Larry Fitzgerald has done more with less than any receiver in NFL history.
On Sunday, Atlanta’s Julio Jones became the fastest receiver in NFL history to 12,000 career yards. Undoubtedly an amazing feat and a testament to Jones’ talent, but also easier to do when Matt Ryan has been your primary quarterback than, say, Chris Chandler. Jerry Rice is the GOAT at the receiver position, and there can be no doubt about it, but when most of your catches have come from Joe Montana and Steve Young — well, again, it’s a bit easier than if Jim Druckenmiller had been driving the bus all those years.
There are potentially great receivers lost to the vagaries of time because they rarely caught passes from above-average quarterbacks. And it’s the rare receiver who can transcend his quarterbacks over time to become one of the all-time greats.
That’s where Larry Fitzgerald, who went over 17,000 yards in his remarkable career on Sunday, comes in.
Outside of three good Kurt Warner years from 2007 through 2009, two good Carson Palmer years in 2015 and 2016, and the great potential of rookie Kyler Murray in 2019 and beyond, Fitzgerald has suffered from mostly sub-par quarterback play throughout an NFL career than began in 2004, when he was selected with the third overall pick by the Cardinals out of Pitt in the 2004 draft. In that first season, his quarterbacks were Josh McCown, Shaun King, and some guy named John Navarre. Still, he led the team with 58 receptions for 780 yards and eight touchdowns, and things just got better for the Cardinals — and worse for Fitzgerald at times — from there.
Larry Fitzgerald has passed 17,000 receiving yards in his career. Some of his quarterbacks:
Matt Leinart
Kevin Kolb
Derek Anderson
Max Hall
John Skelton
Drew Stanton
Josh Rosen— Doug Farrar (@NFL_DougFarrar) December 22, 2019
Fitzgerald has never complained about the quarterback situation; he’s just gone out and made plays, season after season. Now that Arizona’s offense is charged with high-impact rookie Kyler Murray, it’s a bit easier for Fitzgerald, as it was on this 21-yard touchdown against Seattle in a 27-13 upset victory.
We have no words. pic.twitter.com/pizrpiYTXt
— Arizona Cardinals ⋈ (@AZCardinals) December 22, 2019