Calvin Johnson: NFL Single-Season Receiving Record 'Bound to Fall at Some Point'

Pro Football Hall of Fame wide receiver and Detroit Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson is resigned to the idea that his single-season NFL receiving yardage record will be broken one day.

Speaking to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press (h/t NFL.com's Kevin Patra), Johnson said: "I mean, it's bound to fall at some point the way it's going, so it is what it is. I held it down, I don't know even know how long, over a decade now."

The physically imposing wideout known as Megatron made history in 2012 when he racked up 1,964 yards on 122 catches, surpassing the previous single-season yardage record of 1,848 yards set by San Francisco 49ers legend Jerry Rice in 1995.

Johnson added further context to why he believes his record falling is an inevitability, citing today's more offensively focused style and the fact that the regular-season schedule is longer:

"They want more offense, man, so at some point [it's going to happen]. You got to be healthy. You got to play really a full 17 now. … That's the key. You got to be healthy. If you can play 17, guys have put up numbers, you're going to put up numbers. That 17, you get that extra game to put another 150 or 200 [yards]."

When Johnson set the record, the NFL still had a 16-game season, but it has since expanded to 17 games. There is also a clear desire on the league's part to expand it even further to 18 games, which would essentially guarantee the end of Johnson's mark.

Since Johnson set the record, two receivers have come within 100 yards of matching or surpassing him.

In 2015, Julio Jones of the Atlanta Falcons had 1,871 yards in a 16-game season. More recently, Cooper Kupp of the Los Angeles Rams had 1,947 yards in a 17-game campaign in 2021.

Fittingly, Kupp's quarterback was the same one who help Johnson set the record, meaning the top two receiving yardage seasons in NFL history have come courtesy of Matthew Stafford.

Last season alone, the seventh- and ninth-best receiving seasons in NFL history were authored, as Tyreek Hill of the Miami Dolphins had 1,799 yards and CeeDee Lamb of the Dallas Cowboys racked up 1,749 yards.

Based on math alone, Johnson's record figures to suffer the same fate as the rushing record set by O.J. Simpson in 1973.

Simpson was the NFL's first 2,000-yard rusher in a season, racking up 2,003 yards in 14 games with the Buffalo Bills, but seven running backs who played 16-game seasons have since surpassed him, including Eric Dickerson, who still owns the single-season record of 2,105 set with the Rams in 1984.

Although Johnson's mark may not be long for the record books, he will likely always have the distinction of being the single-season receiving yardage record holder in a 16-game campaign.