List of National Football League annual receiving yards leaders
In American football, passing, along with running, is one of the two main methods of advancing the ball down the field. Passes are typically attempted by the quarterback, but any offensive player can attempt a pass provided they are behind the line of scrimmage. To qualify as a passing play, the ball must have initially moved forward after leaving the hands of the passer; if the ball initially moved laterally or backwards, the play would instead be considered a running play. A player who catches a forward pass is a receiver, and the number of receiving yards each player has recorded in each season is a recorded stat in football games. In addition to the overall National Football League receiving champion, league record books recognize statistics from the American Football League, which operated from 1960 to 1969 before being absorbed into the NFL in 1970, Although league record books do not recognize stats from the All-America Football Conference, another league that merged with the NFL, these statistics are recognized by the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
The NFL did not begin keeping official records until the 1932 season. The average the yards the leader has gained has increased over time - since the adoption of the 14-game season in 1961, all but one season saw the receiving leader record over 1,000 yards. No player has ever finished with over 2,000 receiving yards in a season; the current record is 1,964 yards, set by Calvin Johnson during the 2012 season. Wes Chandler, who led the league with 1,032 yards in the strike-shortened 1982 season, averaged 129 yards receiving per game, an NFL record.
Don Hutson led the league in receiving yards seven times, the most of any player; Jerry Rice is second with six. Hutson also recorded the most consecutive seasons leading the league in receiving, doing so for five seasons from 1941 to 1945, while Jerry Rice ranks second with three consecutive league-leading seasons from 1993 to 1995. A Green Bay Packers player has led the league in receiving yards eleven times, the most in the NFL; the Los Angeles/St. Louis Rams rank second with nine league-leading seasons. The most recent receiving yards leader was Julio Jones of the Atlanta Falcons, who recorded 1,677 receiving yards over the 2018 season.
NFL season receiving yards leaders
| Symbol | Meaning |
| Winner | The player who recorded the most receiving yards in the NFL |
| Games | The number of games that the player participated in during that season |
| Yds. | Total receiving yards |
| ^ | Pro Football Hall of Fame member |
| * | The player is an active player |
| Player won the AP Most Valuable Player award in the same year | |
| Player won the AP Offensive Player of the Year award in the same year |
| Season | Winner | Team | Yds. | Games | Ref |
| 1932 | ^ | New York Giants | 350 | 12 | |
| 1933 | Pittsburgh Pirates | 283 | 10 | ||
| 1934 | Detroit Lions | 264 | 12 | ||
| 1935 | Boston Redskins | 433 | 11 | ||
| 1936 | ^ | Green Bay Packers | 536 | 12 | |
| 1937 | Chicago Cardinals | 675 | 11 | ||
| 1938 | ^ | Green Bay Packers | 548 | 10 | |
| 1939 | ^ | Green Bay Packers | 846 | 11 | |
| 1940 | Philadelphia Eagles | 707 | 11 | ||
| 1941 | ^ | Green Bay Packers | 738 | 11 | |
| 1942 | ^ | Green Bay Packers | 1,211 | 17 | |
| 1943 | ^ | Green Bay Packers | 776 | 10 | |
| 1944 | ^ | Green Bay Packers | 866 | 10 | |
