2024 Pre-Season Rank #67, 2023 Pre-Season Rank #71, 2022 Pre-Season Rank #81, 2021 Pre-Season #78, Rank 2020 Pre-Season Rank #84. Peak Period: 2019-23
Splitting his 2024 Season with Cleveland and Buffalo, Amari Cooper compiled 547 Yards that pushed him just over the 10,000 plateau, but this was half of his production from his 2023 season, where he was a Pro Bowl for the fifth time.
At 31, Cooper resigned with the team that drafted him, the Las Vegas Raiders. However, if there is any Hall of Fame traction to be had, he must replicate his 2023 performance and sustain that level of excellence for years to come. That might be a tough ask.
2024 Pre-Season Rank #41, 2023 Pre-Season Rank #45, 2022 Pre-Season Rank #48, 2021 Pre-Season Rank #66, 2020 Pre-Season Rank #82. Peak Period: 2017-21
After 11 seasons with the San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers, Keenan Allen signed with the Chicago Bears for a year before signing back with the Bolts this year.
In his first run in Los Angeles, he compiled over 10,000 Yards and six Pro Bowls, but it is safe to say he won’t do that in his return to SoFi. Allen has to take on the role of compiler, and with the logjam at Wide Receiver, it will take a lot, especially for a player who has never been an All-Pro. That being said, an honor from the Chargers seems likely for the popular Wide Receiver eventually.
2024 Pre-Season Rank #18, 2023 Pre-Season Rank #35, 2022 Pre-Season Rank #58, 2021 Pre-Season Rank #73. Peak 2020-24
How can so much production seem so quiet?
Last year, Mike Evans broke 12,500 Yards and 100 Touchdowns, and in the first 11 seasons of his career, he has never failed to break the four-digit mark in Receiving Yards. The only person to do that is Jerry Rice.
So, why is his career so unassuming? In four of those seasons, Evans did not reach 1,100 Yards, and in two of them, he was less than 1,010. Although Evans made the top ten in Touchdown Receptions six times, he has only reached the top ten in Receiving Yards twice, and has never been a First Team All-Pro. Regardless, he is now a six-time Pro Bowl selection, with five in the last seven years.
He enters 2025 healthy, the active Touchdown Reception leader (105), and if he gains 1,000 Yards again, he will have broken Jerry Rice’s record for most consecutive 1,000-Yard seasons. When you break a record held by Rice, the Pro Football Hall of Fame will notice.
2024 Pre-Season Rank #44, 2023 Pre-Season Rank #46, 2022 Pre-Season Rank #38, 2021 Pre-Season Rank #41, 2020 Pre-Season Rank #49. Peak Period: 2016-20
In 2019, Thomas made history as the first Wide Receiver (the first being Jerry Rice) to win the Offensive Player of the Year Award. Not only was he the NFL's WR1, but his future looked so bright that it involved a gold jacket. Since then, Thomas has dealt with ankle and foot issues, missed all of 2021, and only played in 20 Games from 2020 to 2023.
He enters this season no longer as a Saint and is a Free Agent looking for work. The Hall seems so far away now, but the Saints Hall of Fame is a lock for him. Sadly, this is another case of injuries derailing what would have been a phenomenal career.