Just What The Internet Needs: Another Post About The Awesomeness Of Wes Welker

With two games to play this season, New England’s Wes Welker already has 102 receptions. It’s the second year in a row that Welker has reached triple digits, which I thought might put him in some good company. It does.

Besides Welker, only seven players in NFL history have caught 100 passes in at least two consecutive seasons (not surprisingly, all in the last fifteen years): Cris Carter (1994-95), Herman Moore (1995-97), Jerry Rice (1994-96), Marvin Harrison (1999-2002), Randy Moss (2002-03), Rod Smith (2000-01), and Sterling Sharpe (1992-93). Three others are within striking distance with two games to play: Denver’s Brandon Marshall (88), Arizona’s Larry Fitzgerald (88), and Cincinnati’s T.J. Houshmandzadeh (92). That’s a quality group, overall.

Two players (Carter and Rice) had Hall of Famers throwing the ball their way (although Rice also got quite a dose of Elvis Grbac), while three others (Harrison, Sharpe, and Welker) worked with guys who just happen to be the best quarterbacks of their generation in Peyton Manning, Young Brett Favre, and Tom Brady.

I’m particularly impressed by the accomplishments of Rice, Smith, Housh and Welker because they have hit the mark (or almost hit it) despite dealing extensively with two different quarterbacks. Welker’s case might be the most interesting of all – in the other three situations, the regular quarterbacks at least saw some action in both seasons, but Welker played 2007 with Brady and all but a few minutes of 2008 with Matt Cassel.