I put out my first draft guide in 1979. This year will be No. 35. That first guide was a full six years before the first NFL scouting combine. Back then, there were no online prospect guides, no recruiting rankings to track talent down to the high school level, and the draft looked something like this. For me, evaluating prospects was all about getting as much tape as I could find (there was no ESPN GamePlan) and making hundreds and hundreds of phone calls (no cell phones, either!) to coaches, scouts, front-office folks that would listen and evaluators at every level. You couldn't watch a verified 40-yard time on live TV; instead, you had to triangulate and weed out truth from fiction. It wasn't easy.
Mel Kiper's all-time draft grades
• Top 10 QBs »
• Top 10 RBs »
• Top 10 WR/TEs »
• Top 10 OLs
• Top 10 DE/DTs »
• Top 10 LBs »
• Top 10 S/CBs »
• Top 10 K/Ps »
But throughout all of this time, I've kept the same 10-point grading scale, so even as the athletes changed, we can compare today where players stood among their prospect peers over a generation. So, some parameters for what you see below:
1. The ranking is based on the final draft grade before the draft, and it goes back to 1979, my first draft guide. It's clear to me now I graded a little easier when I was younger. I didn't have the point of reference I do today.
2. The grades do not reflect NFL performance. (You'll see.) I printed these grades and simply went back through every book. I have to live with the busts.
3. There are some ties on grades, so I had to break those ties without a great deal of science. But again, I didn't break ties based on NFL production.
Here are my top 10 all-time wide receivers and tight ends based on draft grades.
1. Calvin Johnson, Georgia Tech (No. 2 pick, 2007)
Grade: 9.8
If he didn't pan out as an NFL player, it would be easy to point to Johnson's NFL combine numbers and say I got carried away. After all, here was a guy at 6-foot-5 and just under 240 pounds with huge hands and great short-area quickness who could still run the 40-yard dash in 4.35 seconds. But then you watch the tape and see Johnson double-teamed and still making plays at Georgia Tech. He was unstoppable and Tech knew it. The Jackets could hardly look elsewhere. Johnson caught 76 passes for 1,202 yards as a junior. The next closest receiver had 608 yards. Johnson's pro career continues in similar fashion. He's simply a brilliant talent.
2. Irving Fryar, Nebraska (No. 1 pick, 1984)
Grade: 9.7
At another school, Fryar could have put up even bigger numbers. But at Nebraska, next to Turner Gill and Mike Rozier -- in an option offense -- he was more prospect than producer. However, Fryar was a fantastic player, and more than 850 NFL catches paired with well over 12,000 yards proves he could play.
3. Eddie Brown, Miami (No. 13 pick, 1985)
Grade: 9.7
An explosive player and part of the renaissance of the Miami program, Brown was taken a few spots in front of the No. 8 player on this list (Jerry Rice), and crossed paths with him again in the 1989 Super Bowl. Though Brown had just one Pro Bowl season, he held a lot of Bengals records for a long time. When he left Miami, he was the best receiver in the school's history. It's interesting to see the way I've had to shift evaluations and standards on wide receivers over the years.
4. Desmond Howard, Michigan (No. 4 pick, 1992)
Grade: 9.7
It's often forgotten that Howard was recruited as a star tailback out of the Cleveland area. This is important because while he was drafted as a wide receiver -- we see the highlights of his brilliant catches at Michigan -- his greatest skill was as a runner, a perpetually elusive threat with the ball in his hands. This made him a great return man throughout his NFL career, even as he got off to a slow start as a wide receiver in Washington. That was in part because Art Monk and Ricky Sanders were still catching passes for the Redskins when Howard arrived.
5. Rob Moore, Syracuse (No. 1 pick, supplemental, 1990)
Grade: 9.7
Another player who had an underrated NFL career (while catching passes thrown by everyone from Browning Nagle to a semi-retired Dave Krieg), Moore was a fantastic college player and quietly amassed more than 600 catches and 9,000 yards in the NFL.
6. Keyshawn Johnson, USC (No. 1 pick, 1996)
Grade: 9.7
A dominant college player, Johnson used superior size, great hands and the ability to both separate from defenders on deep balls and beat them for jump balls to rack up 101 catches in his final season at USC. Despite the bluster, Johnson always produced in the NFL -- as evidenced by his 10,571 career receiving yards.
7. Al Toon, Wisconsin (No. 10 pick, 1985)
Grade: 9.6
A track star who turned himself into a great wide receiver, Toon could blow defenders away with speed, but became a signature player for keeping his toes down on sideline throws, dancing artfully on the edges. Toon was a very good NFL player, but retired at just 29 after a litany of concussions.
8. Jerry Rice, Mississippi Valley State (No. 16 pick, 1985)
Grade: 9.6
It shouldn't diminish him, but it seems like history has decided that Rice was a nobody in college, a slow underdog that made himself into a great NFL player. In reality, Rice became known as part of a prolific, fast-paced offense at Mississippi Valley State, and even got some Heisman attention. The level of competition was a question, but he didn't go No. 16 overall by accident. Of course, in playing with Joe Montana and Steve Young, he became both a beneficiary of talent and a big reason why those two were successful. And his capacity for work became legendary. Nobody "made" Jerry Rice -- he made himself great.
9. Larry Fitzgerald, Pittsburgh (No. 3 pick, 2004)
Grade: 9.6
If you want to put the "never covered" label on a wide receiver, Fitzgerald is in the class with Johnson. It didn't really matter who or how many guys you put on him in college; if you threw him the ball at Pitt, there was a good chance he was going to catch it. What Fitzgerald lacked in speed he made up for with exceptional hands and an ability to high point passes and use his big frame to gain an advantage on anyone. Having made six Pro Bowls and piled up more than 10,000 receiving yards before his 30th birthday, Fitzgerald is well on his way to Canton. Hopefully the QB play (and pass-blocking) in Arizona will allow him to maximize the next few seasons.
10. Kellen Winslow, Missouri (No. 13 pick, 1979)
Grade: 9.6
The lone tight end in the top 10, Winslow was a player ahead of his time. The dominant tight ends of this current era -- Rob Gronkowski, Jimmy Graham, Antonio Gates and even Tony Gonzalez -- play a different game than earlier players at the position, who were counted on far more as blockers in a less pass-dependent league. But Winslow could do it all, with elite receiver skills at the position in an era when that was truly rare. He led the NFL in receptions in 1980 and 1981 -- a time when that was simply unheard of.
Next best wide receivers/tight ends
• Alvin Harper (Tennessee, 1991): Harper probably would have had bigger NFL numbers if he wasn't a second (or third) option in the Dallas offense with Michael Irvin and Jay Novacek.
• Art Monk (Syracuse, 1980): With 940 receptions in a less pass-happy era, he was very good for a long time.
• Jerry Butler (Clemson, 1979): The top wide receiver in my first draft guide.
• Peter Warrick (Florida State, 2000): A highlight machine at Florida State, Warrick never became a dependable star in the NFL. But he was in part graded on elite return skills.