Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 30 greatest players in franchise history

Kevin House was mentioned earlier as second all-time in team history for receiving yards, well Mark Carrier is the only man to top him. Carrier’s record is soon to be broken by Mike Evans, but for now, he leads the franchise with 5,018 receiving yards. He is also second all-time in receptions with 321, only trailing the great James Wilder.

Carrier spent a total of six seasons with the Bucs during his remarkable 12-year NFL career. In those six seasons, Carrier tore up opposing defenses with his electric speed, which he relied upon as he was barely 6-feet tall. Regardless of how he did it, Carrier is arguably the best receiver in franchise history, despite being on some atrocious teams that struggled to score points.

A third-round draft pick out of Nicholls State, Carrier wasn’t a huge recruit out of college, instead more of a high-upside pick in the middle rounds. As it turns out, the Buccaneers struck gold. Let’s take a look at some of the stats Carrier compiled.

In 1989, Carrier set a single-season receiving yards record with a whopping 1,422 yards on 86 receptions. Those 86 receptions are the third-highest mark for a single season as well, only behind Keyshawn Johnson and Mike Evans. Carrier also holds the single-season record for most yards per game with 88.9, also in that 1989 season. I think it’s pretty clear, but Carrier sure was excellent at catching the football.