The 10 Players With the Most Receiving Touchdowns in NFL History (2024)

There's really no comparison to Jerry Rice when it comes to the best wide receivers of all time. The former San Francisco 49ers standout is the NFL's all-time leader in receiving yards, and he's far and away the leader in career touchdown receptions.

No NFL player ever had 200 touchdown catches in his career, at least not in the regular season, but Rice came awfully close. He finished his Hall of Fame career with 197, 41 more than anyone else. Throw in the 22 he had in the postseason, and he finished with 219. But for the purposes of this piece, we'll be sticking to only the regular season.

Here is a closer look at the 10 players with the most touchdown receptions in NFL history.

1 Jerry Rice (197)

Nobody comes close to Jerry Rice when it comes to career touchdown receptions

After Jerry Rice eased his way into the NFL with 49 catches for 927 yards and three touchdowns as a rookie with the Niners in 1985, he quickly made a name for himself.

Rice led the league in touchdown receptions in five of the next six seasons and was well on his way to becoming the best wide receiver ever to play in the NFL. His 22 TD catches in 1987 were a career high, and he finished second in the NFL MVP voting that season, losing to John Elway but finishing ahead of his own QB, Joe Montana, while also racking up 1,078 receiving yards in the strike-shortened season.

Rice, who also spent time with the Oakland Raiders and Seattle Seahawks, led the NFL in touchdown catches six times and had 13 or more TD receptions in eight of his 20 seasons. He finished with 197 in his career, and, as mentioned, that doesn't include the 22 he accumulated during the postseason.

No player in NFL history is within 40 touchdown catches of Rice, who was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2010.

2 Randy Moss (156)

Randy Moss showed he could play at a high level on any NFL team

After seven seasons with the Minnesota Vikings, with whom he led the league in touchdown catches three times, and two with the Oakland Raiders to begin his NFL career, Randy Moss found a new home with the New England Patriots in 2007. And he quickly made history when teaming up with his new quarterback, Tom Brady.

In 2007, Moss set a new single-season record with 23 touchdown receptions, a mark that still stands today. He finished the '07 season with 1,493 receiving yards and was second in the Offensive Player of the Year voting, losing only to Brady.

Twice in his career, Moss led the league with 17 catches for touchdowns. He did it in 2003 and also did so in his rookie season in 1998, earning him Rookie of the Year honors. The Marshall alum had double-digit touchdown catches nine times, including four straight seasons to begin his NFL career.

Moss finished with 50 touchdown catches in just four seasons with the Patriots and ended his Hall of Fame career with 156 touchdown receptions.

3 Terrell Owens (153)

Terrell Owens finished his Hall of Fame career with 153 touchdown catches

The man known as "T.O." could also have been nicknamed "TD" after the 153 touchdown catches he accumulated during his NFL career.

Terrell Owens was no stranger to catching touchdown passes, and it didn't matter what team he was on. He played the first eight seasons of his 15-year career with the San Francisco 49ers and finished with 81 touchdown receptions. He led the NFL in TD catches twice with the Niners.

Owens then spent two seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles. In his first season with the Birds, he was named a First-Team All-Pro for the fourth time after hauling in 14 touchdown catches. The Chattanooga alum then moved on to the Dallas Cowboys, where he led the NFL with 13 TD receptions in his first year in 2006. He followed that up with 15 and 10 in his final two years with America's Team.

Owens then spent a year each with the Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals and finished his career with 153 touchdown catches.

4 Cris Carter (130)

Cris Carter finished with a league-high 17 touchdown catches in 1995

Buddy Ryan once said that all Cris Carter does is catch touchdown passes. He wasn't completely wrong.

While Carter was an outstanding all-around receiver, he did finish his career with 130 touchdown catches. He began his career playing for Ryan with the Philadelphia Eagles, but he truly made a name for himself with the Minnesota Vikings.

After three seasons in Philly, where he never had more than 49 catches in a season (although he had 11 TD catches in 1989), he spent 12 seasons in Minnesota and was named to the Pro Bowl in eight straight seasons from 1993 to 2000. With the Vikings, the Ohio State product led the NFL in touchdown catches three times in a five-year span.

In 1995, a year after earning the first of his two First-Team All-Pro selections, Carter led the league with 17 touchdown catches and also racked up a career-high 1,371 yards. In 1997 and 1999, he finished with 13 touchdown receptions, leading the NFL in both seasons.

Carter closed his career playing one season with the Miami Dolphins and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2013.

5 Marvin Harrison Sr. (128)

Marvin Harrison Sr. had eight straight seasons with 10 or more TD receptions

For eight consecutive seasons, Marvin Harrison Sr. finished with double-digit touchdown catches. After an outstanding college career at Syracuse, he became one of the NFL's best and most consistent wide receivers as a member of the Indianapolis Colts.

