Which School has produced the Most NFL WR’s?

Cooper Kupp just blew the NFL record books en route to leading the Los Angeles Rams to Super Bowl LVI. He became just the fourth player

 in NFL history to lead the league in receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns in a single season. He came out of a little school called Eastern Washington and broke all kinds of FCS records when there. As great he’s been at the NFL level, the Eagles program would never be confused with a wide receiver factory like Alabama, LSU, USC or Oklahoma. But there’s one program out there right now that’s been the “bees knees” when it comes to producing elite level pass catchers. That program happens to be the Ohio State Buckeyes. Along with the players listed below, Ryan Day is set to send two more elite players to the pros in the forms of Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson that are likely to make immediate impacts as soon as 2022. The following is a breakdown of players from the school that’s produced the most successful NFL WR talent since the Super Bowl’s inception. OSU = Wide Receiver U!

Ohio State Buckeyes

Cris Carter

Love him or hate him, Carter’s 15-year NFL career resulted with him getting enshrined in Canton. From setting a Rose Bowl record with nine catches for 172 yards and becoming the program’s first elected All American at the wide receiver position, Carter looked destined to be a first round draft pick in the NFL Draft. Unfortunately, he got cute and secretly signed with an agent his senior season which made him ineligible to compete and forced him to sit out his senior season. After being selected in the 1987 supplemental draft by the Philadelphia Eagles, Carter would show-out early on before Buddy Ryan shockingly cut him following the 1990 preseason. The Minnesota Vikings claimed him off waivers for a measly $100, and the rest was history. Once his run in the Twin Cities ended in 2001, Carter would be elected to the Pro Bowl eight times and find himself on the First-Team All-Pro team twice. His career ended the following season in Miami with nearly 14,000 receiving yards and 130 touchdowns.

Michael Thomas

Save for winning a national championship in the first run of the College Football Playoff back in 2015, Thomas didn’t do much to move the needle throughout his stay in Columbus. While productive, he didn’t take home many accolades save for making the All-Rookie Team. It wasn’t until he was selected with the 47^th overall pick by the New Orleans Saints that he turned into one of the more deadly wide receivers in NFL history. Him and Drew Brees were like peas and carrots enough to the point that he was voted the NFL Offensive Player of the Year in 2019 when he led the league in receptions and receiving yards which resulted in his third straight Pro Bowl invite. Unfortunately, a multitude of injuries has kept him on the sideline the last two seasons.

Ted Ginn Jr.

Most known for his breakaway speed that resulted in 33 field stretching touchdown catches over the course of his 13-year NFL career, Ted Ginn Jr. will go down in the history books as one of the more celebrated fantasy players the league’s had to offer. His 2015 season with Cam Newton was a thing of beauty! If you can believe it, Ginn started his collegiate career on the defensive side of the ball. It wasn’t until his sophomore season in 2005 that he was converted into a wide receiver. He also returned punts and kicks for the Buckeyes that year and carried that craft over to the NFL where he would log seven return touchdowns and over 9,500 return yards. While he failed to live up to being the ninth overall pick in the 2007 NFL Draft, Ginn Jr. is one of the more widely known WR names out there.

Joey Galloway

Galloway tied Chris Carter’s school record of 11 touchdown catches in his junior season at OSU. The decorated pass catcher would go on to be selected with the eighth pick in the 1995 NFL Draft by the Seattle Seahawks and make waves immediately in his rookie season. He’d wrap it with rookie team records of 67 receptions, over 1,050 receiving yards and 7 TD. His time with the Seahawks ended on a bitter note due to a contract dispute four years later. He was later traded to the Dallas Cowboys in a deal that saw him become the second highest paid WR in the league. Unfortunately, he ripped his ACL in the debut season with the Boys and never truly lived up to the money he took Jerry Jones for. A five-year stint with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers proved to be more fruitful immediately after. His professional career ended with nearly 11,000 receiving yards and 77 touchdown receptions.

Terry McLaurin

Currently the WR1 of the newly anointed Washington Commanders, McLaurin has been able to make lemonade out of lemons without a credible quarterback throwing him the football. Through three seasons in the nation’s capital with guys like Case Keenum, Dwayne Haskins, Colt McCoy, Kyle Allen, Alex Smith, Garrett Gilbert and Taylor Heinicke throwing him the football, he’s surpassed the 1,000 yard receiving plateau in two of his first three seasons while reeling in 222 receptions and 16 touchdowns. It’s safe to say Washington has dramatically benefitted from selecting him with the 76^th overall pick in the third round of the 2019 NFL Draft. McLaurin could prove to be the most decorated wide receiver to ever come out of Ohio State’s program should Washington ever find a quarterback worth his weight in salt!