Former Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald was snubbed from ESPN’s top 25 NFL players in the 21st century. The diss comes just one week after the 11-time Pro Bowler was left off the sports giant’s list of the top 100 professional athletes over the same time period.
He was among the first five out of the list of NFL players, coming in at No. 27. NFL Hall of Famer Marvin Harrison (No. 29) and 2018 Hall of Fame inductee Terrell Owens (No. 30) were other wideouts who just missed the cutoff.
Only two wide receivers in the top 25, Randy Moss (No. 5) and Calvin “Megatron” Johnson (No. 6), were deemed valuable enough to make an appearance.
This final tally was a surprise for ESPN senior NFL reporter Jeremy Fowler, who noted the glaring absence of these pass catchers who “set the stage for the big money wideouts make today.”
Of the 25 selections, 15 were offensive players compared to 10 defensive. Quarterbacks stole the show with six, the highest among all positions represented. More than 70,000 votes from ESPN contributors helped create the final list.
In light of the order of ranking, let’s start with Randy Moss.
Moss closed his 14-year career with 15,292 receiving yards and 982 catches. Fitzgerald, who competed in 17 seasons, ended his playing days with 17,432 yards and 1432 receptions, both second to San Francisco 49ers legend Jerry Rice.
Despite the three-season difference, Fitzgerald averaged 84.2 receptions per year compared to Moss’ 70.1.
While Moss does hang 156 touchdowns over Fitzgerald’s 121, the career-long Cardinal boasts a 61.3% catch percentage — almost five full points greater than Moss (56.4%).
Fitzgerald separated himself when it came to the postseason. He made six fewer playoff appearances (nine) than Moss but bested the 2018 Hall of Famer with three more receptions (57) and only 35 fewer reception yards (942).
Both hauled in 10 touchdowns, but Fitzgerald demonstrated his surehandedness with a 67.1% catch rate compared to Moss’ 48.2%.
Neither won a Super Bowl title. Fitzgerald nearly doubled Moss’ six Pro Bowl selections with 11 to his name. Moss did, however, earn three NFL First-Team All-Pro selections since the turn of the century (2000, 2003, 2007) whereas Fitzgerald had one nod in 2008.
With Moss, arguments can certainly be made. With Johnson, ESPN’s panel overlooked the obvious.
Johnson only played nine seasons, so the career numbers are difficult to compare. If only Fitzgerald’s first nine seasons are taken into consideration, he nearly matched Johnson’s seven 1,000-yard seasons with six and outpaced the Detroit Lions’ all-timer in total receptions with 764 compared to 731.
Johnson’s claim to fame was his single-season record of 1,964 receiving yards in 2012 to surpass Rice’s mark of 1,848, which had stood for 26 seasons.
For what Johnson had in volume (11,619 reception yards, 83 touchdowns) and physique (6-foot-5, 237 pounds), Fitzgerald made up in time-tested reliability. The 6-foot-3 Cardinal only recorded 29 drops and 13 fumbles in eight additional years on the turf, compared to Johnson’s 34 drops in just his first five NFL seasons and 14 career fumbles.
The playoff numbers between Fitzgerald and Johnson are stark.
Johnson saw two games (2011, 2014) that added to the Lions’ postseason win drought. Megatron notched 12 receptions and two touchdowns in his playoff debut but was quiet in his only other opportunity.
Fitzgerald, on the other hand, maximized his first postseason experience by becoming the first NFL player since 1950 to have at least 100 receiving yards in four consecutive games. The 2008 Cardinals would of course fall to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XLIII despite Fitzgerald’s heroics.
