NFL: 30 greatest seasons from players 30 and older

NFL: 30 greatest seasons from players 30 and older: 24. Marvin Harrison, 2002

When talking about the greatest wide receivers of all-time, Marvin Harrison’s name somehow gets lost in the shuffle. While many claim that he was mostly a byproduct of playing with Peyton Manning, I would argue that he was one of the best route runners and run-after-the-catch receivers to ever step foot on the field.

Harrison’s career started two years before Manning arrived, but he still managed to combine for over 1,700 receiving yards and 14 touchdowns in his first two seasons. It wouldn’t be long until Harrison would string together one of the most productive eight-year stretches the league has ever seen from the position.

The talented wide receiver averaged over 1,500 yards and 13 touchdowns from 1999 to 2001. However, it was his 2002 season at age 30 that would ultimately go down in the record books. In 16 games, Marvin Harrison remarkably collected an NFL-record 143 receptions – a record that wouldn’t be surpassed until Michael Thomas earned 149 in 2019.

Harrison also led the league in receiving yards in 2002 with 1,722 and chipped in 11 touchdowns while catching nearly 70 percent of his passes. At the age of 30, his 2002 season would go down as one of the best from a wide receiver of any age. Harrison would later go on to play until he was 36-years-old and finished his career 5th all-time in receptions and 9th all-time in receiving yards.