Greatest WR Tournament – Round 1 – Swann vs. Nickel

by Joe Kuzma (joe_kuzma) on July 30, 2015

Why these two wide receivers were selected for the tournament:

#3 Lynn Swann

Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee (2001)
NFL 1970s All-Decade Team
Pittsburgh Steelers 50th season All-Time Team
Pittsburgh Steelers All-Time Team
2014 Pittsburgh Pro Football Hall of Fame
Super Bowl X MVP
AP First-team All-Pro selection (1978)
2× AP Second-team All-Pro selection (1975, 1977)
4× Super Bowl champion (IX, X, XIII, XIV)
4× AFC champion (1974, 1975, 1978, 1979)
3× Pro Bowl selection (1975, 1977, 1978)
Lead team in receiving 4 straight seasons (1975-1978)

#14 Elbie Nickel

3× Pro Bowl selection (1952, 1953, 1956)
Selected to Steelers All-Time Team
Lead team in receiving 4 seasons
Team record of 62 receptions in 1953 stood for 16 years
Team record 329 career receptions stood until Lynn Swann surpassed it
Career receptions rank 7th in Steelers history

Note: Nickel is often considered a tight end, but this was also at a time where the “tight end” position wasn’t widely defined as it is today, and players were also known as “ends” instead of “wide receivers.” Due to Nickel’s contributions in early Steelers history, he makes the list as a fantastic receiver. (Consideration was given to Heath Miller and Eric Green as well, but I wanted to keep this as much a “receiver” list as possible.)

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