| 1945 | Cleveland Rams | 1,067 | 9 | ||
| 1946 | Los Angeles Rams | 981 | 11 | ||
| 1947 | Chicago Cardinals | 944 | 12 | ||
| 1948 | Chicago Cardinals | 943 | 12 | ||
| 1949 | Detroit Lions | 1,014 | 12 | ||
| 1950 | ^ | Los Angeles Rams | 1,116 | 12 | |
| 1951 | ^ | Los Angeles Rams | 1,495 | 12 | |
| 1952 | Green Bay Packers | 1,231 | 12 | ||
| 1953 | ^ | Philadelphia Eagles | 1,049 | 12 | |
| 1954 | Los Angeles Rams | 1,212 | 12 | ||
| 1955 | ^ | Philadelphia Eagles | 864 | 12 | |
| 1956 | Green Bay Packers | 1,188 | 12 | ||
| 1957 | ^ | Baltimore Colts | 800 | 12 | |
| 1958 | Los Angeles Rams | 1,097 | 12 | ||
| 1959 | ^ | Baltimore Colts | 959 | 12 | |
| 1960 | ^ | Baltimore Colts | 1,298 | 12 | |
| 1961 | ^ | Philadelphia Eagles | 1,144 | 14 | |
| 1962 | ^ | Washington Redskins | 1,384 | 14 | |
| 1963 | ^ | Washington Redskins | 1,436 | 14 | |
| 1964 | Chicago Bears | 1,200 | 14 | ||
| 1965 | San Francisco 49ers | 1,344 | 14 | ||
| 1966 | Detroit Lions | 1,266 | 14 | ||
| 1967 | Philadelphia Eagles | 1,265 | 14 | ||
| 1968 | Pittsburgh Steelers | 1,074 | 14 | ||
| 1969 | Philadelphia Eagles | 1,116 | 14 | ||
| 1970 | San Francisco 49ers | 1,100 | 13 | ||
| 1971 | Kansas City Chiefs | 1,110 | 14 | ||
| 1972 | Philadelphia Eagles | 1,048 | 14 | ||
| 1973 | ^ | Philadelphia Eagles | 1,116 | 14 | |
| 1974 | Oakland Raiders | 1,092 | 14 | ||
| 1975 | Houston Oilers | 1,063 | 14 | ||
| 1976 | Baltimore Colts | 1,112 | 14 | ||
| 1977 | Dallas Cowboys | 870 | 14 | ||
| 1978 | New York Jets | 1,169 | 16 | ||
| 1979 | ^ | Seattle Seahawks | 1,237 | 15 | |
| 1980 | San Diego Chargers | 1,340 | 16 | ||
| 1981 | Atlanta Falcons | 1,358 | 16 | ||
| 1982 | San Diego Chargers | 1,032 | |||
| 1983 | Philadelphia Eagles | 1,409 | 16 | ||
| 1984 | St. Louis Cardinals | 1,555 | 16 | ||
| 1985 | ^ | Seattle Seahawks | 1,287 | 16 | |
| 1986 | ^ | San Francisco 49ers | 1,570 | 15 | |
| 1987 | St. Louis Cardinals | 1,117 | 15 | ||
| 1988 | Los Angeles Rams | 1,414 | 16 | ||
| 1989 | ^ | San Francisco 49ers | 1,483 | 16 | |
| 1990 | ^ | San Francisco 49ers | 1,502 | 16 | |
| 1991 | ^ | Dallas Cowboys | 1,523 | 16 | |
| 1992 | Green Bay Packers | 1,461 | 16 | ||
| 1993 | ^ | San Francisco 49ers | 1,503 | 16 | |
| 1994 | ^ | San Francisco 49ers | 1,499 | 16 | |
| 1995 | ^ | San Francisco 49ers | 1,848 | 16 | |
| 1996 | ^ | St. Louis Rams | 1,338 | 16 | |
| 1997 | Arizona Cardinals | 1,584 | 16 | ||
| 1998 | Green Bay Packers | 1,424 | 15 | ||
| 1999 | ^ | Indianapolis Colts | 1,663 | 16 | |
| 2000 | St. Louis Rams | 1,635 | 16 | ||
| 2001 | Arizona Cardinals | 1,598 | 16 | ||
| 2002 | ^ | Indianapolis Colts | 1,722 | 16 | |
| 2003 | St. Louis Rams | 1,696 | 16 | ||
| 2004 | Carolina Panthers | 1,405 | 16 | ||
| 2005 | Carolina Panthers | 1,563 | 16 | ||
| 2006 | Cincinnati Bengals | 1,369 | 16 | ||
| 2007 | Indianapolis Colts | 1,510 | 16 | ||
| 2008 | Houston Texans | 1,575 | 16 | ||
| 2009 | Houston Texans | 1,569 | 16 | ||
| 2010 | Denver Broncos | 1,448 | 16 | ||
| 2011 | Detroit Lions | 1,681 | 16 | ||
| 2012 | Detroit Lions | 1,964 | 16 | ||
| 2013 | * | Cleveland Browns | 1,646 | 14 | |
| 2014 | * | Pittsburgh Steelers | 1,698 | 16 | |
| 2015 | * | Atlanta Falcons | 1,871 | 16 | |
| 2016 | * | Indianapolis Colts | 1,448 | 16 | |
| 2017 | * | Pittsburgh Steelers | 1,533 | 14 | |
| 2018 | * | Atlanta Falcons | 1,677 | 16 | |
| 2019 | Michael Thomas* | New Orleans Saints | 1,725 | 16 |