# Best white NFL receiver since Super Bowl I? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [September 28, 2010, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-white-nfl-receiver-since-super-bowl-i/555312 "2010-09-28T02:36:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2010, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-white-nfl-receiver-since-super-bowl-i/555312/21 "2010-09-29T15:13:20Z")
> [@Tom\_Scud](#): > > Before Jerry Rice ran away with the category and hid it, Largent was the best receiver in NFL history, so yeah. And, before Largent, it was arguably Don Hutson (who is the only receiver from before the 1960s who still gets regularly mentioned in these discussions). He was white, of course, but doesn’t come close to fitting into the OP’s post-SB I criterion, as he retired after the 1945 season. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2010, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-white-nfl-receiver-since-super-bowl-i/555312/22 "2010-09-29T15:17:00Z")
If you ask this question 10 years from now, the answer would be Jordan Shipley. ---
**Author:** ![Uncommon\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Uncommon\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncommon_Sense)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2010, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-white-nfl-receiver-since-super-bowl-i/555312/23 "2010-09-29T15:21:55Z")
The Packers have had a couple of white guys in the speed positions. Travis Jervey - rb Don Beebe - receiver Jeff Queery - receiver Chuck Cecil - safety Mark Chmura - tight end Currently they have Jordy Nelson as a receiver. No-one famous or particularly great though. ---
**Author:** ![Swords\_to\_Plowshares](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b38774/32.png) [@Swords\_to\_Plowshares](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swords_to_Plowshares)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2010, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-white-nfl-receiver-since-super-bowl-i/555312/24 "2010-09-29T15:30:30Z")
Ever notice how any half-decent white receiver now gets described as “a real Wes Welker-type”? :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2010, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-white-nfl-receiver-since-super-bowl-i/555312/25 "2010-09-29T15:51:35Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > [I seem to remember that the Cowboys had a fast white guy at one point, a few years ago, but I’m failing to remember his name. You’re not thinking of Bill Bates are you? ---
**Author:** ![Mozart1220](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f1d935/32.png) [@Mozart1220](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mozart1220)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2010, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-white-nfl-receiver-since-super-bowl-i/555312/26 "2010-09-29T17:16:23Z")
He will never be considered “great” but I would have had Tom Waddle on my team anytime. The guy had heart, and could catch anything that hit his hands. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2010, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-white-nfl-receiver-since-super-bowl-i/555312/27 "2010-09-29T17:20:25Z")
> [@lieu](#): > > You’re not thinking of Bill Bates are you? Nope…the guy I’m thinking of was definitely a wide receiver, and I think he played more recently than Bates. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2010, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-white-nfl-receiver-since-super-bowl-i/555312/28 "2010-09-29T17:22:42Z")
> [@Mozart1220](#): > > He will never be considered “great” but I would have had Tom Waddle on my team anytime. The guy had heart, and could catch anything that hit his hands. Gah…should’ve remembered Waddle. I agree; he was a very good possession receiver. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2010, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-white-nfl-receiver-since-super-bowl-i/555312/29 "2010-09-29T17:25:38Z")
> [@Uncommon\_Sense](#): > > The Packers have had a couple of white guys in the speed positions. > Travis Jervey - rb > Don Beebe - receiver > Jeff Queery - receiver > Chuck Cecil - safety > Mark Chmura - tight end Jervey was a lot like Query: fast as heck, dumb as a box of rocks. 😃 But, similar to WR, halfback is another position at which there’ve been very few solid players in the past few decades who were white. Neither Cecil nor Chmura were known for being burners (and both of those positions are ones where you do still see a fair number of white guys, particularly TE). ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2010, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-white-nfl-receiver-since-super-bowl-i/555312/30 "2010-09-29T17:34:18Z")
Mike Furrey. ---
**Author:** ![Mozart1220](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f1d935/32.png) [@Mozart1220](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mozart1220)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2010, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-white-nfl-receiver-since-super-bowl-i/555312/31 "2010-09-29T18:07:10Z")
Another good one (far from the best) was Jack Snow of the Rams. Am I showing my age yet? ---
