Calvin Johnson set the NFL’s single-season receiving yards record with 1,964 yards in 2012, and it has stood for 14 years. Several receivers have threatened it without getting there.
Entering the 2026 season, the Hall of Famer now sees a realistic challenger wearing No. 12 for the Los Angeles Rams and throwing the challenge back in Johnson’s direction.
Puka Nacua Legal Storm Grows as Assault Lawsuit Reaches Malibu Facility (Credit: Steven Bisig-Imagn Images)
Puka Nacua arrived in the NFL as a fifth-round pick out of BYU in 2023 and immediately set rookie records for receptions and receiving yards in a single season with 1,486. In 2025, Nacua earned first-team All-Pro honors, leading the NFL with 129 receptions and posting 1,715 receiving yards with 10 touchdowns. He led the league in catches and ranked second in receiving yards. The Rams went 13-4 and reached the NFC Championship before losing to the Seattle Seahawks.
Johnson addressed the record question directly in a recent interview. He pointed to Matthew Stafford as the decisive factor. “He still has Matthew Stafford, so I think he’s got a shot,” Calvin Johnson said. “If he stays healthy, that dude’s a killer out there,” Johnson added that seeing his record broken would not sting. “That would be kind of dope,” he said.
Nacua’s final three games of 2025 showed what a record-breaking pace could look like. He posted 573 receiving yards across Weeks 14, 15, and 16, including a 225-yard, two-touchdown performance at Seattle. Stafford described what makes Nacua consistently dangerous. “He runs great routes and plays really tough with and without the football,” Stafford said. “He is physical at the catch point.”
Over the full 2025 season, Nacua ranked first in the NFL in receptions with 129 and second in receiving yards with 1,715. His PFF receiving grade of 96.2 ranked first among all qualified receivers. Nacua would need 250 more yards than his 2025 total to break the record – roughly 14.7 extra yards per game over a 17-game season.
Matthew Stafford’s Historic Connection to Single-Season Receiving Records
Johnson’s connection to Stafford is the thread that runs through the entire conversation. Stafford was Johnson’s quarterback during the 2012 Lions season when the record was set. He then quarterbacked Cooper Kupp to 1,947 yards in 2021 with the Rams, the second-highest single-season total in NFL history. Nacua’s 1,715 in 2025 is now the fourth-highest single-season total ever. Stafford has been the quarterback for three of the top five single-season receiving yard totals in NFL history (Johnson in 2012, Kupp in 2021, and now Nacua in 2025).
One variable Nacua’s 2026 case depends on is Kupp’s health. When both receivers are active and producing, targets get split. Kupp has played at least 16 games in only four of his nine NFL seasons. In the years he has stayed healthy, Nacua’s volume has stayed high regardless. The Rams averaged 272 passing yards per game in 2025, which is enough volume to support two high-usage receivers if the offense performs as expected.
Durability remains the biggest question mark Johnson highlighted for Nacua. Concerns about Nacua’s long-term health entering 2026 have been documented, including a knee issue that emerged late in the 2025 playoffs. He has played in all 17 games in two of his three seasons. His career receiving total sits at 4,191 yards through the end of the 2025 season, putting him on pace to become one of the fastest players ever to reach 5,000 career receiving yards.
Johnson’s record has survived serious threats before. Jerry Rice holds the all-time career marks but never eclipsed 1,964 in a single year. Nacua enters 2026 as a first-team All-Pro at 25 years old in his third NFL season, playing for the same quarterback who was on the field the last time anyone came close.
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