White 1,000-Yard Receivers of the Past 20 Years

[Thrashen]

With the 2017 regular season in the books, here is the updated list of white pass-catchers who've eclipsed 1,000 receiving yards since 1985. Considering the injuries of varying lengths (Edelman, Olsen, Hogan, Ertz), to reduced roles for slot receivers (Humphries, Beasley), to big names like Nelson and Decker being rendered completely useless due to bad QB play, it turned out to be a fairly successful season for white TE's and WR's. Kupp finished with 869 yards and Ertz finished with 824 yards. By comparison, only 12 black players finished with over 1,000 yards, with two players (Mike Evans and Golden Tate) within 5 yards of missing the mark. In looking at the data below, it's fascinating to note how many white players have hit to 1,000-yard mark from 2011 to present...

1985 - Largent, Collinsworth

1986 - Christensen, Collinsworth, Largent, Bavaro

1987 - None

1988 - None

1989- None

1990- None

1991- None

1992- None

1993- None

1994- None

1995 – None

1996 – None

1997 – None

1998 – Chrebet, McCaffrey

1999 - Jeffers, Schroeder, McCaffrey

2000 – McCaffrey

2001 – None

2002 – None

2003 – None

2004 – Bennett, Stokley

2005 – None

2006 – Furrey

2007 – Welker, Witten, Curtis

2008 – Welker

2009 – Welker, Clark, Witten

2010 – Witten

2011 – Welker, Gronkowski, Nelson

2012 – Welker, Hartline, Decker, Witten

2013 – Nelson, Decker, Edelman, Hartline

2014 – Nelson, Gronkowski, Olsen

2015 – Gronkowski, Olsen, Decker, Barnidge

2016 - Olsen, Kelce, Edelman, Nelson

2017 - Gronkowski, Kelce, Thielen

 

[Upside]

We had 16 of our guys finish with 500+ yards receiving this year.
10 were tight ends; 1 was a running back (McCaffrey).

Just missing the cut was Jordy with 482 and Hogan with 439, but both were still among the top 100 pass catchers of 2017.

Other notables:
Trent Taylor - 430
Tyler Kroft - 404
Jesse James - 372
Nick O Leary - 322
Kyle Juszczyk - 315
Cole Beasley - 314

 

[Thrashen]

Through 4 weeks, there are 6 white players currently on pace for 1,000 yards: Thielen, Kupp, Ertz, Kittle, Kelce, and Nelson.

If Gronk strings together a few good games, he could be right back on the mix. Hogan, too, but that seems unlikely.

It would be a nice victory to see Adam Thielen lead the NFL in receiving yards, but I don’t think it’ll happen. A white pass-catcher hasn’t led league in receiving since Steve Largent in 1985. Wes Welker was a close 2nd in 2011-2012.

 

[Thrashen]

Add Thielen to the list for 2018-2019. This week, he achieved his 2nd 1,000-yard season!

Kelce has 914 yards and, barring injury, should achieve his 3rd straight 1,000-yard season in the next week or two.

Ertz has 804 yards and with 6 games remaining seems destined for his 1st 1,000-yard campaign of his injury-riddled career.

Kittle has 775 yards and will need to average about 37 yards per games in the final 6 weeks for his 1st 1,000-yard season. Seems likely, but given his history of injuries, anything could happen. Either way, Kittle has been one of the real bright spots of the season. Nobody predicted he could be a superstar in the NFL...aside from the folks here at CF, who’ve been following him for years.

With Kupp’s devestating knee injury, the next highest white players in terms of receiving yards are Humphries and McCaffrey, both of whom have 500 yards. They have no chance. McCaffrey does have 632 rushing yards and will need to average about 60 yards in the final 6 games to become the first white RB to rush for 1,000 yards since Peyton Hillis in 2010-2011. That would be awesome!

As I predicted, the “Golden Rule” (no more than 4 whites shall eclipse the 1,000-yard receiving mark in one season) stands firm in 2018-2019. Given the rise of superstar white TE’s, how is this statistically possible for so many years? The most obvious answer is that there are so few white starting WR’s in the league, so if any of them suffer injuries, the “Golden Rule” wins again.

 

[Deceptive Speed]

With the 2017 regular season in the books, here is the updated list of white pass-catchers who've eclipsed 1,000 receiving yards since 1985. Considering the injuries of varying lengths (Edelman, Olsen, Hogan, Ertz), to reduced roles for slot receivers (Humphries, Beasley), to big names like Nelson and Decker being rendered completely useless due to bad QB play, it turned out to be a fairly successful season for white TE's and WR's. Kupp finished with 869 yards and Ertz finished with 824 yards. By comparison, only 12 black players finished with over 1,000 yards, with two players (Mike Evans and Golden Tate) within 5 yards of missing the mark. In looking at the data below, it's fascinating to note how many white players have hit to 1,000-yard mark from 2011 to present...

