NFL: 30 greatest seasons from players 30 and older

NFL: 30 greatest seasons from players 30 and older: 19. Jerry Rice, 1993

Jerry Rice had twice as many spectacular seasons as many wide receivers in the Hall of Fame, and his ability to be a quality football player into his 40’s is something that is unheard of at the wide receiver position. One of his very best seasons came in 1993 with the 49ers at the age of 31. Coming off of his seventh-straight season in which he recorded over 1,000 yards, Rice expanded on his 1,201-yard, 10-touchdown performance with a monster season in ’93.

Through 16 games, Rice managed 98 receptions for 1,503 yards and 15 touchdowns. He led the league in both receiving yards and touchdowns on 153 targets and his 15.3 yards per receptions was half-a-yard off his career average.

Rice would help lead his team to the NFC Championship game before San Francisco fell short to the Dallas Cowboys. Still, it’s hard to complain much about his performance in his 1993 campaign.

The NFL’s all-time leading receiver has already had his name mentioned twice on this list. Remarkably, his best season wouldn’t come until he was even older. Of all the records dating back to the start of the league, none seems to be safer than Rice’s first-place in receiving yards. His 22,895 receiving yards are still 5,403 yards above the second all-time leading receiver, Larry Fitzgerald. If he can’t catch him (and he won’t) then nobody will.