At what point do you give up on a receiver simply because of his age? Steve Smith and Anquan Boldin, more specifically, went over 1,000 yards last year despite being 35 and 34 years old. Is it realistic to expect either can squeeze out another good season? Or is it wiser to quit while you’re ahead?
The age of 35 is really get up there for a wide receiver. Only three guys older than that age have gone over 1,000 yards in a season. Jerry Rice did it three times, Joey Galloway and Jimmy Smith each did it once.
Over the years, 16 receivers who’ve been 35-plus have gone for 1,000 yards, but only three have gone back the next year and done it again. Those odds indicate we should pull the plug on one Steve Smith.
The hit rate is a lot better for 34-year-olds (and Boldin is in this group). There have been 19 guys going over 1,000 at that age, and almost half (9) have come back and done it again.
Here be them old guys. And for this one, I’m not showing their 1,000-yard season, but instead how they fared the next year.
OLD 1,000-YARD RECEIVERS (the next year) | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Age | Player | Rec | Yds | Avg | TD |
2003 | 41 | Jerry Rice | 63 | 869 | 13.8 | 2 |
2002 | 40 | Jerry Rice | 92 | 1,211 | 13.2 | 7 |
2006 | 37 | Jimmy Smith | -- | -- | -- | -- |
1999 | 37 | Jerry Rice | 67 | 830 | 12.4 | 5 |
2008 | 37 | Joey Galloway | 13 | 138 | 10.6 | 0 |
2015 | 36 | Steve Smith Sr. | ? | ? | ? | ? |
2005 | 36 | Jimmy Smith | 70 | 1,023 | 14.6 | 6 |
2007 | 36 | Joey Galloway | 57 | 1,014 | 17.8 | 6 |
2002 | 36 | Tim Brown | 81 | 930 | 11.5 | 2 |
2001 | 36 | Cris Carter | 73 | 871 | 11.9 | 6 |
2009 | 36 | Terrell Owens | 55 | 829 | 15.1 | 5 |
2010 | 36 | Derrick Mason | 61 | 802 | 13.1 | 7 |
1992 | 36 | James Lofton | 51 | 786 | 15.4 | 6 |
1992 | 36 | Drew Hill | 60 | 623 | 10.4 | 3 |
1998 | 36 | Irving Fryar | 48 | 556 | 11.6 | 2 |
2006 | 36 | Rod Smith | 52 | 512 | 9.8 | 3 |
1997 | 36 | Henry Ellard | 32 | 485 | 15.2 | 4 |
2015 | 35 | Anquan Boldin | ? | ? | ? | ? |
1997 | 35 | Irving Fryar | 86 | 1,316 | 15.3 | 6 |
2000 | 35 | Cris Carter | 96 | 1,274 | 13.3 | 9 |
2001 | 35 | Tim Brown | 91 | 1,165 | 12.8 | 9 |
1991 | 35 | Drew Hill | 90 | 1,109 | 12.3 | 4 |
2005 | 35 | Rod Smith | 85 | 1,105 | 13.0 | 6 |
2006 | 35 | Joey Galloway | 62 | 1,057 | 17.0 | 7 |
2008 | 35 | Terrell Owens | 69 | 1,052 | 15.2 | 10 |
2009 | 35 | Derrick Mason | 73 | 1,028 | 14.1 | 7 |
1996 | 35 | Henry Ellard | 52 | 1,014 | 19.5 | 2 |
2007 | 35 | Isaac Bruce | 55 | 733 | 13.3 | 4 |
1992 | 35 | Art Monk | 46 | 644 | 14.0 | 3 |
2010 | 35 | Donald Driver | 51 | 565 | 11.1 | 4 |
1982 | 35 | Charlie Joiner | 36 | 545 | 15.1 | 0 |
2013 | 35 | Reggie Wayne | 38 | 503 | 13.2 | 2 |
2008 | 35 | Bobby Engram | 47 | 489 | 10.4 | 0 |
1982 | 35 | Frank Lewis | 28 | 443 | 15.8 | 2 |
2000 | 35 | Tony Martin | 26 | 393 | 15.1 | 0 |
2007 | 35 | Marvin Harrison | 20 | 247 | 12.4 | 1 |
1997 | 35 | Jerry Rice | 7 | 78 | 11.1 | 1 |
—Ian Allan