There is no doubt that former San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Jerry Rice was the all-time best at his position. You can make the argument that maybe he was the greatest to ever play the game. When it comes to receivers, though, who is second?
Rice was asked that question during a Tuesday afternoon interview on 95.7 The Game with Damon Bruce, Ray Ratto, and Matt Kolsky.
"I've got to go with Larry Fitzgerald, man," Rice responded. "Larry, and what he brings to the game. Larry played with a lot of quarterbacks. And to think about what he was able to accomplish throughout his career, I'm not saying his career is over yet, but just his awareness on the football field, attention to detail, the knowledge, had and still [does have] the greatest hands ever, his mentorship, where he's willing to pass the knowledge on to younger players, and stuff I like that, I think is just incredible."
Fitzgerald currently ranks No. 2 all-time with 16,579 receiving yards, topped only by Rice's 22,895. Fitzgerald also ranks No. 2 in all-time receptions with 1,326, second only to Rice, who had 1,549.
Rice was at State Farm Stadium on Sunday to watch Fitzgerald move into second place in receptions, surpassing Hall of Fame tight end Tony Gonzalez. Rice has a comfortable lead in receiving yards, but Fitzgerald could catch Rice in receptions with a few more good seasons. What does the Hall of Famer think about that?
"Larry, he told me, 'There's no celebration when it comes to second,'" Rice shared. "He wanted me to know that, so I'm like, 'Okay, Larry got me looking over my shoulder.' And he just surpassed Tony Gonzalez.
"So if I know this guy, his competitive nature, he might be able to play maybe two or three more years. He's at year 16 right now. If he should beat my record, I would be the first one to congratulate him."
There has been much debate about what happened during "The Catch." Many among the 49ers at the time say it was a designed play, and quarterback Joe Montana hit wide receiver Dwight Clark where he was supposed to.
Rice doesn't sound too sure of that.
"We all know about 'The Catch,'" Rice explained. "'The Catch' started the dynasty for the San Francisco 49ers. [Dwight Clark] pretty much bailed Joe Montana out because Joe was throwing that ball away, and Dwight went up and made that catch."
Of course, Rice didn't enter the league until years after "The Catch" took place, but he spent his first three NFL seasons as Clark's teammate. Rice shared that he leaned on both Clark and receiver Freddie Solomon, who was in his final NFL season, for help early on in his career.
"When I first came in, guys, I had a problem running this 12-yard out because, in collegiate football, I was squared out," Rice said. "In the pros, they want you to roll out of it and stuff like that. And I remember Dwight Clark just working with me on that over and over again. Just watching this guy run precise routes, coming-out of his cuts, catching the football."