Fears wore No. 80 for the final five seasons of his career.
– DE Len Ford: Initially a two-way player for the Los Angeles Dons starting in 1948, Ford earned four straight first-team All-Pro and Pro Bowl honors from 1951-54 with the Browns and finished his career in 1958 with the Packers, winning 3 NFL championships. He wore No. 80 for six of his seasons with the Browns.
– DB Jack Butler: 52 career interceptions from 1951-59 with the Steelers, making 4 Pros Bowls with 3 first-team All-Pro and 1 second-team All-Pro honors.
As for non-Hall of Famers, these other great wide receivers also donned the No. 80: Rod Smith, Andre Johnson, Irving Fryar, Donald Driver, Henry Ellard and Eric Moulds.
Greatest NFL Players By Number
99 | 98 | 97 | 96 | 95 | 94 | 93 | 92 | 91 | 90 | 89 | 88 | 87 | 86 | 85 | 84 | 83 | 82 | 81
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