Best quarterback/wide receiver duos in NFL history
By Staff
There’s a reason Peyton Manning holds the career touchdown record … well, there are a few reasons why he does. The biggest reason is that Manning is an absolute genius when it comes to pre-snap reads, but another vital part of his success was Marvin Harrison.
Manning and Harrison spent 12 great years together and torched opposing secondaries. It all began when the Indianapolis Colts selected Harrison at No. 19 overall in the 1996 NFL Draft. Two years later, they made Manning the first-overall pick out of Tennessee.
They didn’t get off to the best start, though. Manning set a rookie record with 28 interceptions in 1998. He and Harrison got it going the following year and never looked back.
Manning threw for more than 4,000 yards with 26 touchdowns, and Harrison nabbed 12 scoring grabs with a league-leading 1,663 receiving yards. That sparked an eight-year run of double-digit touchdowns and 1,000 receiving yards for Harrison. Their relationship culminated at the end of that run by beating the Chicago Bears in the 2006 Super Bowl.
He caught 15 touchdowns for the second time in 2004 when Manning set the season record for passing touchdowns with 49.
An injury-plagued season in 2007 led to 2008 being Harrison’s last year. He capped it off with five receiving touchdowns to bring his total to 128.
But the more impressive statistic is that Manning and Harrison finished their run together with 112 touchdowns — the most by any duo. It’ll be a very, very long time before another tandem even comes close to that mark.