# List of NFL annual receptions leaders

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

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 |
| † | Inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame |
| ^ | Active player |
| * | Set the single-season receptions record |
| (#) | Denotes the number of times a player appears in this list |
NFL annual receptions leaders by season :
| Season | Leader | Rec | GP | Team |
| 1932 | Ray Flaherty† | 21* | 12 | New York Giants |
| 1933 | Shipwreck Kelly | 34* | 10 | Brooklyn Dodgers |
| 1934 | Red Badgro† | 16 | 13 | New York Giants |
| 1934 | Joe Carter | 16 | 11 | Philadelphia Eagles |
| 1935 | Tod Goodwin | 26 | 12 | New York Giants |
| 1936 | Don Hutson† | 34 | 12 | Green Bay Packers |
| 1937 | Don Hutson† (2) | 41* | 11 | Green Bay Packers |
| 1938 | Gaynell Tinsley | 41 | 11 | Chicago Cardinals |
| 1939 | Don Hutson† (3) | 34 | 11 | Green Bay Packers |
| 1940 | Don Looney | 58* | 11 | Philadelphia Eagles |
| 1941 | Don Hutson† (4) | 58 | 11 | Green Bay Packers |
| 1942 | Don Hutson† (5) | 74* | 11 | Green Bay Packers |
| 1943 | Don Hutson† (6) | 47 | 10 | Green Bay Packers |
| 1944 | Don Hutson† (7) | 58 | 10 | Green Bay Packers |
| 1945 | Don Hutson† (8) | 47 | 10 | Green Bay Packers |
| 1946 | Jim Benton | 63 | 11 | Los Angeles Rams |
| 1947 | Jim Keane | 64 | 12 | Chicago Bears |
| 1948 | Tom Fears† | 51 | 12 | Los Angeles Rams |
| 1949 | Tom Fears† (2) | 77* | 12 | Los Angeles Rams |
| 1950 | Tom Fears† (3) | 84* | 12 | Los Angeles Rams |
| 1951 | Elroy Hirsch† | 66 | 12 | Los Angeles Rams |
| 1952 | Mac Speedie† (3) | 62 | 12 | Cleveland Browns |
| 1953 | Pete Pihos† | 63 | 12 | Philadelphia Eagles |
| 1954 | Pete Pihos† (2) | 60 | 12 | Philadelphia Eagles |
| 1954 | Billy Wilson | 60 | 12 | San Francisco 49ers |
| 1955 | Pete Pihos† (3) | 62 | 10 | Philadelphia Eagles |
| 1956 | Billy Wilson (2) | 60 | 12 | San Francisco 49ers |
| 1957 | Billy Wilson (3) | 52 | 11 | San Francisco 49ers |
| 1958 | Raymond Berry† | 56 | 12 | Baltimore Colts |
| 1958 | Pete Retzlaff | 56 | 12 | Philadelphia Eagles |
| 1959 | Raymond Berry† (2) | 66 | 12 | Baltimore Colts |
| 1960 | Raymond Berry† (3) | 74 | 12 | Baltimore Colts |
| 1961 | Jim Phillips | 78 | 14 | Los Angeles Rams |
| 1962 | Bobby Mitchell† | 72 | 14 | Washington Redskins |
| 1963 | Bobby Joe Conrad | 73 | 14 | St. Louis Cardinals |
| 1964 | Johnny Morris | 93* | 14 | Chicago Bears |
| 1965 | Dave Parks | 80 | 14 | San Francisco 49ers |
| 1966 | Charley Taylor† | 70 | 14 | Washington Redskins |
| 1967 | Charley Taylor† (2) | 70 | 12 | Washington Redskins |
| 1968 | Clifton McNeil | 71 | 14 | San Francisco 49ers |
| 1969 | Danny Abramowicz | 73 | 14 | New Orleans Saints |
| 1970 | Dick Gordon | 71 | 14 | Chicago Bears |
| 1971 | Fred Biletnikoff† | 61 | 14 | Oakland Raiders |
| 1972 | Harold Jackson | 62 | 14 | Philadelphia Eagles |
| 1973 | Harold Carmichael† | 67 | 14 | Philadelphia Eagles |
| 1974 | Lydell Mitchell | 72 | 14 | Baltimore Colts |
| 1975 | Chuck Foreman | 73 | 14 | Minnesota Vikings |
| 1976 | MacArthur Lane | 66 | 14 | Kansas City Chiefs |
| 1977 | Lydell Mitchell (2) | 71 | 14 | Baltimore Colts |
| 1978 | Rickey Young | 88 | 16 | Minnesota Vikings |
| 1979 | Joe Washington | 82 | 15 | Baltimore Colts |
| 1980 | Kellen Winslow† | 89 | 16 | San Diego Chargers |
| 1981 | Kellen Winslow† (2) | 88 | 16 | San Diego Chargers |
| 1982 | Dwight Clark | 60 | 9 | San Francisco 49ers |
| 1983 | Todd Christensen | 92 | 16 | Los Angeles Raiders |
| 1984 | Art Monk† | 106* | 16 | Washington Redskins |
| 1985 | Roger Craig | 92 | 16 | San Francisco 49ers |
| 1986 | Todd Christensen (2) | 95 | 16 | Los Angeles Raiders |
| 1987 | J. T. Smith | 91 | 15 | St. Louis Cardinals |
| 1988 | Al Toon | 93 | 15 | New York Jets |
| 1989 | Sterling Sharpe† | 90 | 16 | Green Bay Packers |
| 1990 | Jerry Rice† | 100 | 16 | San Francisco 49ers |
| 1991 | Haywood Jeffires | 100 | 16 | Houston Oilers |
| 1992 | Sterling Sharpe† (2) | 108* | 16 | Green Bay Packers |
| 1993 | Sterling Sharpe† (3) | 112* | 16 | Green Bay Packers |
| 1994 | Cris Carter† | 122* | 16 | Minnesota Vikings |
| 1995 | Herman Moore | 123* | 16 | Detroit Lions |
| 1996 | Jerry Rice† (2) | 108 | 16 | San Francisco 49ers |
| 1997 | Tim Brown† | 104 | 16 | Oakland Raiders |
| 1997 | Herman Moore (2) | 104 | 16 | Detroit Lions |
| 1998 | O. J. McDuffie | 90 | 16 | Miami Dolphins |
| 1999 | Jimmy Smith | 116 | 16 | Jacksonville Jaguars |
| 2000 | Marvin Harrison† | 102 | 16 | Indianapolis Colts |
| 2000 | Muhsin Muhammad | 102 | 16 | Carolina Panthers |
| 2001 | Rod Smith | 113 | 15 | Denver Broncos |
| 2002 | Marvin Harrison† (2) | 143* | 16 | Indianapolis Colts |
| 2003 | Torry Holt | 117 | 16 | St. Louis Rams |
| 2004 | Tony Gonzalez† | 102 | 16 | Kansas City Chiefs |
| 2005 | Larry Fitzgerald | 103 | 16 | Arizona Cardinals |
| 2005 | Steve Smith Sr. | 103 | 16 | Carolina Panthers |
| 2006 | Andre Johnson† | 103 | 16 | Houston Texans |
| 2007 | T. J. Houshmandzadeh | 112 | 16 | Cincinnati Bengals |
| 2007 | Wes Welker | 112 | 16 | New England Patriots |
| 2008 | Andre Johnson† (2) | 115 | 16 | Houston Texans |
| 2009 | Wes Welker (2) | 123 | 14 | New England Patriots |
| 2010 | Roddy White | 115 | 16 | Atlanta Falcons |
| 2011 | Wes Welker (3) | 122 | 16 | New England Patriots |
| 2012 | Calvin Johnson† | 122 | 16 | Detroit Lions |
| 2013 | Pierre Garçon | 113 | 16 | Washington Redskins |
| 2014 | Antonio Brown | 129 | 16 | Pittsburgh Steelers |
| 2015 | Antonio Brown (2) | 136 | 16 | Pittsburgh Steelers |
| 2015 | Julio Jones | 136 | 16 | Atlanta Falcons |
| 2016 | Larry Fitzgerald (2) | 107 | 16 | Arizona Cardinals |
| 2017 | Jarvis Landry | 112 | 16 | Miami Dolphins |
| 2018 | Michael Thomas | 125 | 16 | New Orleans Saints |
| 2019 | Michael Thomas (2) | 149* | 16 | New Orleans Saints |
| 2020 | Stefon Diggs^ | 127 | 16 | Buffalo Bills |
| 2021 | Cooper Kupp^ | 145 | 17 | Los Angeles Rams |
| 2022 | Justin Jefferson^ | 128 | 17 | Minnesota Vikings |
| 2023 | CeeDee Lamb^ | 135 | 17 | Dallas Cowboys |
| 2024 | Ja'Marr Chase^ | 127 | 17 | Cincinnati Bengals |

