Justin Jefferson set to tie Larry Fitzgerald as fastest to 500 catches by age

With one catch Sunday night against Atlanta, Justin Jefferson will tie Larry Fitzgerald Jr. as the fastest player in NFL history to 500 receptions.

Jefferson is 26 years and 90 days old, which is exactly how old Fitzgerald was when he snagged his 500th catch during the 2009 season. By age, they'll be the same. But Jefferson will have accomplished the feat in fewer games.

Fitzgerald reached the 500-catch milestone in the 10th game of the 2009 season and the 86th regular-season game of his career. Jefferson is at 499 receptions through 78 regular-season games, so he'll likely hit 500 in seven fewer games than Fitzgerald.

Jefferson will become the second-fastest to 500 catches in NFL history at 79 games. The record is held by former Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas, who reached 500 in his 69th career game.

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The question for Jefferson is which path he will take going forward: one similar to Fitzgerald or one closer to Thomas? Fitzgerald wound up playing 17 seasons and is second in NFL history with 1,432 catches. Thomas has 565 catches and he hasn't played since 2023.

By the way, it took Rice 103 games to reach 500 catches and he's first in NFL history with 1,549 catches during his 20-year career.

Fitzgerald played 263 games in his career, averaging 5.4 catches per game. Jefferson is averaging 6.4 catches per game. If he maintains that pace and plays 263 games in his career, he'll finish with 1,682 receptions. That would shatter Rice's record and he would do it in 40 fewer games (Rice played 303 regular-season games).

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