1985 - Largent, Collinsworth

1986 - Christensen, Collinsworth, Largent, Bavaro

1987 - None

1988 - None

1989- None

1990- None

1991- None

1992- None

1993- None

1994- None

1995 – None

1996 – None

1997 – None

1998 – Chrebet, McCaffrey

1999 - Jeffers, Schroeder, McCaffrey

2000 – McCaffrey

2001 – None

2002 – None

2003 – None

2004 – Bennett, Stokley

2005 – None

2006 – Furrey

2007 – Welker, Witten, Curtis

2008 – Welker

2009 – Welker, Clark, Witten

2010 – Witten

2011 – Welker, Gronkowski, Nelson

2012 – Welker, Hartline, Decker, Witten

2013 – Nelson, Decker, Edelman, Hartline

2014 – Nelson, Gronkowski, Olsen

2015 – Gronkowski, Olsen, Decker, Barnidge

2016 - Olsen, Kelce, Edelman, Nelson

2017 - Gronkowski, Kelce, Thielen

Wow the 90's must've been a terrible time to be a football fan lol.

 

[Freethinker]

Wow the 90's must've been a terrible time to be a football fan lol.

This is why its good that we document all of these stats. We can get depressed sometimes, but at least when it comes to White receivers, we’ve made considerable improvement.

90s: 5 thousand yard seasons.
00s: 11 thousand yard seasons.
10s: 27 (counting Thielen this year).

Since this decade has the rest of this year and next still to go, it’s safe to assume over 30. That is pretty exponential growth. We have to make sure the 20s is even better, assuming the league doesn’t collapse first or the country is in civil war.

 

[white is right]

Wow the 90's must've been a terrible time to be a football fan lol.

To be historically accurate you need to factor in the heavier running in this era too. The formula for winning was run first and pass second, so overall there were less 1k receivers.

Even with this different style of play White receivers were pigeonholed into slot receivers who came on the field in passing situations. Don Beebe , Ricky Proehl and Bill Schroder aside I can't recall any White outside receivers having any significant impact in the NFL in this decade.

 

[Thrashen]

In addition to Thielen and Kelce, George Kittle and Zach Ertz achieved the first 1,000 yard season of their respective careers yesterday.

 

[backrow]

And Kittle was just 5 yards short of all time highest receiving yards for a TE in a game.

BTW, McCaffrey could get 1000 yards if he gets an even 100 yards per game in the remaining three

 

[Freethinker]

It was long overdue to bump this fantastic thread. It appears that according to Thrashen, we had 4 White receivers crack the century mark in 2018: Thielen, Kelse, Kittle and Ertz. As everyone can see, 4 guys in a single year is our high water mark in recent decades. Even with all the ups and downs, 2019 has a chance to see 5 of our guys hit the mark. What a wonderful achievement that would be!

Travis Kelse has 1,131 yards through 14 games with 2 to go.
Julian Edelman has 1,091 yards through 15 games with 1 to play.
Cooper Kupp has 1,062 yards through 15 games with 1 left to play.
George Kittle has 967 yards through 13 games with 1 to go. Barring a terrible game or injury he’ll go over for his 2nd time despite missing time.
Zach Ertz has 888 yards through 14 games with 2 to play. He’ll need to average 56 yards over the last 2 to hit the mark and give us 5 guys. I think he’ll do us proud!
Christian McCaffrey has 814 yards through 14 with 2 to go. CMac is our wild card if Ertz fails. He’ll need to average 93 yards per game which will be tough but now totally impossible.
The only other guy with a small shot is Mark Andrews, but he’d need to average 121 yards per game to do it.

 

[backrow]

Funny enough, only in 2013 – Nelson, Decker, Edelman, Hartline - did we have 4 white receivers reach 1000 yard mark (and no TEs).

CMac is only 67 yards away from 1000 yards. He should get it.

Ertz only had 28 yards today so he needs 90+ in his last game (he was injured today but returned).

Kittle should be no brainer meaning we could get between 4 and 6 guys over 1000.

 

[Thrashen]

Now that the 2019 regular season has concluded, I’ve update the “master list” of white pass-catchers who’ve eclipsed the 1,000-yard receiving mark since 1985. The 2019 season was the best year ever, with five (5) whites achieving this great milestone!