From 1999 to 2006, Harrison finished with at least 10 touchdown catches in each season. He had a career-best 15 in both 2001 and 2004, but his best overall season came in 2002 when he led the NFL with 1,772 yards and 11 touchdowns.

He led the league in TD catches just once, that coming in 2005 when he finished with 12. Harrison finished his career with 128 scores in his 13-year career with the Colts.

6 Larry Fitzgerald (121)

For 17 years, Larry Fitzgerald played at a high level for the Arizona Cardinals

Remarkably, Larry Fitzgerald played all 17 of his NFL seasons with the same team. The Arizona Cardinals made the Pittsburgh product the third overall pick in the 2004 NFL Draft, and he and the Cards never parted ways.

As a rookie, Fitzgerald caught eight touchdown passes and followed up with 10 in 2005. He led the NFL in TD receptions in 2008 with 12 and then topped the league again in 2009 by hauling in 13.

Fitzgerald ultimately earned Pro Bowl honors 11 times but was only named a First-Team All-Pro once, that coming in 2008 when he had a career-high 1,431 receiving yards to go along with his NFL-best 12 TD catches. He twice earned a Second-Team selection (2009, 2011).

Fitzgerald finished his career with 121 TD catches.

7 Antonio Gates (116)

Antonio Gates is the first non-wide receiver to crack the list of players with the most TD catches

Antonio Gates will go down as one of the most underrated tight ends in NFL history. He wasn't flashy, but he just always had a nose for the end zone.

The former San Diego Chargers tight end spent 16 years with the team and proved to be one of the greatest to ever play his position. He never gained the notoriety of Travis Kelce, Rob Gronkowski, or Tony Gonzalez, but he owns more touchdown catches than all of them, racking up 116 during his career.

From 2004 to 2010, Gates had no fewer than eight touchdown catches in any one season and ultimately recorded 10 TD receptions in four seasons over the course of his run with the Bolts. His highest total came in his second year in the league when he finished with 13. That 2004 season began a streak of four straight First-Team All-Pro selections.

At 6-foot-4, 255 pounds, Gates, an eight-time Pro Bowler who finished with 11,841 receiving yards for his career, provided quarterback Philip Rivers with a solid target and an abundance of athleticism.

8 Tony Gonzalez (111)

Tony Gonzalez was a special tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs and the Atlanta Falcons

The second of two tight ends on this list, Tony Gonzalez had an outstanding career with two teams.

Gonzalez began NFL life by playing the first 12 seasons of his 17-year NFL career with the Kansas City Chiefs, with whom he had 10 straight Pro Bowl seasons from 1999 to 2008 and earned nine All-Pro selections. He had 10 or more touchdowns in a season three times, with his best year coming in 1999 when he finished with 11.

The Cal product finished his career with five seasons with the Atlanta Falcons. He was a Pro Bowler in four of those seasons and added a 10th All-Pro selection in 2012.

Gonzalez racked up 111 touchdown catches in his career and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2019.

9 Steve Largent (100)

The sure-handed Steve Largent finished his Hall of Fame career with 100 touchdown catches

Originally drafted by the Houston Oilers in the fourth round of the 1976 NFL Draft, Steve Largent was traded to the expansion Seattle Seahawks during the preseason. The Tulsa product wasn't blessed with wide receiver speed, but he was sure-handed, and 10 of his 33 catches in his second NFL season went for touchdowns.

Largent became a bigger part of the Seattle offense the following season. He had his first 1,000-yard season in 1977, finishing with 1,168 receiving yards and eight touchdowns. He led the NFL in receiving yards in 1978 with 1,237 and also collected nine touchdown catches.

Largent had a career-high 12 TD receptions in 1984 and earned the lone First-Team All-Pro selection (he was a four-time Second-Team honoree) of his career in 1985, leading the league with 1,287 receiving yards.

Largent played 14 years with the Seahawks, racking up exactly 100 touchdown catches. He was a seven-time Pro Bowler and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1995.

10 Tim Brown (100)

After putting special teams in the rearview mirror, Tim Brown became one of the game's best wideouts

When Tim Brown became a full-time wide receiver with the Los Angeles Raiders, he turned into one of the best in the NFL.

Taken with the sixth overall selection in the 1988 NFL Draft, the Notre Dame alum spent the first five seasons of his NFL career mostly on the special teams unit, returning punts and kickoffs. When the Raiders fully committed to him as a wideout in 1993, he had 80 catches for 1,180 yards. Prior to then, he'd never had more than 49 receptions in a season.

From 1993 to 2001, Brown reached the 1,000-yard receiving mark in each season and had a career-high 11 touchdown catches in 2000.

Brown, who closed his 17-year career playing one season for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, was named to the Pro Bowl nine times in his career. He finished his career with 100 touchdown catches and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2015.

All stats courtesy of Pro Football Reference unless stated otherwise.