List of National Football League career receiving yards leaders
In American football, yards gained on a forward pass play are credited to the receiver as receiving yards. In the National Football League, 48 players have gained at least 10,000 receiving yards in their career: all but four are wide receivers; the rest are tight ends. Wide receiver Jerry Rice is the NFL's all-time leader in receiving yards, with 22,895. He is the only player to surpass 18,000 yards. Larry Fitzgerald is the only player nearing this milestone. Here are the 50 players with the most receiving yards:
Regular season career receiving yards leaders
Through end of season| Rank | Player | Position | Team by season | |||
| 1 | Jerry Rice^ | Wide receiver | San Francisco 49ers Oakland Raiders Seattle Seahawks | 1,549 | 22,895 | 14.8 |
| 2 | * | Wide receiver | Arizona Cardinals | 1,378 | 17,083 | 12.4 |
| 3 | Terrell Owens^ | Wide receiver | San Francisco 49ers Philadelphia Eagles Dallas Cowboys Buffalo Bills Cincinnati Bengals | 1,078 | 15,934 | 14.8 |
| 4 | Randy Moss^ | Wide receiver | Minnesota Vikings Oakland Raiders New England Patriots Tennessee Titans San Francisco 49ers | 982 | 15,292 | 15.6 |
| 5 | Isaac Bruce^ | Wide receiver | Los Angeles / St. Louis Rams San Francisco 49ers | 1,024 | 15,208 | 14.9 |
| 6 | Tony Gonzalez^ | Tight end | Kansas City Chiefs Atlanta Falcons | 1,325 | 15,127 | 11.4 |
| 7 | Tim Brown^ | Wide receiver | L.A./Oakland Raiders Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 1,094 | 14,934 | 13.7 |
| 8 | Steve Smith Sr. | Wide receiver | Carolina Panthers Baltimore Ravens | 1,031 | 14,731 | 14.3 |
| 9 | Marvin Harrison^ | Wide receiver | Indianapolis Colts | 1,102 | 14,580 | 13.2 |
| 10 | Reggie Wayne | Wide receiver | Indianapolis Colts | 1,070 | 14,345 | 13.5 |
| 11 | Andre Johnson | Wide receiver | Houston Texans Indianapolis Colts Tennessee Titans | 1,062 | 14,185 | 13.4 |
| 12 | James Lofton^ | Wide receiver | Green Bay Packers Los Angeles Raiders Buffalo Bills Los Angeles Rams Philadelphia Eagles | 764 | 14,004 | 18.3 |
| 13 | Cris Carter^ | Wide receiver | Philadelphia Eagles Minnesota Vikings Miami Dolphins | 1,101 | 13,899 | 12.6 |
| 14 | Anquan Boldin | Wide receiver | Arizona Cardinals Baltimore Ravens San Francisco 49ers Detroit Lions | 1,076 | 13,779 | 12.8 |
| 15 | Henry Ellard | Wide receiver | Los Angeles Rams Washington Redskins New England Patriots | 814 | 13,777 | 16.9 |
| 16 | Torry Holt | Wide receiver | St. Louis Rams Jacksonville Jaguars | 920 | 13,382 | 14.5 |
| 17 | Andre Reed^ | Wide receiver | Buffalo Bills Washington Redskins | 951 | 13,198 | 13.9 |
| 18 | Steve Largent^ | Wide receiver | Seattle Seahawks | 819 | 13,089 | 16.0 |
| 19 | Tight end | Dallas Cowboys Las Vegas Raiders | 1,215 | 12,977 | 10.7 | |
| 20 | Irving Fryar | Wide receiver | New England Patriots Miami Dolphins Philadelphia Eagles Washington Redskins | 851 | 12,785 | 15.0 |
| 21 | ^ | Wide receiver | Washington Redskins New York Jets Philadelphia Eagles | 940 | 12,721 | 13.5 |
| 22 | Wide receiver | Denver Broncos Miami Dolphins Chicago Bears New York Jets New York Giants Seattle Seahawks/New Orleans Saints | 970 | 12,351 | 12.7 | |
| 23 | Wide receiver | Dallas Cowboys Jacksonville Jaguars | 862 | 12,287 | 14.3 | |
| 24 | Charlie Joiner^ | Wide receiver | Houston Oilers Cincinnati Bengals San Diego Chargers | 750 | 12,146 | 16.2 |
| 25 | * | Wide receiver | Atlanta Falcons | 797 | 12,125 | 15.2 |
| 26 | Hines Ward | Wide receiver | Pittsburgh Steelers | 1,000 | 12,083 | 12.1 |
| 27 | Wide receiver | Tennessee Oilers/Titans Baltimore Ravens New York Jets/Houston Texans | 943 | 12,061 | 12.8 | |
| 28 | Michael Irvin^ | Wide receiver | Dallas Cowboys | 750 | 11,904 | 15.9 |
| 29 | Tight end | San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers | 955 | 11,841 | 12.4 | |
