2000s All Excitement Team: Wide Receivers

In part two of the All 2000 Excitement Team we take a look at the wide receivers. The quarterback list was pretty easy but when it comes to these skill guys it’s tough to leave anyone off. There are some players now who will be on the list down the road once their career is over or close to it. For now, let’s look at the names that made it.

1.    .     Randy Moss (Minnesota Vikings, 1998-2004): If you’re talking about the best deep threat receiver in the NFL history Randy Moss is head and shoulders above the rest. At 6’4” and running a sub 4.4 forty yard dash, all Daunte Culpepper had to do was take a three step drop, maybe give a pump fake, and throw it as far as he could and Moss would go up and catch up. Or just outrun everyone and catch it. Speaking of catching it, not only was Moss one of the fastest receivers in NFL history, but also he had some of the best hands in NFL history. Maybe the best. See here. His hands were so good and he made so many unbelievable catches that his named became a verb. (You got Moss’d)
2.   .     Hines Ward (Pittsburgh Steelers, 1998-2011): Hines Ward was that guy. If he was on your team you loved him, if you played against him you probably hated him. Ward wasn’t biggest receiver out there but you couldn’t tell him that. He would take on any blocker and make it known that he was coming, especially when the Steelers played the Ravens. Another thing that made him fun to watch was he always played with a permanent smile on his face like he enjoyed getting hit and enjoyed delivering a hit. Anytime you could watch a wide receiver take out linebacker almost every game you were in for a treat. Hines Ward was that guy.
3.    .     Terrell Owens (San Francisco 49ers, 1996-2004): T.O. is one of those players fans hated because of how he acted off the field and sometimes how he acted on it. Owens pushed a lot of buttons you can’t deny his numbers. Over 15,000 receiving yards and 153 touchdowns should land him in the Hall of Fame but it remains to be seen how the voters will perceive him and his antics. For the fans that didn’t hate him however, his antics were nothing but a source of entertainment. Owens was also known for his press conferences that were also a good source of entertainment. When the ball was snapped there weren’t many defenders that could cover him and that was evident by those 15,000 plus receiving yards and 153 touchdowns.
4.    .      Torry Holt, (St. Louis Rams, 1999-2008): Perhaps one of those more underrated players in NFL history Holt was part of ‘The Greatest Show on Turf” while with the St. Louis Rams. Kurt Warner would make Holt his go-to guy when he wasn’t handing the ball off to Marshall Faulk. Holt was more of a Randy Moss type of receiver when going deep, just throw it up and he’ll go get it. The North Carolina State product also had a pair of hands that would make Odell Beckham Jr. jealous. In just his second season in the NFL Holt reeled in 82 catches for 1,635 yards and 6 touchdowns. He would go on to tally over 13,000 yards and 74 touchdowns. His numbers will get him into the Hall of Fame eventually, but “The Greatest Show on Turf” will always be legendary.