Best NFL Teams at Drafting Wide Receivers

• James Lofton
• Sterling Sharpe
• Davante Adams
• Donald Driver

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, few wide receivers in the NFL were as good as Lofton. In his 16-year career, Lofton made eight Pro Bowls and registered more than 1,000 yards six times before retiring in 1993 and making the Hall of Fame in 2003.

Sharpe also made the Hall despite playing just seven NFL seasons because of a neck injury. He still made five Pro Bowls and led the league in receptions three times. Adams may join Lofton and Sharpe.

He’s caught more than 1,000 passes for more than 12,600 yards in his 12-year career after the Green Bay Packers took him in the second round in 2014. Driver is the franchise’s career leader in receptions (743) and yards receiving (10,137).

4. Indianapolis Colts

• Marvin Harrison
• Reggie Wayne
• Raymond Berry
• Andre Rison

Harrison and Wayne rank ninth and 10th on the NFL’s all-time yards receiving list. And they logged a lot of their combined 28,900-plus yards together, both making the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Harrison arrived in 1996 and played all 13 years with the Indianapolis Colts.

Wayne came along in 2001 and spent all 14 years in Indianapolis. Berry was one of the NFL’s first elite wide receivers, making the Pro Bowl six times after being drafted in 1954 and making the Hall of Fame in 1973. Rison played just one year with the Colts in 1989, but made five Pro Bowls over his 12 seasons, including four in five years with the Atlanta Falcons.

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3. Los Angeles Rams

• Isaac Bruce
• Torry Holt
• Henry Ellard
• Drew Hill

Three of the top 17 players in career yards receiving were drafted by the Rams. Bruce is the only one in the Hall of Fame, ranking fifth all-time after making four Pro Bowls in 16 years. Holt is close to making the Hall, having been a finalist for five straight years. He made seven Pro Bowls in 11 years, 10 of which came with the Rams.

Ellard ranks 15th on the yards list after logging 13,777 over 16 years with the Rams, Washington and New England. He made the Pro Bowl three times. Hill played 14 years, breaking out with the Oilers in 1985, registering five 1,000-yard seasons and two Pro Bowls.

2. Pittsburgh Steelers

• Hines Ward
• Antonio Brown
• Lynn Swann
• John Stallworth

Ward is the Pittsburgh Steelers’ leader in receptions, yards receiving, and touchdowns after playing his whole 14 years in Pittsburgh, making four Pro Bowls and winning two Super Bowls. Brown was among the best wideouts in the NFL in the 2010s, making four straight All-Pro teams from 2014 to 2017.

Swann and Stallworth both arrived in Pittsburgh via the 1974 draft, helping the team to four Super Bowls. Swann played all nine years with the Steelers, making three Pro Bowls. Stallworth spent his entire 14-year career in Pittsburgh and made three Pro Bowls, as well, retiring in 1987 as the franchise’s career leader in most receiving categories.

1. Las Vegas Raiders

• Tim Brown
• Fred Biletnikoff
• Cliff Branch
• Amari Cooper

Brown led the NFL in a single statistical category just once (104 receptions in 1997) and was never named a first-team All-Pro, but he’s still the greatest receiver in franchise history, earning nine Pro Bowls over his 17 years.

The Raiders took Biletnikoff in 1965 after a stellar career at Florida State. He made six Pro Bowls and won two championships, including one Super Bowl, making the Hall of Fame in 1988.

Branch played opposite Biletnikoff his first few years in the early 1970s and broke out in 1974, making four straight Pro Bowls, ultimately retiring in 1985 and making the Hall in 2022. Cooper played 10 years, four with the Raiders, making four Pro Bowls and logging seven 1,000-yard seasons.