## AFL annual receptions leaders

Key :
| Symbol | Meaning |
| Leader | The player who recorded the most receptions in the AFL |
| Rec | The total number of receptions the player had |
| GP | The number of games played by a player during the season |
| † | Pro Football Hall of Fame member |
| * | Player set the single-season receptions record |
| (#) | Denotes the number of times a player appears in this list |
AFL annual receptions leaders by season :
| Season | Leader | Rec | GP | Team |
| 1960 | Lionel Taylor | 92* | 12 | Denver Broncos |
| 1961 | Lionel Taylor (2) | 100* | 14 | Denver Broncos |
| 1962 | Lionel Taylor (3) | 77 | 14 | Denver Broncos |
| 1963 | Lionel Taylor (4) | 78 | 14 | Denver Broncos |
| 1964 | Charlie Hennigan | 101* | 14 | Houston Oilers |
| 1965 | Lionel Taylor (5) | 85 | 14 | Denver Broncos |
| 1966 | Lance Alworth† | 73 | 13 | San Diego Chargers |
| 1967 | George Sauer | 74 | 14 | New York Jets |
| 1968 | Lance Alworth† (2) | 68 | 14 | San Diego Chargers |
| 1969 | Lance Alworth† (3) | 64 | 14 | San Diego Chargers |

## Most seasons leading the league

| Count | Player | Seasons | Team |
| 8 | Don Hutson | 1936, 1937, 1939, 1941–1945 | Green Bay Packers |
| 5 | Lionel Taylor | 1960–1963, 1965 | Denver Broncos |
| 3 | Lance Alworth | 1966, 1968, 1969 | San Diego Chargers |
| 3 | Raymond Berry | 1958–1960 | Baltimore Colts |
| 3 | Tom Fears | 1948–1950 | Los Angeles Rams |
| 3 | Pete Pihos | 1953–1955 | Philadelphia Eagles |
| 3 | Sterling Sharpe | 1989, 1992, 1993 | Green Bay Packers |
| 3 | Wes Welker | 2007, 2009, 2011 | New England Patriots |
| 3 | Billy Wilson | 1954, 1956, 1957 | San Francisco 49ers |