Top 5 candidates to break Calvin Johnson's receiving yardage record in 2024
Since Calvin Johnson set the NFL single-season record for receiving yards in 2012, with 1,964, some have made a run at topping it only to fall short. Some have been on pace to near it or break it, only to fall off late in the season.
With the addition of a 17th regular season game in 2021, and what feels like the inevitable addition of another regular season game, ir's a matter of time before Johnson's record falls. Speaking with Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press at a recent golf event (subscription required), "Megatron" knows his record is destined to be topped.
"I mean, it's bound to fall at some point the way it's going, so it is what it is," Johnson said. "I held it down, I don't know even know how long, over a decade now. They want more offense, man, so at some point (it's going to happen)," Johnson said. "You got to be healthy. You got to play really a full 17 now. … That's the key. You got to be healthy. If you can play 17, guys have put up numbers, you're going to put up numbers. That 17, you get that extra game to put another 150 or 200 (yards)."
To get to 1,965 yards and break Johnson's record, someone would have to average 115.6 yards per game over a 17-game season. Any particularly down games, or any missed games, would of course only make it harder to do.
With the list made by NFL.com's Bucky Brooks as a jumping off point, here are five wide receivers who could break Johnson's receiving yardage record this year.
Top 5 candidates to break Calvin Johnson's NFL single-season receiving yardage record in 2024
5. Amon-Ra St. Brown, Detroit Lions
Lions' fans would love to see the "Sun God" pass Johnson and keep the single-season receiving yards record "in the family", and he did make Brooks' list (No. 2 out of five).
St. Brown checks many boxes as a candidate to surpass Johnson.
-His team's No. 1 target/a big target share? Yep.
-Varied alignments in the formation, and good teammates, to make it hard for defenses to stop him? On the first front, absolutely and the Lions' skill position group is among the best in the league.
St. Brown's numbers have improved each year of his career, and he topped 1,500 yards last year. Year-over-year improvement in yardage similar to what he did from 2022 to 2023 would bring him in close proximity to Johnson's record, and a bigger surge to threaten breaking it is within the realm of possibilities.