In the world of sports, everyone loves to debate. One of the most popular topics around the water cooler has always been “Who’s the best?”
Larry Bird vs. Magic Johnson, Sammy Sosa vs. Barry Bonds, and Sidney Crosby vs. Alex Ovechkin are some of the biggest. In football, though, there’s a never-ending debate that goes position by position.
Tom Brady vs. Peyton Manning at quarterback, Arian Foster vs. Adrian Peterson in the backfield and Rob Gronkowski vs. Jimmy Graham in the tight end slot all wage wars on Monday mornings, but it seems like one debate has finally been settled.
Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald, whose 10-year reign atop the position has only recently been challenged, put the argument to rest.
New Arizona head coach Bruce Arians told reporters Wednesday that Detroit Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson is the best wide receiver in the NFL, and on Thursday, Fitzgerald himself agreed. Arizona faces Detroit on Sunday afternoon.
“Calvin’s the best,” Fitzgerald told reporters. “I mean, look at his numbers. It is what it is.”
Johnson set an NFL record last season, hauling in 1,964 receiving yards, shattering the previous record of 1,848 set by Hall of Famer Jerry Rice in 1995.
Fitzgerald is no stranger to big numbers either, though. Through the first 141 games of his career, Fitzgerald has tallied 772 receptions, more than any other player in that time frame. Fitzgerald was also the youngest wide receiver ever to catch 700 passes, as well as the second-youngest (trailing only Randy Moss) to reach 10,000 career receiving yards.
Fitzgerald’s teammate, All-Pro cornerback Patrick Peterson, isn’t buying it, though.
“I would never put another guy in front of my guy,” the third-year defensive back told reporters. “I believe Larry’s still the best receiver in the game.”
Some questions are just better left unanswered.
