In American football, passing, along with running (also referred to as rushing), is one of the two main methods of advancing the ball down the field. Passes are typically attempted by the quarterback, but any offensive player can attempt a pass provided they are behind the line of scrimmage. To qualify as a passing play, the ball must have initially moved forward after leaving the hands of the passer; if the ball initially moved laterally or backwards, the play would instead be considered a running play. A player who catches a forward pass is a receiver, and the number of receiving yards each player has recorded in each season is a recorded stat in football games. In addition to the overall National Football League (NFL) receiving champion, league record books recognize statistics from the American Football League (AFL), which operated from 1960 to 1969 before being absorbed into the NFL in 1970.
The NFL did not begin keeping official records until the 1932 season. The average yards the leader has gained has increased over time – since the adoption of the 14-game season in 1961, all but one season saw the receiving leader record over 1,000 yards. No player has ever finished with over 2,000 receiving yards in a season; the current record is 1,964 yards, set by Calvin Johnson during the 2012 season. Wes Chandler, who led the league with 1,032 yards in the strike-shortened 1982 season, averaged 129 yards receiving per game, an NFL record.
Don Hutson led the league in receiving yards seven times, the most of any player; Jerry Rice is second with six. Hutson also recorded the most consecutive seasons leading the league in receiving, doing so for five seasons from 1941 to 1945, while Jerry Rice ranks second with three consecutive league-leading seasons from 1993 to 1995; they are the only players to lead the league in yards in more than four seasons. A Green Bay Packers player has led the league in receiving yards eleven times, the most in the NFL; the Los Angeles/St. Louis Rams rank second with nine league-leading seasons. The most recent receiving yards leader was Tyreek Hill of the Miami Dolphins, who recorded 1,799 receiving yards during the 2023 season.
Bob Mann was the NFL's receiving yards leader in 1949, and the third player to lead the league in receiving while recording over 1,000 yards.Elroy Hirsch, a Pro Football Hall of Fame member, led the league in receiving yards in 1951, recording 1,495 yards over a 12-game season.Future US CongressmanSteve Largent led the league in receiving yards twice during his Hall of Fame career.Wes Chandler led the league in 1982, when he averaged an NFL-record 129 yards per game during the strike-shortened season.Hall of Fame member Jerry Rice, the NFL's all-time receiving yards leader, led the league in receiving yards six times over his career.Marvin Harrison was the NFL's receiving yards leader twice over his career.Calvin Johnson led the league in receiving yards in 2011 and followed it up by setting the league record for receiving yards in 2012.Antonio Brown led the league with 1,698 receiving yards in 2014.Julio Jones led the league in 2015 with 1,871 yards and again in 2018 with 1,677 yards.
Key
Symbol
Meaning
Leader
The player who recorded the most receiving yards in the NFL
Yds
Total receiving yards
GP
The number of games that the player participated in during that season