| 30 | ^ | Wide receiver | New York Giants New York Titans/Jets | 633 | 11,834 | 18.7 |
| 31 | Calvin Johnson | Wide receiver | Detroit Lions | 731 | 11,619 | 15.9 |
| 32 | Wide receiver | Carolina Panthers Chicago Bears | 860 | 11,438 | 13.3 | |
| 33 | Wide receiver | Denver Broncos | 849 | 11,389 | 13.4 | |
| 34 | Wide receiver | Cleveland Browns Jacksonville Jaguars Tampa Bay Buccaneers San Diego Chargers Washington Redskins | 883 | 11,373 | 12.9 | |
| 35 | Wide receiver | Pittsburgh Steelers New England Patriots | 841 | 11,263 | 13.4 | |
| 36 | Wide receiver | Cincinnati Bengals New England Patriots | 766 | 11,059 | 14.4 | |
| 37 | Joey Galloway | Wide receiver | Seattle Seahawks Dallas Cowboys Tampa Bay Buccaneers New England Patriots/Pittsburgh Steelers Washington Redskins | 698 | 10,918 | 15.6 |
| 38 | Roddy White | Wide receiver | Atlanta Falcons | 808 | 10,863 | 13.4 |
| 39 | Gary Clark | Wide receiver | Washington Redskins Arizona/Phoenix Cardinals Miami Dolphins | 699 | 10,856 | 15.5 |
| 40 | Wide receiver | New England Patriots Indianapolis Colts | 557 | 10,716 | 19.2 | |
| 41 | Keyshawn Johnson | Wide receiver | New York Jets Tampa Bay Buccaneers Dallas Cowboys Carolina Panthers | 814 | 10,571 | 13.0 |
| 42 | * | Wide receiver | Philadelphia Eagles Washington Redskins Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 598 | 10,420 | 17.4 |
| 43 | Harold Jackson | Wide receiver | Los Angeles Rams Philadelphia Eagles New England Patriots Minnesota Vikings Seattle Seahawks | 579 | 10,372 | 17.9 |
| 44 | Santana Moss | Wide receiver | New York Jets Washington Redskins | 732 | 10,283 | 14.0 |
| 45 | Lance Alworth^ | Wide receiver | San Diego Chargers Dallas Cowboys | 542 | 10,266 | 18.9 |
| 46 | Andre Rison | Wide receiver | Indianapolis Colts Atlanta Falcons Cleveland Browns Jacksonville Jaguars/Green Bay Packers Kansas City Chiefs Oakland Raiders | 743 | 10,205 | 13.7 |
| 47 | Donald Driver | Wide receiver | Green Bay Packers | 743 | 10,137 | 13.6 |
| 48 | Shannon Sharpe^ | Tight end | Denver Broncos Baltimore Ravens | 815 | 10,060 | 12.3 |
| 49 | Eric Moulds | Wide receiver | Buffalo Bills Houston Texans Tennessee Titans | 764 | 9,995 | 13.1 |
| 50 | Wes Welker | Wide receiver | San Diego Chargers Miami Dolphins New England Patriots Denver Broncos St. Louis Rams | 903 | 9,924 | 11.0 |
Active players not in top 50 but have at least 8,800 receiving yards
Through end of season; includes ranking.Players with at least 1,000 post season receiving yards
Through end of playoffs| Rank | Player | Position | Team by season | |||
| 1 | ^ | Wide Receiver | San Francisco 49ers Oakland Raiders Seattle Seahawks | 151 | 2,245 | 14.9 |
| 2 | * | Wide Receiver | New England Patriots | 118 | 1,442 | 12.2 |
| 3 | ^ | Wide Receiver | Dallas Cowboys | 87 | 1,315 | 15.1 |
| 4 | Wide Receiver | Oakland Raiders | 73 | 1,289 | 17.7 | |
| 5 | Wide Receiver | Indianapolis Colts | 93 | 1,254 | 13.5 | |
| 6 | ^ | Wide Receiver | Buffalo Bills Washington Redskins | 85 | 1,229 | 14.5 |
| 7 | Wide Receiver | Pittsburgh Steelers | 88 | 1,181 | 13.4 | |
| 8 | ^ | Wide Receiver | Oakland Raiders | 70 | 1,167 | 16.7 |
| 9 | * | Tight End | New England Patriots Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 81 | 1,163 | 14.4 |
| 10 | Drew Pearson | Wide Receiver | Dallas Cowboys | 68 | 1,131 | 16.6 |
| 11 | ^ | Wide Receiver | Cleveland Browns Miami Dolphins | 58 | 1,121 | 19.3 |
| 12 | ^ | Wide Receiver | Washington Redskins New York Jets Philadelphia Eagles | 69 | 1,062 | 15.4 |
| 13 | Wide Receiver | Arizona Cardinals Baltimore Ravens San Francisco 49ers Detroit Lions | 70 | 1,057 | 15.1 | |
| 14 | ^ | Wide Receiver | Pittsburgh Steelers | 57 | 1,054 | 17.5 |
| 15 | Steve Smith Sr. | Wide Receiver | Carolina Panthers Baltimore Ravens | 59 | 1,001 | 17.0 |