| No. 86 | |||||||||||
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| Position | Wide receiver | ||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||
| Born | (1955-02-17)February 17, 1955 (age 70) Easley, South Carolina, U.S. | ||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | ||||||||||
| Weight | 181 lb (82 kg) | ||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||
| High school | Easley | ||||||||||
| College | Tennessee | ||||||||||
| NFL draft | 1977: 1st round, 25th overall pick | ||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||
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Stanley Douglas Morgan (born February 17, 1955) is an American former professionalfootball player who was awide receiver in theNational Football League (NFL) for theNew England Patriots andIndianapolis Colts.[1] A "deep threat" receiver, he holds the NFL record (among receivers with at least 500 catches) with 19.2 yards per catch, and also holds the Patriots team record for total receiving yards in a career.[2]
A four-timePro Bowl selection and two-timeAll-Pro, he was selected to the New England Patriots team Hall of Fame, the team's highest honor, in 2007. Morgan was named to the New England Patriots 1970s and 1980s All Decade Teams.[3]
In 2021, theProfessional Football Researchers Association named Morgan to the PFRA Hall of Very Good Class of 2021.[4]
Morgan played high school football atEasley High School inEasley,South Carolina.[5] In 1972, his team won a state championship.[6]
Morgan went on to play college football for theUniversity of Tennessee,[7] where he was an outstanding multi-position player, appearing in all 46 Volunteers games in his four-year career.[8] As a freshman in 1973, he was used primarily as a wide receiver with 22 receptions for 522 yards and four touchdowns.[9] In his breakthrough sophomore season, he had 128 rushes for 723 yards and 11 touchdowns, 10 catches for 234 and two touchdowns, and 29 punt returns including one touchdown, for an SEC-leading 84 points.[10] He made the All-SEC team in1974 as a wide receiver (UPI) and a running back (AP2).[11][12] His junior year, Morgan was used as a running back (133 carries for 809 yards and 8 touchdowns) and also a kick returner.[13] In a game againstMaryland he scored three touchdowns, including a 50-yard run and 70-yard punt return.[14] He also became the first Volunteer to rush for 200 yards in a game with 201 againstHawaii.[15] His senior year, he balanced his time more, finishing second on the team in both rushing (90 carries for 388 yards and 9 touchdowns toBobby Emmons' 462) and receiving (14 catches for 317 yards and 2 touchdowns toLarry Seivers 737). He had 201 yards receiving againstTCU, the second most at the time.[16] His 11 touchdowns that season placed Morgan second in the SEC toLSU'sTerry Robiskie, and earned him1976 All-SEC honors as a running back (AP) and receiver (UPI).[17]
| Tennessee Volunteers career statistics | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | GP | Rushing | Receiving | Kickoff Ret. | Punt Ret. | Totals[10] | |||||||||||||
| Att | Yds | Avg | TD | Rec | Yds | Avg | TD | Ret | Yds | TD | Ret | Yds | TD | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | ||
| 1973 | 11 | 2 | 32 | 16.0 | 0 | 22 | 511 | 23.2 | 4 | 14 | 309 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 38 | 852 | 22.4 | 4 |
| 1974 | 12 | 128 | 723 | 5.6 | 11 | 10 | 234 | 23.4 | 2 | — | 255 | 0 | 29 | 375 | 1 | — | 1,587 | — | 14 |
| 1975 | 12 | 133 | 809 | 6.1 | 8 | 2 | 13 | 6.5 | 0 | — | 63 | 0 | 20 | 284 | 2 | — | 1,169 | — | 10 |
| 1976 | 11 | 90 | 388 | 4.3 | 9 | 14 | 317 | 22.6 | 2 | 6 | 136 | 0 | 25 | 193 | 0 | 135 | 1,034 | 7.7 | 11 |
| Career | 46 | 353 | 1,952 | 5.5 | 28 | 48 | 1,075 | 22.4 | 8 | 37 | 763 | 0 | 74 | 852 | 3 | 512 | 4,642 | 9.1 | 39 |
He holds the all-purpose yards record for the University of Tennessee, which stands at 4,642, and led Tennessee in that category all four seasons. He shares the modern record for career touchdowns with 39,[10][18] his 28 rushing touchdowns is third all-time,[19] and his 1,615 combined return yards is 5th. Morgan was inducted into the University of Tennessee Hall of Fame in 2000.[10]
Morgan was selected by theNew England Patriots in the first round of the1977 NFL draft (25th overall).[20] Despite being used primarily as a running back after his freshman year, Morgan's exceptional speed helped him transition back to wide receiver. In his rookie season, he had 21 receptions for 443 yards and three touchdowns.[21] In the third quarter of a Week 12 game against the Baltimore Colts in the 1979 season, he had an 80-yard punt return for a touchdown in the 50–21 win.[22] He averaged over 20 yards per reception his first six seasons, with a career-high and franchise-record 24.1 yards per reception in1978. He led the NFL in yards per reception in1979,1980 and1981, and ended his career with the three best seasons in that category for a Patriots receiver (and six of the top 12).[23] In a 1978 game against theBaltimore Colts, Morgan had five receptions for a franchise-record 170 yards;[24] he broke his own record in 1981 against theMiami Dolphins with five receptions for 182 yards, a mark that stood for 17 years.[25]