1985 - Largent, Collinsworth

1986 - Christensen, Collinsworth, Largent, Bavaro

1987 - None

1988 - None

1989- None

1990- None

1991- None

1992- None

1993- None

1994- None

1995 – None

1996 – None

1997 – None

1998 – Chrebet, McCaffrey

1999 - Jeffers, Schroeder, McCaffrey

2000 – McCaffrey

2001 – None

2002 – None

2003 – None

2004 – Bennett, Stokley

2005 – None

2006 – Furrey

2007 – Welker, Witten, Curtis

2008 – Welker

2009 – Welker, Clark, Witten

2010 – Witten

2011 – Welker, Gronkowski, Nelson

2012 – Welker, Hartline, Decker, Witten

2013 – Nelson, Decker, Edelman, Hartline

2014 – Nelson, Gronkowski, Olsen

2015 – Gronkowski, Olsen, Decker, Barnidge

2016 - Olsen, Kelce, Edelman, Nelson

2017 - Gronkowski, Kelce, Thielen

2018 - Thielen, Kelce, Kittle, Ertz

2019 - Kelce, Kupp, Edelman, Kittle, McCaffrey

 

[Shadowlight]

It is impressive but I would take 2013 over this year because all of the thousand yarders were wide receivers. This year only two are actual wide receivers. And the game has changed where there are a lot more thousand yard guys around these days. The game has opened up more than ever.

If Thielen had remained healthy and gone over 1,000 yards this season too then I would rank it over the 2013 season. And remember Jordy was thought of as the premier deep threat in the NFL for several years and nobody will associate Edelman or even Kupp with that tag as good as they are.

Worth pointing out Edelman is 33 and if you scan the yardage list this season no WR with 1,000 yards or even close to it is near that age. Fitzgerald is a grand pa at 36 but he is as slow as molasses and should hang it up and give someone like Isabella a chance. He came nowhere near 1,000 yards and was just a sentimental figure they kept around. Just like the Packers did with Jordy. Yeah right. But it is a testament to the staying power of Julian that at age 33 he gathered in 100 receptions for only the second time in his career despite being the main focus of defenses every week. I know some stat nerds don't think he should get in the Hall Of Fame. Those fools don't understand football or what makes a player great.

By the way ( and I had mentioned this in the weekly NFL thread) the way Julian got to 100 catches this year was highly improbable. With around 20 or less seconds as the Pats were trying for a last second TD Brady chucked the ball to Edelman. Then on the very last play he hit him again to reach 100 for the season. I am still chuckling over it.

As everyone knows however we are in a golden period for white tight ends. Kelce is as good as any that have ever played and Kittle is quickly making a name at the top for himself.

Funny enough, only in 2013 – Nelson, Decker, Edelman, Hartline - did we have 4 white receivers reach 1000 yard mark (and no TEs).

 

[Leonardfan]

It is impressive but I would take 2013 over this year because all of the thousand yarders were wide receivers. This year only two are actual wide receivers. And the game has changed where there are a lot more thousand yard guys around these days. The game has opened up more than ever.

If Thielen had remained healthy and gone over 1,000 yards this season too then I would rank it over the 2013 season. And remember Jordy was thought of as the premier deep threat in the NFL for several years and nobody will associate Edelman or even Kupp with that tag as good as they are.

Worth pointing out Edelman is 33 and if you scan the yardage list this season no WR with 1,000 yards or even close to it is near that age. Fitzgerald is a grand pa at 36 but he is as slow as molasses and should hang it up and give someone like Isabella a chance. He came nowhere near 1,000 yards and was just a sentimental figure they kept around. Just like the Packers did with Jordy. Yeah right. But it is a testament to the staying power of Julian that at age 33 he gathered in 100 receptions for only the second time in his career despite being the main focus of defenses every week. I know some stat nerds don't think he should get in the Hall Of Fame. Those fools don't understand football or what makes a player great.

By the way ( and I had mentioned this in the weekly NFL thread) the way Julian got to 100 catches this year was highly improbable. With around 20 or less seconds as the Pats were trying for a last second TD Brady chucked the ball to Edelman. Then on the very last play he hit him again to reach 100 for the season. I am still chuckling over it.

As everyone knows however we are in a golden period for white tight ends. Kelce is as good as any that have ever played and Kittle is quickly making a name at the top for himself.

Shadowlight - try to be a glass half full type with this! It's a great accomplishment in such an anti-white league for 2019 to have 5 1000 yard receivers. C-Mac is only the third player to have a 1k/1k which is phenomenal. Also remember injuries really hurt our guys alot - Austin Hooper and Hunter Henry could of probably joined the 1k yard club if not for injuries. I really cannot think of a dominant black TE in the game right now either. Just enjoy it my friend!

