Which WR duo is the best to ever don orange and blue? Will anyone on the current roster take over top spot?
When your franchise is the only one in NFL history that has never had a QB top 4,000 yards passing, the all-time receiving numbers can’t be too impressive either.
Such is the case with the Chicago Bears, where the receiving record holder for yardage has barely over 5k yards, and two of the top five players are not even wide receivers (see bottom of article for those all-time greats.)
Check out the top 10 yardage leaders at WR:
Catches Yards TD’s
- Johnny Morris 356 – 5,059 – 31
- Harlon Hill 226 – 4,616 – 40
- Alshon Jeffery 304 – 4,549 – 26
- Curtis Conway 329 – 4,498 – 31
- Marty Booker 329 – 3,895 – 25
- Willie Gault 184 – 3,650 – 27
- Ken Kavanaugh 162 – 3,626 – 50
- Allen Robinson 293 – 3,561 – 18
- Dick Gordon 238 – 3,550 – 35
- Brandon Marshall 279 – 3,524 – 31
That said, one duo stands above the rest, and they both happened to play together since our last Super Bowl appearance.
Former Bears wide receivers Alshon Jeffery and Brandon Marshall totaled 8,073 yards combined in Bears uniforms, including an incredible 2,716 total yards in 2013 alone, where both players earned Pro Bowl nods. They accounted for more yards in that one single season than the top two players on the all-time list above (Morris and Hill) accumulated when they were teammates way back in the late 50’s, early 60’s (2,598 total yds). Here are the stats for each player in that explosive 2013 season:
Scott Strazzante/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images
Alshon Jeffery: 89 catches on 148 targets for 1,421 yards and 7 TD’s
Brandon Marshall: 100 catches on 164 targets for 1,295 yards and 12 TD’s
When they were Bears, there may not have been two more physically imposing weapons at WR in the entire league than Alshon and B-Marsh. Each dominating the game in their own way with Jay Cutler behind the cannon. Alshon burst on to the scene with deceptive deep speed for a player his size and vice grips for hands. Marshall bullying corners on the regular with impressive burst and agility for a human of his stature. For the record, Jay Cutler played in only 11 games that season and threw 355 times, completing 224 passes for 2,621 yards with 19 TDs and 12 INTs. Josh McCown started the other 5 games and threw the ball 224 times, completing 149 attempts for 1,829 yards, 13 TDs and 1 INT. For those non-math heads in the room, that is 504 attempts, 374 completions, 4,450 yards, 32 TDs, and 13 INTs from the QB position. I wonder if we’ll see numbers like that from Caleb soon?
As for the future, I am confident with an offensive minded head coach, QB of the future and with the weapons we have rostered, we will see an even better duo over the course of Bears history sooner rather than later. My prediction on who might overtake Alshon and B-Marsh as top duo? Rome Odunze and Luther Burden. Rome led the entire nation in receiving yards in his final season at Washington and Burden accumulated over 1,200 yards as a true sophomore in the SEC. While they may not be as physically dominating, Rome and Burden figure to be massive burdens in the lives of NFC North opponents for years to come.
Photo by Todd Rosenberg/Getty Images
For me it’s clear. Alshon and B-Marsh are the best to ever do it. So far. The real question is will any of our current WR corp. surpass the former Bear’s when they hang up the cleats too? What about you? Who is your top duo and do you think DJ, Rome and/or Kmet/Burden/Loveland can surpass them?
Here are the non-WR All-Time Greats and where they land on the all time receiving list:
4. Walter Payton RB 492 catches 4,538 yards 15 TDs
Photo by Bruce Dierdorff/Getty Images
5. Mike Ditka TE 316 catches 4,503 yards 34 TDs
Photo by: Diamond Images/Getty Images
7. Matt Forte RB 487 catches 4,116 yards 19 TDs
Photo by Peter G. Aiken/Getty Images