Morgan led the NFL in receiving touchdowns in 1979 with a then-franchise record 12.[26][27] Morgan topped 1,000 receiving yards a then franchise-record three times (1979,1981 &1986).[28] His best season as a Patriot was 1986 when he caught 84 passes for a then-franchise-record 1,491 yards and 10 touchdowns, leading the Patriots to theAFC East title.[27][29] Morgan appeared in fourPro Bowls (1979,1980,1986 &1987) and was selected 2nd Team All-Pro in 1980 and 1986.[30][31][32] Morgan was a member of the1985 AFC Champion New England Patriots, and caught six passes for 51 yards inSuper Bowl XX, a 46–10 loss to the Chicago Bears.[33] In Week 3 of the 1986 season, Morgan had seven receptions for 161 yards and a career-high three touchdowns in a 38–31 loss to the Seattle Seahawks.[34] In the following season'sDivisional Round, he had three receptions for 100 yards and two touchdowns in a 22–17 loss to the Denver Broncos.[35] After 13 seasons with New England, he was signed by theIndianapolis where he played just one season.[36] He finished his final NFL season with 23 receptions for 364 yards and five touchdowns.[37] At the time, he held the franchise record in every receiving category with 534 catches (now fourth toWes Welker, Julian Edelman andTroy Brown) for 10,352 yards (still the franchise record) and 67 touchdowns. (now second toRob Gronkowski).[2] He also has the franchise record with 38 games with 100+ receiving yards, 10,479 yards from scrimmage, and is second toKevin Faulk with 11,471 all-purpose yards. He finished his career with 557 receptions for 10,716 yards (19.2 yards per catch) and 72 touchdowns (solidly in the all-time NFL top 100 in all four categories), along with 127 rushing yards and 989 combined return yards.[1]
Morgan was inducted into the New England Patriots Hall of Fame in 2007.[38]
In 2021,The Athletic named him the best #25 pick since theAFL-NFL merger, and noted that many of his teammates were rankled by his absence from thePro Football Hall of Fame despite having more receiving yards and receiving touchdowns than many of his contemporaries.[39]
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| NFL record | |
| Led the league | |
| Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | GP | Receiving | Rushing | Punt Ret. | Kickoff Ret. | Total Yds | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Att | Yds | TD | Ret | Yds | TD | Ret | Yds | TD | ||||
| 1977 | NE | 14 | 21 | 443 | 21.1 | 64 | 3 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 16 | 220 | 0 | — | — | — | 673 |
| 1978 | NE | 16 | 34 | 820 | 24.1 | 75 | 5 | 2 | 11 | 0 | 32 | 335 | 0 | 1 | 17 | 0 | 1,183 |
| 1979 | NE | 16 | 44 | 1,002 | 22.8 | 63 | 12 | 7 | 39 | 0 | 29 | 289 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 0 | 1,342 |
| 1980 | NE | 16 | 45 | 991 | 22.0 | 71 | 6 | 4 | 36 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1,027 |
| 1981 | NE | 13 | 44 | 1,029 | 23.4 | 76 | 6 | 2 | 21 | 0 | 15 | 116 | 0 | — | — | — | 1,166 |
| 1982 | NE | 9 | 28 | 584 | 20.9 | 75 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 587 |
| 1983 | NE | 16 | 58 | 863 | 14.9 | 50 | 2 | 1 | 13 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 876 |
| 1984 | NE | 13 | 38 | 709 | 18.7 | 76 | 5 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 709 |
| 1985 | NE | 15 | 39 | 760 | 19.5 | 50 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 760 |
| 1986 | NE | 16 | 84 | 1,491 | 17.8 | 44 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1,491 |
| 1987 | NE | 10 | 40 | 672 | 16.8 | 45 | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 672 |
| 1988 | NE | 16 | 31 | 502 | 16.2 | 32 | 4 | 1 | -6 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 496 |
| 1989 | NE | 10 | 28 | 486 | 17.4 | 55 | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 486 |
| 1990 | IND | 16 | 23 | 364 | 15.8 | 42 | 5 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 364 |
| Career | 196 | 557 | 10,716 | 19.2 | 76 | 72 | 21 | 127 | 0 | 92 | 960 | 1 | 2 | 29 | 0 | 11,832 | |
Morgan was wide receivers coach for theXFL'sMemphis Maniax.[40][41]
NOTE: There is disagreement between the Vols Media Guide and this reference as to the position for which Morgan earned this honor.