Sterling Sharpe played in only seven NFL seasons because of a neck injury. However during his time in the league, the wideout put up some truly eye popping numbers.
Sharpe played his college football at South Carolina, catching 169 passes for 2,497 receiving yards and 17 touchdowns in his collegiate career. Sharpe’s No. 2 was retired by the Gamecocks, and he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2014.
The Green Bay Packers drafted Sharpe with the 7th pick in the first round of the 1988 NFL Draft. As a rookie, Sharpe caught 55 passes with 1 TD. Following a slow start, he would go on to lead the Packers in receptions with 90 in his sophomore campaign. Along with his 90 catches, Sharpe added 1,423 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns.
Although he only played seven seasons, he put up outstanding numbers during those seven years. In five of them, Sharpe had over 1,000 receiving yards. He also had double-digit touchdowns in four seasons.
When Brett Favre became the Green Bay Packers starter in 1992, Sharpe hit another level. During the 1992 season, Sharpe caught 108 passes, and posted 1,461 yards, with 13 touchdowns. He followed that up with 112 catches, 1,274, and 11 touchdowns the following season.
In his final year, he caught 18 touchdowns with 1,119 receiving yards. Sharpe was one of the best receivers in the NFL and was putting up numbers that were just as impressive as Jerry Rice.
| Year | Sterling Sharpe | Jerry Rice |
| 1992 | 1,461yds 13TDs | 1,201yds 10TDs |
| 1993 | 1,274yds 11TDs | 1,503yds 15TDs |
| 1994 | 1,119yds 18TDs | 1,499yds 13TDs |
| TOTALS | 3,853yds 42TDs | 4,203yds 38TDs |
Former Packers GM Ron Wolf had this to say about Sharpe: “He could do everything you would want a receiver to do. He would go anywhere to catch a ball. He would go in and catch it. Then, he would go out and catch it. He would run hooks, run-outs, run-ups. He was just an exceptional football player.”
Denver Broncos running back Terrell Davis played seven NFL seasons, but only four were full campaigns. Albeit they were a dominant four-season stretch where he rushed for 2,000 yards one year and won two Super Bowls. While Sharpe didn’t get to any Super Bowls, he was a force of nature in his seven years at the NFL level.
Sharpe finished his career with 595 catches, 8,134 yards, and 65 touchdowns. He made the Pro Bowl five times and the All-Pro team three times. Additionally, Sharpe led the NFL in receptions three times and touchdowns twice. The former Packer star was one of the best receivers in his era and deserves to be in the Hall of Fame.
This point was hammered home by HOF inductee Shannon Sharpe, who also happens to be Sterling’s brother:
-LaMarr Fields
Twitter: @raiderway83
Photo: Chad Davis Photography. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.