NFL reporter Mike Klis picks his best NFL receiver trios of all time:
1. 1998 Vikings
Randy Moss, Cris Carter, Jake Reed
181 rec., 2,798 yards, 33 TDs
Moss caught 17 touchdown passes and averaged 19.0 yards per catch in his rookie season. Carter had one of his Hall of Fame seasons. Reed averaged 13.9 yards per catch in 11 games. The Vikings set a single-season scoring record with Randall Cunningham as the quarterback.
2. 1989 Redskins
Art Monk, Gary Clark, Ricky Sanders
245 rec., 3,553 yards, 21 TDs
Check out this balance: Monk (86, 1,186, eight TDs), Sanders (80, 1,138, four) and Clark (79, 1,229, nine). Imagine if they had a better quarterback than Mark Rypien.
3. 1995 Lions
Herman Moore, Brett Perriman, Johnnie Morton
275 rec., 3,764 yards, 31 TDs
Scott Mitchell’s big year. Moore had 123 catches, 1,686 yards, 14 TDs; Perriman had 108 catches for 1,488 yards. The offensive coordinator was Tom Moore, who later hooked up with Peyton Manning in Indy.
4. 1980 Chargers
John Jefferson, TE Kellen Winslow, Charlie Joyner
242 rec., 3,762 yards, 26 TDs
Jefferson led the NFL with 1,340 yards and 13 TDs; Winslow was first with 89 receptions and second with 1,290 yards. Joyner was fourth with 1,132 yards. And Dan Fouts led the NFL in passing yards for the second of four consecutive seasons.
5. 1967 Jets
Don Maynard, George Sauer, TE Pete Lammons
191 rec., 3,138 yards, 18 TDs
Joe Namath became first to throw for 4,000 yards. That didn’t happen again until the first 16-game season, in 1978. Sauer and Maynard were 1-2 in the American Football League in receptions; Maynard and Sauer were first and fourth in yards. Lammons was fifth among tight ends with 45 catches.
6. 2004 Colts
Marvin Harrison, Reggie Wayne, Brandon Stokley
231 rec., 3,400 yards, 37 TDs
Manning’s best season distributed 15 TDs to Harrison, 12 to Wayne and 10 to Stokley. Third option Stokley had career-best 68 catches for 1,077 yards.
7. 1984 Dolphins
Mark Clayton, Mark Duper, Nat Moore
187 rec., 3,268 yards, 32 TDs
Dan Marino’s 48 touchdowns and 5,084 passing yards held for 20 years as NFL records. Clayton caught 18 of those TDs.
8. 1950 L.A. Rams
Elroy “Crazy Legs” Hirsch, Tom Fears, Bob Boyd
135 rec., 2,023 yards, 18 TDs
Fears led the NFL in receptions (84) and yards (1,116) in a 12-game season. Hirsch was sixth in catches (42) and seventh in yards (687). Boyd averaged 24.4 yards per catch.
9. 1976 Raiders
Cliff Branch, TE Dave Casper, Fred Biletnikoff
142 rec., 2,353 yards, 29 TDs
The best of the Kenny Stabler-John Madden teams went 16-1 with a trouncing of the mighty Steel Curtain in the AFC title game. Branch averaged 24.2 yards per catch. Casper had 10 TDs. A fading Biletnikoff had 43 catches and seven TDs.
Mike Klis: mklis@denverpost.com or