 

[Thrashen]

It is impressive but I would take 2013 over this year because all of the thousand yarders were wide receivers. This year only two are actual wide receivers. And the game has changed where there are a lot more thousand yard guys around these days. The game has opened up more than ever.

If Thielen had remained healthy and gone over 1,000 yards this season too then I would rank it over the 2013 season. And remember Jordy was thought of as the premier deep threat in the NFL for several years and nobody will associate Edelman or even Kupp with that tag as good as they are.

Good point regarding the 2013 season. White WR's are more damaging to the Caste System than TE's.

Next season, I strongly doubt that McCaffrey will have 1,000 receiving yards, however, WR's such as Edelman, Kupp, Thielen, and possibly Beasley could all have a chance at 1,000.

Other notable WR's that could have a decent year in 2020:

Hunter Renfrow was a entrenched starter as a rookie and could have a nice sophomore campaign as the Raiders move to Las Vegas. He should improve upon his 605 yards and 4 TDs.

After a mostly-putrid season, hopefully Adam Humphries (who signed with the Titans instead of NE, for less guaranteed money) will be cut and sign elsewhere. Perhaps he'll come crawling back to NE?

Justin Watson or Scotty Miller could become a starter with the pass-happy Bucs.

Jake Kumerow has major talent, but is stuck behind black scrubs with no end in sight.

Danny Amendola will be a free agent. A return to NE, where he was a major part of two SB titles, seems highly unlikely. Assuming he doesn't retire, Danny will be looking to cash in on his final contract.

Alex Erickson has shown flashes of greatness (over 500 receiving yards this season), but he never seems to lock down a starting spot. At least AJ Green will likely be gone.

Chris Hogan will be a free agent and given the lack of interest last off-season, may even retire. Like Amendola, the starting flanker on 3-straight SB teams seems unlikely to ever return to the ever-blackening Patriots.

Brandon Zylstra will return to the Panthers and will hopefully be the #3 WR. I wish he'd have stayed in Minnesota.

Trey Quinn has some talent in the slot, but is in a bad Redskins offense.

If the Pats "clean house," the explosive WR/PR, Gunner Olszewski, could get some playing time. He looked good in limited action as a WR against the Giants.

If Braxton Berrios makes the Jets roster, he may never be more than a PR.

For TE's, guys like Kittle, Kelce, Ertz, Henry, Andrews, Hooper, and Higbee all have a chance at 1,000 as well. It would be nice to see Hayden Hurst traded to a team that'll use him as a starter.

 

[Carolina Speed]

For TE's, guys like Kittle, Kelce, Ertz, Henry, Andrews, Hooper, and Higbee all have a chance at 1,000 as well. It would be nice to see Hayden Hurst traded to a team that'll use him as a starter.

Tyler Eifert had great potential to be in this group as well, however injuries have hurt his career. After being injured for the last three years, he had 43 receptions, 436 yards and three TD's this season. Maybe home state Ohio Joe Burrow goes to Cincinnati and gets Eifert back on track.

 

[backrow]

So many talented players that could have 1000+ next season... Renfrow has a very good shot after earning lots of credit.

BTW Cooper Kupp finished second in the league for receiving TDs, imagine if he was targeted as Rams top threat for full season as opposed to occasionally.

 

[Freethinker]

2020 will go down in the history books as a sort of odd year due to Covid-1984. Hopefully that is partially to explain our big step back. Only 1 White athlete, Travis Kelce, went over the thousand yard mark. For Kelce, he finished 2nd in the NFL with 1,416 yards (in 15 games). It’s also his 5th straight season over 1,000 which I believe is a record for TEs. Cooper Kupp, Cole Beasley and Adam Thielen all went over 900. All 3 also missed 1 full game. So with that said, we could have easily hit our usual total of 3-4.

1985 - Largent, Collinsworth

1986 - Christensen, Collinsworth, Largent, Bavaro

1987 - None

1988 - None

1989- None

1990- None

1991- None

1992- None

1993- None

1994- None

1995 – None

1996 – None

1997 – None

1998 – Chrebet, McCaffrey

1999 - Jeffers, Schroeder, McCaffrey

2000 – McCaffrey

2001 – None

2002 – None

2003 – None

2004 – Bennett, Stokley

2005 – None

2006 – Furrey

2007 – Welker, Witten, Curtis

2008 – Welker

2009 – Welker, Clark, Witten

2010 – Witten

2011 – Welker, Gronkowski, Nelson

2012 – Welker, Hartline, Decker, Witten

2013 – Nelson, Decker, Edelman, Hartline

2014 – Nelson, Gronkowski, Olsen

2015 – Gronkowski, Olsen, Decker, Barnidge

2016 - Olsen, Kelce, Edelman, Nelson

2017 - Gronkowski, Kelce, Thielen

2018 - Thielen, Kelce, Kittle, Ertz

2019 - Kelce, Kupp, Edelman, Kittle, McCaffrey

2020 - Kelce

 

[wile]

Going forward it will even be more subjective as to what constitutes a good season with 17 game schedule. I remember 14 game seasons, I watched the game Simpson broke 2000k in a 14 game season in what looked like a tug of war pit for a field.

