No wide receiver ever had a greater year in the NFL than Randy Moss did in 2007. He set a record with 23 touchdown catches in working with Tom Brady to spearhead what looked to be the best NFL team that ever took the field ... well, until the Super Bowl.

The sleek 6-foot-4, 210-pounder also led the league in TD catches ... obviously the most important stat for a receiver, and many of them were spectacular leaping grabs ... in 1998, 2000 and 2003, establishing himself as the NFL's most powerful big-play threat ... when he felt like it, anyway.

But Moss isn't the greatest NFL wide receiver of all time. I rank him second. Jerry Rice is still the best ... not only for individual brilliance but long-time consistency. He is the career leader in TD catches (197), receptions (1,549) and yardage (22,895) ... those are just a few among the many he holds ... as great as Moss is, no player has dominated his position like Rice.

The rest of my top 10:

3 -- Terrell Owens. Forget (if you can) his antics off the field ... on the field, he's a master. He's third on the all-time TD reception list with 129 and with his next two this season, he will vault into second place behind Rice. Owens holds the NFL record for most receptions in a game (20 for San Francisco vs. Chicago in 2000). Defenses have to account for him on every play.

4 -- Marvin Harrison. Chicken or the egg ... did Peyton Manning make him great or did he help Manning look great? We'd say both. Until injured in 2007, he enjoyed 11 seasons in a row of 50 or more catches (tied for third all-time) and he holds the NFL record for most receptions in a season (143 in 2002).

5 -- Michael Irvin. A big part of the Cowboys' dynasty of the 1990s, Irvin was known both for his ability to make tough catches down the middle and to break long gainers. He caught 75 or more passes five seasons in a row.

6 -- Paul Warfield. You won't find Warfield high on the all-time receiving lists ... he was quality, not quantity, as a human guided missile in the 1960s for the Browns and Dolphins. He averaged an astounding 20.1 yards per reception over his career and of his 427 catches, 85 went for TDs.

7 -- Raymond Berry. He's the epitome of a player who used clever moves and grit to atone for a lack of speed. Not even a starter until his third year with the (Baltimore) Colts, he proceeded to lead the NFL in receptions three years in a row. In the fabled 23-17 overtime victory over the Giants for the 1958 title, the game said to have put the NFL on the map, he snagged 12 passes for 194 yards and a TD. He needed special shoes because one leg was shorter than the other.

8 -- Don Hutson. The first great pro receiver back in the 1930s and '40s for Green Bay, he amazingly still holds records for most years leading the NFL in receptions (eight), reception yards (seven) and reception touchdowns (nine). In fact, he caught an 83-yard TD strike on his first play in the NFL ... although all of this, of course, was against lesser competition than today. Could he play now? Since he was a 9.8 sprinter and a master of fakes and changing speeds, why not?

9 -- Tim Brown. The Raiders' career leader in games played, he ranks second all-time in the NFL in yards gained (14,934) and third in receptions (1,094) . He also led the league in kickoff returning and punt returning in separate seasons.

10 -- Bob Hayes. Of all the trackmen who have tried football, Hayes is undoubtedly the most successful. He used his 9.1 speed in the 100 for the Cowboys to haul in 71 TD catches, returned punts for another three and forced defenses into zone coverage.

Among today's young wideouts, a pair of Johnsons ... Andre of the Texans and Calvin of the Lions ... could join this list someday if they could only get a big-time QB to throw to them. Cleveland's Braylon Edwards has the potential, too. Cris Carter (second all-time to Rice with 1,101 receptions), Isaac Bruce (third all-time in yards gained, and he could add more this year), Lance Alworth (holds record for most 200-yard receiving games with five), Harold Carmichael (at 6-8, hard to miss), Lynn Swann (go-to guy for the Steelers' powerhouses of the '70s) and Otis Taylor (at 6-3, 215 but with 4.5 speed, one of the first big guys to play WR) rank as our honorable mentions.