How good was Larry Fitzgerald Actually?

Larry Fitzgerald had one of the most intriguing careers ever Larry Fitzgerald was one of the greatest wide receivers of all time the star wide receiver grew up in Minneapolis Minnesota from an early age Larry knew exactly what he wanted to do in high school Larry was working for the Minnesota Vikings as a ball boy Larry got to be around some of the all-time great football players like Chris Carter Warren Moon Randy Moss and coach Dennis Green Larry got to see up close what hard work and dedication looks like as a ball boy Larry would go up to players and ask so many football questions that he began to form a relationship with some of the players on the team on Fridays the Vikings players would all get together and go to Larry's football games Larry would go on to have a stellar High School football career he had plans on going to a division 1 college but he didn't have the grades Larry would have to go to Valley Forge Military Academy in order to be eligible after Larry left the military academy he decided to go to the University of Pittsburgh where he played played for the Pittsburgh Panthers football team under coach Walt Harris in his freshman season Fitzgerald was an instant contributor in just his second career game Larry had 10 receptions for 103 yards against number 20 ranked Texas A&M 3 weeks later against Toledo Larry had six receptions for 121 yards and two touchdowns he would finish off his freshman campaign leading the Big East conference with 69 receptions for 1,5 yards and 12 touchdowns the next season would be even better Fitzgerald had a stellar sophomore season in 2003 he began the campaign against Kent State with six receptions for 123 yards and three touchdowns in the 43-3 victory a few weeks later against ruter Larry had eight receptions for a season High 207 yards and two touchdowns in the 42-32 victory Fitzgerald caught a touchdown in an amazing 18 consecutive games to set an NCAA record in total Larry set or tied four NCAA records and eight Big East conference records in addition Larry Fitzgerald was named the 2003 Walter Camp Player of the Year becoming the first sophomore to earn the prestigious honor Larry also won the balinov award as the country's top receiver he was unanimously selected as a first team All-American and was the 2003 Heisman Trophy runner up finishing just 128 points behind Oklahoma quarterback Jason white Larry was so dominant in college that he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in his first year of Eligibility after having an amazing college career Larry would forego his final years at school and enter the NFL draft Larry was already an attractive Prospect based on his size and college stats but he added to that at the NFL combine at 63 225 lbs Scouts were blown away at Larry running a 4440 yard dash and a 38in vertical he demonstr rated a combination of height strength speed and overall athleticism that teams had rarely seen before and because of this Larry was labeled as a can't miss talent and was selected by the Arizona Cardinals with the third overall pick in the 2004 NFL draft coming into his rookie season Larry had a lot of hype surrounding him Larry had some nagging injuries coming into the season but would play every game for the Cardinals totaling 59 receptions for 780 yards and eight touchdowns as a rookie the numbers weren't eye popping but it was a sign of what was to come Larry's second year in the NFL was much more memorable for good and bad reasons Larry would have a great year for himself but the team finished the season 6 and 10 Larry led the NFL with 103 receptions for 1,49 yards and 10 touchdowns which ranked fifth in the NFL and was named to his first Pro Bowl Larry's first allp proo came in his fourth year in the league a year that he will never forget after totaling 96 receptions for 1,431 yards and a league leading 12 touchdowns this was the first time in his career the Cardinals finished with a winning record at 9- s and made the playoffs in his playoff debut Fitzgerald had six receptions for1 yards in a touchdown in a 30 to 24 Victory over the Atlanta Falcons in the Wild Card round in the divisional round against the Carolina Panthers he had eight receptions for 166 yards in the 33-13 victory during the NFC championship for the 2008 NFL season fero tied an NFL record with three touchdown receptions in a playoff game his three touchdown catches occurred all in the first half and he became the first player in NFL history to accomplish that record in a conference Championship game as a result of the 32 to 25 victory over the Eagles Fitzgerald and the Cardinals represented the NFC in the Super Bowl during the Super Bowl Fitzgerald caught two touchdown passes in the game late in the fourth quarter Fitzgerald had a 64 yd touchdown reception from Kurt Warner to go ahead 23 to 