Over the century-plus existence of the Cardinals through stops in Chicago, St. Louis, and Arizona, it takes a special player to make the top of a list of the greatest of all time. In the case of the Cardinals, the top of the heap comes in Larry Fitzgerald, who became their gold standard in 2004.
After an outstanding season at the University of Pittsburgh, where he won the 2003 Big East Offensive Player of the Year and was the Heisman Trophy runner-up, Fitzgerald was selected third overall in the NFL Draft. He then embarked on a remarkable seventeen-season career entirely with the Cardinals. Throughout this journey, his exceptional athleticism and dependable hands transformed the franchise's modern history.
His game showcased flawless aerial geometry, with Fitzgerald, standing 6'3" and built robustly, relying not on pure speed but on refined skills like stem leverage, blind-spot awareness, and exceptional boundary sense. He had a vast, multidimensional catch radius, turning nearly even chances into sure catches by perfectly timing his jumps and using his strength to block defenders at the peak of his leap. Known for his extraordinary hands and vice-like grip, he prevented double catches and secured the ball through heavy contact. Later, he adapted seamlessly into a rugged slot receiver, using high-level spatial awareness to find soft spots in zone defenses and becoming an elite, fierce blocker in the run game.
The initial chapters of his remarkable career immediately announced the arrival of a generational talent. Following a productive rookie year in 2004 with 780 yards and 8 touchdowns, Fitzgerald had a phenomenal second season in 2005. At only 22, he dominated opposing defenses, leading the league with 103 receptions for 1,409 yards and 10 touchdowns. This performance earned him his first of 11 Pro Bowl selections and established him as the top offensive threat in the desert.
While Fitzgerald's consistent individual performance was clear, he cemented his football legacy through arguably the finest postseason run in NFL history during 2008. With excellent route-running and a legendary catch radius, he teamed up with quarterback Kurt Warner to make the 2008 playoffs his personal showcase. In just four postseason games, Fitzgerald set records with 30 receptions, 546 yards, and 7 touchdowns. His late-game 64-yard catch-and-run touchdown in Super Bowl XLIII briefly gave Arizona the lead in the final moments, completing an extraordinary postseason where quarterbacks had a near-perfect passer rating when targeting him. Fitzgerald's 546 receiving yards and 7 touchdowns in the 2008 playoffs stand as the highest totals ever recorded by a wide receiver in a single postseason.
He reached a high point during the 2009 season, leading the NFL in receiving touchdowns for the second year in a row with 13, and surpassing 1,000 yards for the third consecutive season. After Warner retired, Fitzgerald endured a challenging period with inconsistent quarterback play but remained a consistent source of production. In 2010, despite the unpredictable quarterback situation, he still recorded 90 receptions for 1,137 yards. He then had an outstanding 2011 season, overcoming defensive coverage to gain 1,411 yards and score 8 touchdowns, with an impressive average of 17.6 yards per catch.
As head coach Bruce Arians arrived and Carson Palmer took the reins, Fitzgerald’s veteran evolution accelerated. He crossed the 80-catch threshold in 2013 with 10 touchdowns, and by 2015 he had fully engineered an elite slot renaissance. That year, he reestablished himself as a dominant volume monster, hauling in a then-franchise-record 109 receptions for 1,215 yards and 9 touchdowns, guiding the high-octane Cardinals to the NFC Championship game.
This transformation culminated in a remarkable renaissance during the 2016 season. After 11 years since he first led the league in receptions, 33-year-old Fitzgerald once again claimed the NFL reception title with 107 catches, showcasing his exceptional spatial awareness over the middle of the field. His influence went well beyond the game that year, as his notable philanthropic contributions earned him the esteemed 2016 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award, highlighting his character and leadership.
Even during the franchise's rebuilding after 2016, Fitzgerald continued to perform, serving as a key security blanket for a new generation of quarterbacks. In 2017, at age 34, he defied typical age-related decline for wide receivers by tying his career high with 109 receptions, gaining 1,156 yards and scoring 6 touchdowns. When rookie quarterback Kyler Murray joined in 2019, Fitzgerald became a vital veteran presence, leading the team with 75 receptions for 804 yards and surpassing Terrell Owens to move into second place on the all-time receiving yards list.
The historic marathon in pinstriped red reached its quiet final punctuation after the 2020 campaign. Fitzgerald walked away from the game with a statistical resume that ranks near the absolute summit of football history. He retired comfortably, sitting second all-time in NFL history in career receptions (1,432) and career receiving yards (17,492), while ranking sixth all-time with 121 receiving touchdowns. His legendary ball security was beautifully quantified by an advanced metric shared by team officials: Fitzgerald finished his illustrious career with more total tackles (37) than dropped passes (29) across more than 2,100 targets.
Named to both the NFL 2010s All-Decade Team and the prestigious NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team, Fitzgerald cruised into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2026 in his first year on the ballot.