**Author:** ![ReticulatingSplines](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e274bd/32.png) [@ReticulatingSplines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ReticulatingSplines)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2010, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-white-nfl-receiver-since-super-bowl-i/555312/32 "2010-09-29T19:09:39Z")
Incidentally, one of the most athletic wide receivers I’ve ever seen was white - Matt Jones, formerly of the Jaguars, Washington County Jail, and the Bengals. Anyone remember him? ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2010, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-white-nfl-receiver-since-super-bowl-i/555312/33 "2010-09-29T19:18:29Z")
> [@ReticulatingSplines](#): > > Incidentally, one of the most athletic wide receivers I’ve ever seen was white - Matt Jones, formerly of the Jaguars, Washington County Jail, and the Bengals. Anyone remember him? Absolutely. Was a QB coming out of Arkansas. Great tools, but seemed like he couldn’t keep his nose clean. ---
**Author:** ![MadTheSwine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MadTheSwine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MadTheSwine)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2010, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-white-nfl-receiver-since-super-bowl-i/555312/34 "2010-09-29T19:59:51Z")
Baffled how the OP could not come up with Steve Largent.Seems like a racist post. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2010, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-white-nfl-receiver-since-super-bowl-i/555312/35 "2010-09-29T20:07:14Z")
> [@ReticulatingSplines](#): > > > [@Hal\_Briston](#): > > > > Slight hijack, but in that same time period, have there been _any_ white starting cornerbacks other than Jason Sehorn? > > We had a white CB on the Skins once, Pat Fischer. But yeah, that species is now extinct. Remember, a good receiver has to separate. The cornerback has to close. And the equipment manager has to separate clothes. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2010, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-white-nfl-receiver-since-super-bowl-i/555312/36 "2010-09-29T20:09:38Z")
> [@MadTheSwine](#): > > Baffled how the OP could not come up with Steve Largent.Seems like a racist post. Largent’s been retired for more than 20 years. People who were born after his last game will be old enough to legally drink this Christmas. ---
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2010, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-white-nfl-receiver-since-super-bowl-i/555312/37 "2010-09-29T20:20:06Z")
No mention of Joe Jurevicius? The prototypical white “possession” receiver. Looking at his career stats, I’m surprised his season high was only 55 catches. ---
**Author:** ![zamboniracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e9a140/32.png) [@zamboniracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zamboniracer)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2010, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-white-nfl-receiver-since-super-bowl-i/555312/38 "2010-09-29T20:36:33Z")
The undefeated 1972 Dolphins started white WR Howard Twilley. He did well because the defense was usually triple-teaming the other WR, Paul Warfield, though. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2010, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-white-nfl-receiver-since-super-bowl-i/555312/39 "2010-09-29T20:43:43Z")
I was gonna say Jerry Rice kinda transcends it all … he’s the best black, white, human, alien, machine, animal, supernatural wide receiver. You look up “wide receiver” in the dictionary and his face should be right there next to the definition. Course it helped to have Joe Montana doing the passing. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2010, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-white-nfl-receiver-since-super-bowl-i/555312/40 "2010-09-29T21:03:08Z")
> [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](#): > > No mention of Joe Jurevicius? The prototypical white “possession” receiver. Looking at his career stats, I’m surprised his season high was only 55 catches. I was surprised that I forgot him, too, when you mentioned him…but then I went and looked at [his stats](http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/J/JureJo00.htm). He was rarely a starter; in his 10-year career, he only started at least half of his team’s games 3 times (2001 with the Giants, 2005 with the Seahawks, and 2007 with the Browns), and, even then, he never started more than 12 games in a season. He only had 4 40-catch seasons, and played for 4 different teams in 10 seasons. An “average” game for him, over the course of his career, was 2.4 receptions, for 31 yards. Not the kind of stats I’d expect for a “prototypical” receiver, even if he did fill that role well. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-white-nfl-receiver-since-super-bowl-i/555312.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-white-nfl-receiver-since-super-bowl-i/555312.md?page=3)