Randy Moss – 2007, 2008, 2009
The New England Patriots acquired Randy Moss in 2007 in exchange for a fourth-round draft pick … and it turned out to be a steal for the Patriots.
Moss — who was already considered to be one of the greatest wide receivers ever — increased his legendary status even more when he joined forces with quarterback Tom Brady in New England. The duo connected for 23 touchdowns in their first year together, which is the most ever in a single season.
Moss eclipsed 1,000 receiving yards in three of the four years he was on the team: 2007 (98 receptions for 1,493 yards), 2008 (69 receptions for 1,008 yards), 2009 (83 receptions for 1,264 yards).
It’s worth mentioning that Moss’ production impressively was able to remain consistent considering that he was teammates with Wes Welker — who has the most receptions in franchise history — and in 2008 when Brady was out for the season with a knee injury and backup quarterback Matt Cassell took over.
It’s fair to say that Moss was the best athlete every time he was on the field. He finished his Patriots career with 259 receptions (15th all-time in franchise history) for 3,904 yards (12th all-time in franchise history), and scored 50 touchdowns (tied for third all-time in franchise history with Ben Coates).
Brady and Moss were on pace to become the best quarterback-receiver duo in the history of the NFL — which is more impressive as it happened later on in both of their careers — and it makes you wonder what could have been had they been together for a few more years.
Troy Brown – 2001
The New England Patriots drafted Troy Brown in the eighth round of the 1993 NFL Draft. Brown spent his entire 15-year career playing with the Patriots and helped the franchise win three Super Bowls in four attempts.
Brown was primarily used as a return specialist throughout his career and eventually became one of the team’s starting wide receivers in 2000. Brown’s only 1,000-yard season came in 2001 when he led the Patriots by catching 101 passes for 1,199 yards en route to bringing back the first Super Bowl championship to New England.
It’s worth mentioning that Brown was the most complete and well-rounded football player during his time due to his versatility, Brown often found himself playing defensive cornerback for the Patriots and even led the team in interceptions at one time.
Brown has totaled 557 receptions (third all-time in franchise history) for 6,366 yards (fifth all-time in franchise history) and 31 receiving touchdowns (10th all-time in franchise history) in 192 games (third all-time in franchise history).
Brown was inducted into the Patriots Hall of Fame in 2012.