It's no secret that Jerry Rice is widely considered to be the best NFL wide receiver of all time.
In 21 seasons, Rice racked up 1,549 catches for 22,895 yards and 197 touchdowns - all NFL records. In fact, no one else in league history has even come close to matching that production in any of those categories.
Rice's stats are so crazy, that the combined receiving yards of former Houston Texans legend DeAndre Hopkins and Miami Dolphins Star Tyreek Hill are not even enough to equal what Rice was able to produce.
And when this stat was pointed out on Twitter by ML Football, Hopkins took exception, insinuating that, if he had a Hall of Fame-level quarterback, things might have been different.
"Love all my 20 QB's I played with," Hopkins said on X in a since-deleted post. "But if I had a ball of fame QB most (of) my career... let me shut up."
In just six years with Houston, Hopkins racked up 632 catches for 8,602 yards and 54 touchdowns, sitting second in franchise history in all three categories.
In fact, the only player that sits ahead of him in the stat book for the Texans is a future Hall of Famer in Andre Johnson, who spent 11 years in Houston and saw 592 more targets than Hopkins.
Following his stint in Houston, he continued to in Arizona, hauling in 221 catches for 2,696 yards and 17 scores in just 35 games over three seasons. Hopkins, now 31, hasn't really slowed down either, making 75 catches for 1,057 yards and seven touchdowns this past season with the Titans.
More than that, his aptitude for making incredibly tough catches, continues to shine.
All that said, was his QB play really that bad? Well, he wasn't exactly starving for talent at the position, playing three seasons with Kyler Murray in Arizona, and two and a half seasons with Deshaun Watson in Houston.
Hopkins and Watson played in 38 games together with the Houston Texans and recorded 24 victories, including a trip to the AFC Divisional Playoff round in 2019, becoming one of the most feared quarterback/wide receiver duos in the NFL.
That said, outside of that five-and-a-half season window, - particularly through the first four years of his career - the Texans were playing musical chairs at the quarterback spot, employing the likes of Matt Schaub, Case Keenum, T.J. Yates, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Ryan Mallett, Tom Savage, Brian Hoyer, Brandon Weeden, B.J. Daniels, and Brock Osweiler all before getting to Watson.
And even in his first season with the team, Watson played in just seven games before tearing his ACL.
So yeah, Hopkins might have a point here.
Not only did Rice have the likes of Steve Young and Joe Montana throwing to him throughout the majority of his career, but also had three seasons of NFL MVP, two-time first-team All-Pro, and four-time Pro Bowler, Rich Gannon.
All that said, the most important stat for Rice and the reason he was able to be so successful above all else, was his longevity, with the Hall of Famer player for 21 seasons and retiring at the age of 42.
In other words, If Hopkins really wants to stack up to Rice, he still has another decade-plus to do it.
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