Top 5 non-quarterbacks in the NFL

GronkThere are a number of transcendent players in the NFL at the moment. These are players that the opposition must specifically game-plan to try and stop, and they still fail. Here are five who have been doing it for years, and show little signs of slowing down.

#5 Calvin Johnson, WR, Detroit Lions

Calvin Johnson

The 6 foot 5 inch, 240lb wide receiver has been the most consistently dominant offensive player in the NFL for almost a decade. He is now on pace for his 6th straight season with 1,000 or more receiving yards. In 2012, Johnson broke Jerry Rice’s single season record for receiving yards, finishing with 1,964.

Stuck as the only good weapon on bad Lions teams for almost his entire career, Johnson has seen double and triple coverage as routine from opposing defences. Going past, over or through defenders, Johnson is still one of the most dominant offensive weapons in the NFL.

He isn’t quite putting up the numbers he did 2 years ago, but I attribute that more to bad quarterback play and a number of niggling injuries than a decline in Johnson’s skill set. He is still making it happen every week and at age 30 could have a number of healthy years left.

He currently ranks 30th all-time in receiving yards, after being the fastest player ever to  reach 10,000 yards, and is ranked 26th all-time in touchdowns. And at 30 years old he isn’t nearly done.