I’m starting to work on the 2016 magazine. And as part of the initial setup, I go through all the various lists. Not only the game and performance stats, but also physical measurements. Which players are the oldest, youngest, tallest, heaviest, shortest, etc? As I work through these numbers, I am struck by how much players have physically changed over the years.
Take, for example, wide receivers.
If you take the top 20 wide receivers from last year (yards), on average they are 6-foot-1 and 207 pounds. Not that there aren’t plenty of productive smaller receivers – Antonio Brown, Brandin Cooks, Doug Baldwin, Odell Beckham Jr. – but it’s become a position with lots of big, physical freaks.
| TOP 20 RECEIVERS, 2015 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Player | Height | Weight |
| A.J. Green | 6.04 | 207 |
| Allen Hurns | 6.03 | 205 |
| Allen Robinson | 6.03 | 215 |
| Amari Cooper | 6.01 | 210 |
| Antonio Brown | 5.10 | 181 |
| Brandin Cooks | 5.10 | 189 |
| Brandon Marshall | 6.04 | 230 |
| Calvin Johnson | 6.05 | 237 |
| DeAndre Hopkins | 6.01 | 218 |
| Demaryius Thomas | 6.03 | 229 |
| Doug Baldwin | 5.10 | 189 |
| Emmanuel Sanders | 5.11 | 180 |
| Jarvis Landry | 5.11 | 202 |
| Jeremy Maclin | 6.00 | 198 |
| Julio Jones | 6.03 | 220 |
| Larry Fitzgerald | 6.03 | 218 |
| Mike Evans | 6.05 | 231 |
| Odell Beckham Jr. | 5.11 | 198 |
| Sammy Watkins | 6.01 | 211 |
| T.Y. Hilton | 5.09 | 180 |
| Average | 6.01 | 207 |
Compare that to the top 20 from 1995 – 20 years ago. Those receivers, on average, were just over an inch shorter and 15 pounds lighter.
The “big” receivers from 1995 – Herman Moore, Michael Irvin, Carl Pickens, Jake Reed – aren’t that big in comparison with what’s taking the field today.
| TOP 20 RECEIVERS, 1995 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Player | Height | Weight |
| Anthony Miller | 5.11 | 190 |
| Bert Emanuel | 5.10 | 175 |
| Brett Perriman | 5.09 | 180 |
| Carl Pickens | 6.02 | 206 |
| Cris Carter | 6.03 | 202 |
| Curtis Conway | 6.00 | 193 |
| Eric Metcalf | 5.10 | 190 |
| Herman Moore | 6.03 | 210 |
| Isaac Bruce | 6.00 | 178 |
| Jake Reed | 6.03 | 217 |
| Jeff Graham | 6.02 | 196 |
| Jerry Rice | 6.02 | 200 |
| Joey Galloway | 5.11 | 188 |
| Michael Irvin | 6.02 | 205 |
| Quinn Early | 6.00 | 188 |
| Robert Brooks | 6.00 | 175 |
| Terance Mathis | 5.10 | 175 |
| Tim Brown | 6.00 | 195 |
| Tony Martin | 6.00 | 181 |
| Yancey Thigpen | 6.01 | 208 |
| Average | 6.00 | 193 |
At the rate we’re going, wide receivers in 2035 will be, on average, 6-foot-2 and 222 pounds.
—Ian Allan