20 but the score did not hold up as the Pittsburgh Steelers scored a touchdown with only 35 seconds remaining to go ahead 27 to 23 which was the game's final score Fitzgerald set a single post season record with 546 receiving yards 30 receptions and seven touchdowns surpassing Jerry Rice's record the next season Larry didn't rest on his Laurels coming off a heartbreaking Super Bowl loss he finished out the 2009 regular season with a receiving touchdown in the last three games overall he had 97 receptions for 1,092 yards and a league leading 13 touchdowns as the Cardinals went 10- six and returned to the playoffs in the Wild Card round he had six receptions for 82 receiving yards and two touchdown receptions both of which came in the third quarter against the Green Bay Packers in a 51 to 45 win however the Cardinals were eliminated the next week by the eventual Super Bowl Champion New Orleans Saints by a score of 45 to4 in the divisional round Larry was named to his third consecutive Pro Bowl and fourth in his career coming into the 2011 season Fitzgerald signed an 8-year $120 million contract with the Cardinals tying in with Richard Seymour as the fifth highest paid player in the NFL at that time Fitzgerald had a consistently strong season in 2011 he went over the 100 yard Mark six times including three games where he just missed the 150 yd mark on November 13th in week 10 he had seven receptions for 146 yards and two touchdowns and a 21- 17 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles his efforts against the Eagles garnered him NFC offensive player of the week honors a few weeks later he had seven receptions for 149 yards in a touchdown against the San Francisco 49ers in a 219 victory in week 14 the Cardinals finished with an 8-8 record and missed the playoffs overall Fitzgerald had another Stellar season catching 80 passes for 1,411 yards and eight touchdowns setting a personal record of 17.6 yards per catch Fitzgerald's accomplishments were recognized by an all pro second team selection as well as his sixth Pro Bowl selection he finished ranked as the seventh best player in the league among his peers on the NFL top 100 players list for the next few seasons Larry Fitzgerald was still one of the best wide receivers in football making multiple Pro bowls and playoff trips in 2015 Larry was signed to a new multi-year contract in week two in the 48 to 23 victory over the Chicago Bears Larry had 112 receiving yards and caught three touchdowns that was the first of his NFL career for the 2015 season Larry had 109 catches which was tied for fifth in the NFL with 1,25 yards and nine touchdowns for his accomplishments during the 2015 season fitzerald was selected to the Pro Bowl for the ninth time Fitzgerald helped his quarterback Carson Palmer record his first playoff win with eight catches for a franchise record 176 yards in the NFC divisional round against the Green Bay Packers in a week 16 rematch fitzerald was the Cardinals entire offense in overtime with a 75 yard reception to open overtime and a 5-yard touchdown reception from Palmer two plays later which resulted in a 26 to2 win he was held to four receptions for 30 yards in the NFC championship against the Carolina Panthers and the Cardinal season ended with a 49 to5 loss the next season Larry would continue his consistency by leading the NFL in receptions for the second time with 107 and had 1,023 receiving yards with six receiving touchdowns Larry moved from 11th to third on the all-time career receptions list and ended the season ninth alltime in receiving yards and was named to his 10th Career Pro Bowl while becoming the 10th player to reach 100 career touchdowns going into the 2020 season Larry told his friends and family that this was going to be his last year playing football Larry resigned with the Cardinals on a one-year deal and during the season Larry would be placed on the reserve covid-19 list after testing positive for the virus overall Larry appeared in 13 games in the 2020 season he finished the season with a career low 54 receptions for 409 receiving yards and one touchdown during Larry's career he broke over 40 Arizona Cardinal records Larry would win Walter Peyton NFL Man of the Year award he was an 11-time pro bowler three-time All Pro two time NFL receptions leader and a two-time NFL receiving touchdowns leader Larry was the first wide receiver in NFL history to record at least 150 career receptions against three different franchises he was the youngest player to record a th000 receptions at 32 years old most touchdown receptions in a postseason with seven most receptions in a postseason with 30 and most postseason games with 150 receiving yards Larry would finished his career with 1,432 receptions 17492 receiving yards and 121 touchdowns making him one of the greatest wide receivers in NFL history thanks for watching