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Jerry Rice stands tall as the best wide receiver in the NFL and one of the best players in the league, period. He has no shortage of records and accolades tied to his name, most notably his record for receiving yards, receptions, and touchdown receptions, and scoring more than any other non-kicker in league history.
However, we recently saw one of Jerry Rice’s franchise records upturned by fellow San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel. After a great season start, Deebo Samuel turned heads by outperforming one of the 49ers’ most successful athletes.
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The Record
As we said, Jerry Rice holds a lot of records, so which one did Deebo Samuel beat? It’s one of Rice’s less famous records but it shows that Samuel can play to the same caliber as Rice, which bodes very well for the young receiver’s future.
The record is for receiving yards racked up in the first seven games of any given regular season. While many players have a slow start to the season and build momentum as they get closer to the playoffs, only the best can explode onto the field from the very start and maintain a performance standard that leaves other players in the dust.
So, now that we know which Jerry Rice record Deebo Samuel beat, let’s look at each one and the circumstances behind both.
Jerry Rice’s 781
Jerry Rice was selected by the San Francisco 49ers in the 1985 draft, though the Dallas Cowboys were very interested in him after he made records at Mississippi Valley State University as part of their Delta Devils.
The 49ers snapped him up and, after becoming NFC Offensive Rookie of the Year, he entered his second season in 1986. That’s where the record comes in. In the first seven games of the 49ers 1986 season, Jerry Rice totaled 781 receiving yards.
Of course, Rice played the whole season and ended it with 1,570 yards, 86 receptions, and 15 touchdowns. In yards and touchdowns, he led the league for the 1986 season. Not too shabby for his second season, huh? His next five seasons also led the NFL in receiving yards and receiving touchdowns, too.
From there, Rice’s illustrious career with the 49ers and later the Oakland Raiders, Seattle Seahawks, and Denver Broncos saw him rack up 22,895 receiving yards, 1,549 receptions, 208 touchdowns, and 14 1,000+ receiving yard seasons. Each of those is a record that has yet to be surpassed. Does Samuel have what it takes?
Deebo Samuel’s 819
So what happened with Deebo Samuel in 2021? First, some context. Deebo Samuel came from the South Carolina Gamecocks, though his collegiate record was hampered by multiple injuries and doesn’t shine as bright as Rice’s.
As we know, he was picked in the 2019 draft by the 49ers. In his rookie season, he was thrown into the deep end at Super Bowl LIV, where the 49ers went against the Kansas City Chiefs. They lost but Samuel made a wide receiver Super Bowl record of 53 rushing yards in the game.
After the pandemic messed with his 2020 season, Samuel returned to form in 2021. That’s where the record comes in. It happened at the end of October when Deebo Samuel finished his seventh game against the Indianapolis Colts. During the Colts game, he made an 83-yard dash to their 2-yard line and scored a touchdown. With so many eyes on the 49ers, commentators and fans had been paying attention to Samuel and his plays.
It was a great moment but it also led to some number crunching. When the 49ers statisticians were done, it was clear that Samuel had just beaten one of their best players’ records. Across all seven of those games, Samuel had made 819 receiving yards. Obviously, it was that crazy 83-yard sprint that put Samuel over Rice.
With the 2021 regular season over, Samuel covered 1,405 receiving yards, 77 receptions, and 6 touchdowns. Not quite up to Rice’s 1986 season, though Samuel still leads the season in yards per reception at 18.2.
It’s worth noting that Samuel isn’t Rice, they don’t play the same and they’re built differently. After this record, Rice himself commented that Samuel is a promising WR who is bigger than him, having more physicality that can support aggressive plays. Only time will tell if Samuel can give Rice’s career records a shot.
Conclusion
That’s the story of how Deebo Samuel broke one of Jerry Rice’s many records last year. Right now, it’s an in-franchise record that might skip under the radar for fans of other teams, but it proves Samuel has what it takes to potentially outplay Rice when it comes to his career records.
If Samuel puts in the seasons and has a long career, with the same standard of performance as that Colts game, then he could easily surpass the all-time NFL records that Rice holds.
