Greatest WR Tournament – Round 1 – Ward vs. Randle El

by Joe Kuzma (joe_kuzma) on August 3, 2015

Why these two wide receivers were selected for the tournament:

#1 Hines Ward

4× Pro Bowl (2001, 2002, 2003, 2004)
3× Second-Team All-Pro (2002, 2003, 2004)
2× Super Bowl Champion (XL, XLIII)
Super Bowl MVP (XL)
3× Pittsburgh Steelers Team MVP (2002, 2004, 2005)
3× AFC Champion (2005, 2008, 2010)
10,000 Receiving Yards Club
2012 Pittsburgh Pro Football Hall of Fame
Pittsburgh Steelers All-Time Leader (Receiving Touchdowns, Receptions, and Receiving Yards)
Pittsburgh Steelers All-Time Team
Pittsburgh Steelers #86 no longer issued
Ranked 10th all-time in receptions (1,000)

The Pittsburgh Steelers selected Ward in the third round of the 1998 NFL Draft, and he became the team’s all-time leader in receptions, receiving yardage and touchdown receptions. Ward was voted MVP of Super Bowl XL, and upon retirement was one of only eight NFL players to have 1,000 or more career receptions.

#16 Antwaan Randle El

First-team All-Pro (2005)
PFWA All-AFC (2005)
2× AFC Champion (2005, 2010)
Super Bowl champion (XL)
Only wide receiver to throw a touchdown pass in a Super Bowl (Super Bowl XL)
Highest career passer rating of all players with a minimum of 20 attempts (156.1)

Randle El was chosen in the second round (62nd overall) of the 2002 NFL Draft, by the Pittsburgh Steelers. Playing with the Steelers for four seasons, he was active in all 64 regular season games with 23 starts, finding success as a wide receiver, kick returner and punt returner. He was also instrumental in a number of trick plays, including throwing a touchdown pass as a wide receiver for the Steelers in Super Bowl XL, the only wide receiver in Super Bowl history to do so.

After the 2005 NFL season, Randle El was signed as a free agent to the Washington Redskins. Randle El was released by the Redskins in March 2010, re-signing with the Pittsburgh Steelers shortly after.

Randle El was also named fifth in USA Today’s All-Decade kick returners. Randle El has a career passer rating of 156.1, the highest of any player with more than twenty completed passes.

Note: the 16th seed was the hardest to choose in this tournament. Most of the latter half of receivers were small contributors to big seasons and did not have a larger body of work. Consideration was given to players such as Ernie Mills and Kordell Stewart, but in the end, Randle El not only made All-Pro (as a kick returner) but also has one of the most memorable plays in Steelers history: the gadget play in Super Bowl XL, which is still the only TD pass thrown by a WR in the big game.

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