New York Jets Top 5 in My Lifetime: Wide Receivers

I started out with defensive backs, and now it’s time to hit up the wide receivers. I can think of about 10 guys from 84 or so that I thought were great, but I’m going to stick to the five best. Some of these played with other teams, but this is just my best guess based on their time in the green & white.

Dec. 30, 2012; Orchard Park, NY, USA; New York Jets wide receiver Braylon Edwards (17) runs the ball after a catch during the first half against the Buffalo Bills at Ralph Wilson Stadium. Bills beat the Jets 28 to 9. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports

5. Rob Moore– I think Rob was a supplemental draft pick and he played for some of those less than stellar Bruce Coslet teams of the early to mid-nineties. Never the less, Rob played well for 4 or 5 seasons always hovering around 1,000 yards receiving on teams with not much to offer in terms of a running game. Despite his usage, he finished up playing for the Cardinals for 5 or 6 years.

4. Braylon Edwards– Since the early 80’s the Jets never had continuous success like they did when Edwards was helping take this team to those back-to-back AFC championship games. Even now, it’s like a different team when he’s on the field. I won’t bother to look up statistically what he’s done, because his worth is in his run blocking, home run plays, and big catches at clutch moments. Still hoping he’s re-signed.

3. Al Toon – I have to throw Al Toon on this list. When I think of him now, all I can remember is concussions, but early on he was the only guy putting in work on those late 80’s early 90’s Jets offenses. I would make him #1 but the teams he played on were not as successful as he didn’t make the difference between wins and losses such as other players have. Altogether though, seven or eight years of service, reliable hands, good route running. I even wished the Jets had drafted his son Nick Toon, just out of nostalgia.

2. Wayne Chrebet– Wayne is high up on this list, not just because he was a rookie free agent, but because he had heart. The guy is 5’9, not fast, but he was the Wes Welker of the NFL before there was a Wes Welker of the NFL. Wayne played a decade, and always was the guy to throw to on 3rd downs. That, and the year he and Keyshawn Johnson torched the league is the way I’ll always remember him.

1. Keyshawn Johnson – Can’t say his name without bringing him up next. He’s #1 on my list of all-time great receivers. Before he was chasing Justin Bieber, or winning Super Bowls with the Tampa Bay Bucs, he was the 1st pick of the draft, and from what I remember the first time a receiver was picked first in over 10 years. He played hard, he dominated from his rookie year, and he was always making plays. I remember a jumping one handed TD catch he made, catching a pass intended for a receiver 5 yards behind him. He only played 4 years for NY, but he was hands down better than any Jets receiver I can remember before or since. Even when he was traded, he helped the team by netting NY two 1st round draft picks.