Roddy White among the 10 best WR’s from 2005-2015
1. Steve Smith – Steve Smith was a “pain in the you know what” during his career. Obviously, in Atlanta, he was not well liked, but still highly respected. Steve Smith brought his “A” game every week and made opposing defenses pay for their lapse in judgement and lack of preparation.
Smith would have four straight thousand yard seasons between 2005 and 2008 and at various points led the league in catches, yards, yards per game and touchdowns.
2. Wes Welker – Is the only player among these wide receivers to go undrafted out of college. Listed at 5’9, most NFL teams thought Welker was too small and slow to make an impact in the league. Nick Saban gave Welker a shot in Miami in 2004 and that would jump start his career.
After two years with the Dolphins, Welker would be traded to the Patriots in 2007 and the rest was history. Welker would help lead the Patriots to two Super Bowls, losing both to the Giants. Welker signed with Denver in 2013, where he would play in and lose his third Super Bowl as the Seahawks beat the Broncos 43-8.
Welker ended his career in 2015 with the St. Louis Rams and is now the WR coach in San Francisco.
3. Reggie Wayne – Like Larry Fitzgerald, Reggie Wayne would play his entire 14 year career in one city. He, along with Marvin Harrison and Peyton Manning formed one of the most lethal passing attacks in the NFL. During those 14 seasons, Wayne would miss just 13 games on his way to six Pro Bowl selections and eight thousand yard receiving seasons.
4. Julio Jones – It may be kind of unfair to put Roddy’s close friend and teammate in this conversation, but we cannot act like Julio should not be here. Roddy was a great mentor to Julio and taught him what it meant to be a professional early in his career.
Hot damn if this was not one of the best duo’s in all of football. Julio spent five seasons teamed with Roddy and it is not easy to tell who the benefactor was. Did Julio benefit more from Roddy or did Roddy benefit more from Julio?
During those five seasons, Julio had three thousand yard seasons and three Pro Bowl selections.