Back in 2012, Calvin Johnson set the single-season receiving yards record, racking up 1,964 with the Detroit Lions. A record that was set 14 years ago still stands today, even with the NFL having moved to a 17-game season starting in 2021.
At some point, the record has to be broken, right? If it's stood for this long, I guess there's no guarantee it's going to be broken anytime soon. As we enter the summer months of the 2026 NFL Offseason, teams will continue with their offseason activities and begin the process of preparing for the upcoming season.
This gives us some time to look at five wide receivers who have a chance to break the single-season receiving record. Could someone reach 1,965 yards in 2026? Let's power-rank the logical candidates here.
NFL Power Rankings, 2026: Ranking WRs who could break Calvin Johnson's all-time record
5. Amon-Ra St. Brown, Detroit Lions
Through five years in the NFL, Amon-Ra St. Brown has racked up 6,252 receiving yards, which includes four-straight seasons of at least 1,100 yards. He had a career-high 1,515 yards back in 2023 and has caught triple-digit footballs these last four seasons.
St. Brown is an insanely high-volume player who is paired up with a prolific quarterback in Jared Goff. This duo would be capable of setting the record in 2026. While St. Brown isn't quite as explosive or physically dominant as other players on this list, he's averaging 112 receptions across a full 17-game season. It's possible.
4. Puka Nacua, Los Angeles Rams
Puka Nacua led the NFL with 129 receptions in 2025. If you take the last two seasons of his career and average it out over a 17-game season, this is what you would get:
131 receptions
1,703
8 touchdowns
Nacua played in 16 games last year, so had he played in 17 games and kept up his pace, he would have been at 1,822 yards, which is still in the ballpark. The Los Angeles Rams reshaped the defense this offseason, which could give the offense more snaps on the field.
Additionally, the two-best receiving seasons in NFL history belong to Johnson and Cooper Kupp. Their quarterback was Matthew Stafford. The reigning MVP will feed his top target, so Nacua does have a chance.
3. Justin Jefferson, Minnesota Vikings
Justin Jefferson could realistically hit the 10,000-yard mark in 2026, but he's only in his seventh year in the NFL.
Through six seasons, Jefferson has 579 receptions for 8,480 yards and 42 touchdowns, averaging 1,534 yards across a 17-game season. In 2022, he led the NFL in targets with 184, receptions with 128, and yards with 1,809.
Now with Kyler Murray likely to be his quarterback, Jefferson can shake off the 2025 season in which he barely crossed the 1,000-yard mark. Murray is capable enough to feed the ball to his best players. Jefferson also has two separate seasons of averaging at least 100 yards per game.
He comes in at No. 3 in our power rankings.
2. Ja'Marr Chase, Cincinnati Bengals
In 2024, Ja'Marr Chase was the Triple Crown winner, leading all players in receptions, yards, and touchdowns. He also led the league with 175 targets. That season worked out to look like this:
175 targets
127 receptions
1,708 yards
17 touchdowns
100.5 yards per game
Chase has also reached the 1,000-yard mark in all five seasons of his career. With the Cincinnati Bengals having drastically improved the defense, that unit could end up giving the ball back to the offense more in 2026. We can also clearly see that Joe Burrow is a special, prolific quarterback when healthy.
Chase is also only set to enter his age-26 season, so he's still quite young and is, at least age-wise, still right in the middle of his prime years.
1. Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Seattle Seahawks
Jaxon Smith-Njigba had quite the year in 2025 for the Seattle Seahawks. He was given Pro Bowl, All-Pro, and Offensive Player of the Year honors. He led the NFL in yards with 1,793, and also added 119 receptions and 10 yards to that campaign.
Not missing a game in his career, Smith-Njigba is also only entering his age-24 season. Furthermore, he had the best season of his career with Sam Darnold as his quarterback. Darnold was in his first year with the team, so there could be a reasonable expectation that more chemistry is going to be present with the duo in 2026.
The Seahawks wide receiver hierarchy is also a bit top-heavy, but that could be to his benefit, as Darnold will keep feeding him the ball. Overall, the big picture for 2026 could give JSN the best chance to break Johnson's receiving record.