Every NFL franchise's greatest wide receiver ever

Jacksonville Jaguars
Jimmy Smith

The Jacksonville Jaguars have been one of the worst franchises in the NFL. They have some incredulous lows in their franchise history. However, early in their run, they had some ballers on offense. Mark Brunell, Fred Taylor, and Jimmy Smith were one of the best trios of their time. If the Jaguars had any semblance of a defense in this era, they would have been unstoppable. 

Jimmy Smith had one of the most tumultuous starts to his career. After going 36th overall to the Dallas Cowboys in the 1992 NFL Draft, Smith never caught a pass in Dallas. He broke his leg in his first-ever scrimmage, missing part of his rookie season. When he did play, which wasn’t a lot, it was on special teams. Then, things took a turn. The Cowboys repeatedly misdiagnosed stomach pain, which ended up needing an emergency appendectomy. Then, he had a severe infection that forced him to miss the entire season. When he couldn’t play, the Cowboys tried to lower his pay by a third and remove certain incentives from his contract, including health insurance. The NFL PA was forced to file a grievance, which he won.

He was waved by the Cowboys and Eagles before finally landing with the Jaguars in 1995. He had been out of the league for two seasons, so he had to fight for his spot on the roster. He eventually made it as a kick returner thanks to head coach Tom Coughlin. He ended up giving the Jaguars 12,287 yards and 67 touchdowns. Not bad for a guy who had zero before the age of 26. 

When Smith retired in 2006, he was seventh in catches and 11th in yards. He made the Pro Bowl every year from 1997 to 2001, He even led the league in receptions with 116 in 1999. He is an incredible inspiration, not only dealing with the mistakes in health care but also substance abuse issues. Despite being literally down and out, Smith became a Jaguars legend and borderline Hall of Famer.