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San Francisco 49ers drafted wide receiver Jerry Rice out of Mississippi Valley State with their 16th overall pick in the first-round of the 1985 NFL Draft. Jerry Rice bursted on the scene during his rookie year in the NFL. Rice hauled in 49 receptions for 927 yards and three touchdowns.
Jerry Rice spent 21 years in the NFL. Sixteen of those years were with the San Francisco 49ers. Rice spent four years with the Oakland Raiders and one year with the Seattle Seahawks. Combined Jerry Rice started 284 games out of 303 during his NFL career.
When looking at Jerry Rice's stats there are three reasons why Jerry Rice is the greatest wide receiver of all time.
1) Jerry Rice is the all time leader in receptions with 1,549
Jerry Rice sits at the top of the NFL's record books for wide receivers when it comes to receptions. Rice has been retired since 2004 and the closest active wide receiver to Rice is Larry Fitzgerald. With Larry Fitzgerald retiring this season it is safe to say that Jerry Rice is safe for another year.
The next active wide receiver is Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Antonio Brown. Antonio Brown checks in with 886 receptions in his NFL career. With Jerry Rice having 1,549 receptions it leaves Brown 663 receptions behind Rice.
2) Jerry Rice is the all time leader in receiving yards with 22,895
Jerry Rice had 11 straight seasons where he went over 1,000 receiving yards with the San Francisco 49ers. In four of the 11 seasons, Jerry Rice went over 1,500 yards receiving. In Jerry Rice's 21 year NFL career he went over 1,000 receiving yards a total of 14 times.
Rice sits at the top of the all time receiving yards list with 22,895 receiving yards. The next closest active wide receiver is once again Larry Fitzgerald. Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones is currently 9,999 receiving yards behind Jerry Rice. With Julio Jones coming towards the end of his career, it is safe to say that Jerry Rice will remain as the all time leader in receiving yards.
3) Jerry Rice is the all time leader in receiving touchdowns with 197
Jerry Rice was the number one target for San Francisco 49ers quarterback Joe Montana. Rice and Montana won back-to-back Super Bowl Championships together in the 1987-88 NFL season and the 1988-89 season. Jerry Rice proved that he was a reliable target when he and Steve Young won the 1994 Super Bowl Championship together.
During Jerry Rice's career he went on a seven year run where he recorded double digit touchdowns in all seven seasons. Rice had his best receiving touchdown year during the 1987 NFL season when he caught 22 touchdown passes. The 197 receiving touchdowns that Jerry Rice has recorded has him standing alone at the top of the all time receiving touchdowns list.
