Could two receivers break Calvin Johnson’s single-season yardage record this year?

Calvin Johnson’s single season yardage record may go down this season, with not one but two receivers possibly in line to do it.

In 2012, Detroit Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson set the NFL single-season record for receiving yards with 1,964. Last season Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp came very close, with 1,947 yards. It seems like only a matter of time before “Megatron” is dethroned, if only due to the regular season now being 17 games.

Tyreek Hill and Justin Jefferson are both already over 1,000 yards this season, 1-2 in the league with 1,148 and 1,060 yards respectively. Hill has played 10 games to Jefferson’s nine, but with Hill on bye in Week 11 it will be an apples-to-apples comparison in terms of games played after this weekend.

Dalton Miller of Pro Football Network has gone a little deeper, in terms of metrics, on the race between Hill and Jefferson to top Johnson’s record. But the brass tacks of it is this, with (as mentioned) Jefferson evening up the number of games played this week with Hill idle.

Jefferson: 117.8 yards per game
Hill: 114.8 yards per game

Could Tyreek Hill and Justin Jefferson both break Calvin Johnson’s record?

During his record-setting season, Johnson averaged 122.8 yards per game. Before a down game in Week 10 (44 yards), Hill was just off that pace (122.7 yards per game).

With the benefit of a 17th game, which Johnson of course did not have, Jefferson is on pace for nearly 2,003 receiving yards this season (2,002.6). Hill is on pace for, let’s just say 1,952 yards (1,951.6).

Jefferson and Hill’s respective 16-game paces are 1,885 and 1,837 yards (rounding to whole numbers), short of Johnson’s record if NFL regular seasons were still 16 games.

There’s a pretty good chance Johnson won’t be topped by Jefferson and/or Hill for receiving yards per game in a season, as he currently sits fourth best all-time and second-best since 1961. But the raw single-season receiving yardage record, assuming one or both of Jefferson and Hill stay healthy from here on out, is in danger of being topped this year–maybe twice.