 

[Don Wassall]

It was a fluke that Thielen, Kupp and Beasley all came up just short, but what's disconcerting is the lack of possible new thousand yard receivers in the league besides them. The two biggest surprises were Scotty Miller at 33/501/3 and Braxton Berrios 37/394/3, but Miller is blocked by a lot of big name talent in Tampa, and it wouldn't be surprising if Berrios is pushed back into obscurity next season or becomes just a kick returner.

Renfro, Humphries and Amendola (who is old for a receiver and may not even be back) can be expected to get their 500 to 700 yards but a thousand is unlikely. Gunner Olszewski looks destined to be primarily a kick returner, while Andy Isabella has been thoroughly screwed thus far. Chad Hansen finally got a chance to play and looked very good but was then faded out for Houston's last few games.

Thielen and Kupp both noticeably were forced to take steps backward, Kupp right as he became unstoppable halfway through the '19 season. If Isabella can somehow go to a team that will develop him, he has a chance to become a star, otherwise it's a pretty grim picture overall for White receivers.

 

[Bucky]

Depressing only 1 guy this season.. We were making progress.

 

[Freethinker]

It was a fluke that Thielen, Kupp and Beasley all came up just short, but what's disconcerting is the lack of possible new thousand yard receivers in the league besides them. The two biggest surprises were Scotty Miller at 33/501/3 and Braxton Berrios 37/394/3, but Miller is blocked by a lot of big name talent in Tampa, and it wouldn't be surprising if Berrios is pushed back into obscurity next season or becomes just a kick returner.

Renfro, Humphries and Amendola (who is old for a receiver and may not even be back) can be expected to get their 500 to 700 yards but a thousand is unlikely. Gunner Olszewski looks destined to be primarily a kick returner, while Andy Isabella has been thoroughly screwed thus far. Chad Hansen finally got a chance to play and looked very good but was then faded out for Houston's last few games.

Thielen and Kupp both noticeably were forced to take steps backward, Kupp right as he became unstoppable halfway through the '19 season. If Isabella can somehow go to a team that will develop him, he has a chance to become a star, otherwise it's a pretty grim picture overall for White receivers.

Sadly, a good summary of where we stand.

Hopefully some of the guys you mentioned can catch good breaks. On paper, Miller’s situation could be improved if Chris Goodwin signs elsewhere. Also, what are the odds Antonio Brown is back with TB and able to stay out of trouble? The other guy I’m cautiously optimistic for is Isabella. The Cards maybe forced to end his racial apprenticeship “early” as they have very little talent beyond Hopkins.

The other hope is someone emerging from the draft. The best bet seems to be on Dax Milne having a good pro day and getting drafted in the top 3 rounds.

 

[Booth]

I think the best way for a white receiver to get a 1000 yds is to play tight end. It's just the way the game is being played now. More throws in the middle and short throws to the sidelines. Tight ends are catching more balls than ever before because they are so much more athletic now than years ago. Kittle and Kelce are prime examples of this.

 

[chris371]

I think the best way for a white receiver to get a 1000 yds is to play tight end. It's just the way the game is being played now. More throws in the middle and short throws to the sidelines. Tight ends are catching more balls than ever before because they are so much more athletic now than years ago. Kittle and Kelce are prime examples of this.

This seems true, the White TE revolution by Gronk, Kelce etc supports this.

 

[Freethinker]

So after last nights career game, Travis Kelse joined Cooper Kupp in our thousand yard receiver ranks. Kupp has 1,489 and Kelse 1,066.

This weekend we have the possibility of Mark Andrews making it a trio. He needs 74 yards. After him, I’d expect Hunter Renfrow (877 yards) and the recently hot George Kittle (757 yards) to get there too before season’s end. Adam Thielen is the best long shot beyond that. He would have been on track if not for an ankle injury. He’s at 686 with 4 games to play. I’d say he needs to play on Monday night to have any chance. At this point, it’s not looking likely that he’ll play.