Ranking the Top 5 New York Jets Wide Receivers of All Time

The

New York Jets

have a tortured history that hasn’t seen the team even appear in a

Super Bowl

since Joe Namath pulled off arguably the greatest upset in pro football history in Super Bowl III.

Despite the struggles over the years, these five best Jets wide receivers of all time will remind Gang Green fans of some great players, even in the tough times.

These Jets receivers run the gamut from a No. 1 overall pick to a guy who fits the profile of 90% of the Jets fan base: An undrafted dude from Long Island. There’s a guy nicknamed “Country” who played in the big city and the guy with the most fun (real) name in NFL history.

The best Jets wide receivers of all time are an interesting bunch, but also an impressive one. So, let’s get right to ranking this crew.

1

Don Maynard

This country boy from Texas somehow became ‘Broadway’ Joe’s right-hand man in NYC

No Jets player will ever wear No. 13 again because it is prominently posted in the team’s Ring of Honor next to the name Don Maynard.

“Country” Don was a Texas native who found his way to the Big Apple as a ninth-round pick of the

New York Giants

in 1957, although he didn’t appear in a game until 1958. After leaving Big Blue to play a season with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in Canada, he returned to NYC with the AFL’s New York Titans in 1960, the team that would change its name to the Jets three years later.

Maynard was good playing as a pass-catching halfback and a flanker in his first five seasons, putting up over 1,000 receiving yards twice. Things really took off for the WR, though, in 1965 when the Jets drafted a QB out of Alabama named Joe Namath.

With “Broadway” Joe throwing him the ball, Maynard made four Pro Bowls, one First-Team All-Pro squad, and two Second-Team All-Pro units. He led the AFL in receiving touchdowns (14) that first season with Namath and in receiving yards (1,434) in 1967.

Maynard was a big part of the Jets’ Super Bowl season in 1968, leading the team in receiving yards, but he was actually just a decoy in the Big Game. He suffered an injury in the AFL Championship Game and didn’t record a catch in the upset of the NFL’s

Baltimore Colts

.

In 13 years with the Jets, Maynard recorded 627 catches for 11,732 yards and 88 touchdowns, all three of which are still the team’s franchise records.

2

Wesley Walker

Wesley Walker had a fantastic career, but a knee injury robbed him of true all-time NFL greatness

The Jets of the 1980s are best remembered for Mark Gastineau, Joe Klecko, and the rest of the “New York Sack Exchange” on the defensive side of the ball. However, those teams had some excellent players on offense as well, including WR Wesley Walker.

Walker was a speedster out of Cal who was taken by the Jets in the second round of the 1977 NFL Draft. With 740 yards and a league-leading 21.1 yards per catch as a rookie, Walker finished second in Offensive Rookie of the Year voting to Tony Dorsett of the

Dallas Cowboys

.

The next season, Walker left nothing to chance, picking up Pro Bowl and First-Team All-Pro honors by leading the league in receiving yards (1,169) and yards per reception (24.4).

While it looked like Walker was on his way to becoming an all-time great, a knee injury in Year 3 dramatically altered the trajectory of his career, and he was never the same explosive playmaker again. He was still a very good player for 10 more seasons after his injury. However, he only had over 1,000 yards (1986) one more time and only made one more Pro Bowl (1982).

Walker is still second in touchdowns and receiving yards in Jets history and third in catches. But it’s tough to think what could have been if Walker had never gotten hurt.

3

Wayne Chrebet

An average-looking guy from Jersey who went to school on Long Island actually ended up on the field for the Jets instead of in the stands

While Wesley Walker never quite lived up to his potential due to injury, Wayne Chrebet got every last bit out of his talent and then some. The undrafted free agent joined the Jets in 1995, and the New Jersey native and Hofstra alum was quickly a fan favorite as he shocked the world with 66 catches for 726 yards and four TDs in his first season.

Over the course of his 11 seasons with Gang Green, Chrebet was simply one of the grittiest, most consistent players in Jets history. He played 152 games for the team, racking up 580 receptions for 7,365 yards and 41 touchdowns.

That’s the second-most catches, third-most yards, and third-most receiving touchdowns in Jets history. The team inducted Chrebet into its Ring of Honor in 2014.

4

Al Toon

If not for the vicious head shots of the 1980s, we might be talking about Al Toon as one of the best ever

Al Toon was the No. 10 overall pick out of Wisconsin in the 1985 NFL Draft, and he lived up to the hype. The man with the best name in league history played his entire career — eight seasons — for the Jets and made three Pro Bowls and two All-Pro teams (one Second-Team, one First-Team).

Toon led the team in receiving yards in half of his eight seasons and led the league in receptions (93) in 1988. His Jets made the playoffs three times, but they also finished with six wins or fewer four times.

The worst part about when Toon played in the NFL was the lawlessness with which defensive backs got to hit brave possession receivers like Toon when they went over the middle. A vicious hit to the head in his final season ended his career before he hit 30.

5

Keyshawn Johnson

The Jets did ‘give him the damn ball’ but it still wasn’t enough to keep Keyshawn Johnson around for long

Keyshawn Johnson was one of the most flamboyant, motor-mouthed wide receivers in NFL history, so it’s no surprise that he has found success after his career on NFL studio and talking-head debate shows. But Johnson was excellent on the field for the Jets, too, even if he never quite lived up to his status as the No. 1 overall pick in the 1996 NFL Draft.

Johnson played just four seasons for Gang Green after a decorated career at USC. But in those four short years, he made 305 catches for 4,108 yards and snagged 31 touchdowns. Those numbers are all top-12 in Jets history, despite his short tenure.

Keyshawn’s problem was that he was ready for the bright lights of Broadway where his head coach, Bill Parcells, preferred the lunch pail type, like Johnson’s teammate, Wayne Chrebet.

After writing a book called “Just Give Me the Damn Ball!” about his rookie season with the Jets, the relationship between the team and the player eventually became untenable. New York traded him to the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

, and he became someone else’s headache (several times throughout his career).

All stats courtesy of Pro Football Reference unless stated otherwise.