NFL rookie WRs with the most receiving yards in a single game ft. Ja'Marr Chase

Rookie wide receivers have put up some spectacular performances over the course of NFL history. There have been 17 different times in which a rookie wide receiver has eclipsed 200 receiving yards in a single game. Week 17 of the 2021 NFL season featured one such game. Here are the top five receiving yardage totals by a rookie in a single game in NFL history.

Most receiving yards in a single game by an NFL rookie

#5 - Eddie Kennison, St. Louis Rams - 226 receiving yards

St. Louis Rams wide receiver Eddie Kennison

Eddie Kennison of the St. Louis Rams recorded 226 receiving yards in a game during his 1996 NFL rookie season against the Atlanta Falcons. What made his day even more incredible was that he registered all of the yards on just five receptions in the game. He averaged 45.2 yards per reception that day and scored three receiving touchdowns.

#4 - Justin Blackmon, Jacksonville Jaguars - 236 receiving yards

Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Justin Blackmon

Jacksonville Jaguars rookie wide receiver Justin Blackmon had the best game of his career in 2012 against the Houston Texans. The highly rated prospect out of Oklahoma State lived up to the hype in the game, recording seven receptions for 236 receiving yards and a touchdown. He had a promising future. Unfortunately, his off-the-field issues ended his NFL career after just 20 total games.

NFL rookie record for most receiving yards in a single game

Here are the NFL rookies with the highest single-game receiving yardage totals of all time.

#3 - Jerry Rice, San Francisco 49ers - 241 receiving yards

NFL Hall of Fame wide receiver Jerry Rice

Jerry Rice is the greatest wide receiver in NFL history. On his way to the Hall of Fame, he accumulated 1,549 receptions for 22,895 receiving yards and 208 total touchdowns. All of those are NFL records, and he holds many others as well. During his 1985 rookie season with the San Francisco 49ers, he recorded ten receptions for 241 yards and a touchdown in a single game against the Los Angeles Rams.

#2 - Jerry Butler, Buffalo Bills - 255 receiving yards

Prior to Week 17 of the 2021 NFL season, Buffalo Bills rookie wide receiver Jerry Butler held the NFL record for receiving yards in a single game by a rookie. In 1979 against the New York Jets, he recorded ten receptions for 255 receiving yards and four touchdowns. He has held the record for more than 42 years, and that game is still one of the greatest rookie performances in NFL history.

#1 - Ja'Marr Chase, Cincinnati Bengals - 266 receiving yards

Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase

In Week 17 of the 2021 NFL season, the Cincinnati Bengals faced off against the Kansas City Chiefs. It was a record-setting game for Bengals rookie wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase. His massive performance included 11 receptions for 266 yards and three touchdowns. No rookie in NFL history has ever recorded more receiving yards in a single game.