In American football, passing, along with running (also referred to as rushing), is one of the two main methods of advancing the ball down the field. Passes are typically attempted by the quarterback, but any offensive player can attempt a pass provided they are behind the line of scrimmage. To qualify as a passing play, the ball must have initially moved forward after leaving the hands of the passer; if the ball initially moved laterally or backwards, the play would instead be considered a running play. The act of catching a forward pass is a reception. The number of receptions each player makes is a recorded statistic in football games. In addition to the overall National Football League (NFL) receiving champion, league record books recognize statistics from the American Football League (AFL), which operated from 1960 to 1969 before being absorbed into the NFL in 1970. Although league record books do not recognize statistics from the All-America Football Conference, another league that merged with the NFL, these statistics are recognized by the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
The NFL did not begin keeping official records until the 1932 season. The total receptions of the leader has increased over time due to the increase of the number of games within an NFL season as well as the increase in the prevalence of passing in the NFL. Don Hutson led the league in receptions a record eight times. The first NFL player to record over 100 receptions in a season was Art Monk in 1984; Lionel Taylor and Charlie Hennigan had accomplished the feat in the AFL in 1961 and 1964 respectively. The NFL record for single-season receptions has changed on 15 occasions, with Michael Thomas holding the current record of 149 receptions set in 2019.
NFL annual receptions leaders
Don Hutson led the NFL in receptions a record 8 times.Tom Fears broke the single-season receptions record in consecutive years in 1949 and 1950.Kellen Winslow led the NFL in receptions in 1980 and 1981.Art Monk became the first NFL player to record over 100 receptions in a season with 106 in 1984. Lionel Taylor and Charlie Hennigan had accomplished the feat in the AFL.Marvin Harrison led the NFL in receptions twice in his career including a then-record 143 receptions in 2002.Wes Welker led the league in receptions three times in his career, the most of any player in the 21st century.CeeDee Lamb is the most recent player to lead the NFL in receptions.
Key
Symbol
Meaning
Leader
The player who recorded the most receptions in the NFL
Rec
The total number of receptions the player had
GP
The number of games played by a player during the season
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