No receiver in NFL history has been able to take over a game like Rice and Johnson. Opposing defenses, at times, focused their entire coverages on these two game-changers—in an attempt to mitigate their effectiveness—but it rarely worked.
While the two receivers are similar in some ways, they differ in many others. They come from different backgrounds, played on teams with completely different playing styles and have different physical makeups. Johnson has the benefit of playing in a “passing league” era, but Rice was lucky to have had two Hall of Fame quarterbacks throwing him the football (Joe Montana, Steve Young).
They do, however, have something important in common: They possess all NFL receiving records (except TDs, held by Randy Moss [23 in 2007], which no one may ever break). And let’s not forget, in Week 8, Johnson had 329 receiving yards on 14 catches against the Dallas Cowboys, seven yards shy of the record. Given the physical nature and caliber of today’s defensive backs, that’s almost unfathomable.
Johnson is playing at an extraordinary level that no receiver ever has over these last three seasons, and has turned in some incredible individual game performances. But he still has a long way to go to catch Rice, who has set receiving records that may never be broken, and played 20 seasons in one of the world’s most mentally and physically exhausting sports. If anyone can catch him and break some of his records, it’s Johnson, but he must stay healthy to do so. And right now, at this moment, Rice is the G.O.A.T..