Who Does Larry Fitzgerald Believe Is the BEST WR in the NFL?

Larry Fitzgerald opened his visit to The Rich Eisen Show by twisting the knife. "Did you get a chance to catch that Iowa game last week?" he asked, fully aware that Rich had just spent an entire segment wearing George Kittle's actual college helmet after losing a bet on Michigan.

"I kind of feel like it's a sorry, not sorry situation," Rich said. Fitzgerald did not argue.

What followed was a wide tour through his Hall of Fame weekend, the state of NFL receivers, the pressure on Marvin Harrison Jr., and a college star he can only describe one way. He was there on behalf of DraftKings and the annual Pink'Em campaign, which has raised more than $700,000 for the Larry Fitzgerald Foundation since 2019 to fight breast cancer, the disease that took his mother's life in 2003. "It's my life mission to raise awareness," he said.

Rich was the emcee at the Friday night jacket dinner, so he had a front-row seat as Fitzgerald took his sweet time walking through the line of Hall of Famers. Fitzgerald apologized for that on air. His father spent 45 years in journalism, which meant Larry grew up around Thurman Thomas, Bruce Smith, Jim Kelly and Dan Marino. He wanted to thank all of them. "I could hear you up there just trying to extend it and extend it," he told Rich. "I was like, 'I'm sorry, Rich.'"

He chose Cris Carter to put the gold jacket on him, even with Kurt Warner having been "a huge part of me getting to that place." Fitzgerald has known Carter since he was 10 years old, back when he was a Vikings ball boy. He could call him on the phone, stayed at his house in Florida while training, and watched tape with him.

So what was the highlight? "The very best part of that whole weekend was me during the speech letting him know that my hands were better than his and him not being able to have any rebuttal."

Rich noted that Carter did, in fact, get his rebuttal on this show the following Monday, still rattled. "You got in his kitchen," Rich said. "I love doing that to him," Fitzgerald replied.

Fitzgerald knew plenty of Hall of Famers already, from Ronnie Lott to Darrell Green. The thrill was the older guys. He listed Willie Lanier, Bobby Bell, Larry Csonka, John Riggins, Paul Warfield and Mean Joe Greene. "We stand on their shoulders," he said.

He was struck by who they became off the field: Lanier running his own stock brokerage firm, Ron Mix working as an attorney. He also met Roger Craig for the first time, a man who waited 29 years for his call. Fitzgerald credited Craig with creating the template for the modern three-down back, the type of player Alvin Kamara, Saquon Barkley and Christian McCaffrey are now. "He was 30 years before his time," Fitzgerald said.

The Pitt pipeline was strong, too. He spoke about Jimbo Covert, Tony Dorsett, Darrelle Revis, the late Chris Doleman and Russ Grimm, who coached his offensive line in Arizona for six years. He said he is looking forward to seeing Aaron Donald get in, hopes Shady McCoy follows, and is "campaigning and fighting hard" for Ruben Brown.

That brought Rich to the present, and to what Donald is doing now. Did Fitzgerald ever get a call to suit up again? "A year later, I got a few calls," he said. "But three, absolutely not."

He was not surprised Donald could pull it off. "Aaron Donald is obviously a unicorn," Fitzgerald said, pointing out that even last year Jared Verse went to work out with him and Donald outlifted and outworked him while two years removed from the game. "He's a workout fanatic."

Fitzgerald acknowledged Donald has been on a pitch count through the first couple of weeks, but he loves seeing him happy and doing what he loves. "I think he's going to be a real force to be dealt with," he said. "When they get Myles Garrett back, they're going to be a problem. It's going to be a real problem."

He was just as high on Davante Adams, who Rich said is coming off what might be the best back-to-back weeks of his career. Fitzgerald pointed to the shape Adams keeps himself in, the work of Matthew Stafford and Sean McVay, and the moment Puka gets back. "This offense is going to be really, really special," he said.

Rich asked the question straight: who is the best wide receiver in the league right now?

Fitzgerald admitted it is hard to pick one, then picked one. "If I take everything in consideration, the talent that this young man has, Ja'Marr Chase," he said.

His case was about the whole operation, not just the player. Chase has a top-10 receiver in Tee Higgins on the other side, a top-five quarterback in Joe Burrow, and a coach in Zac Taylor who "understands how to just design plays to get these guys freed up."

He did not dismiss Justin Jefferson. He simply pointed to Jefferson's circumstances: Kyler has been banged up, the quarterback spot has been in and out, and the team traded JJ McCarthy. "I know Kyler's super talented," Fitzgerald said, "but he just hasn't had that consistency the same way that Ja'Marr has had. And I think that really kind of puts him over the top right now."

It is a receiver's answer. Talent is the entry fee. Stability at quarterback and a play caller who schemes you open is what separates the very top of the position.

Three weeks into the season, there is already talk about whether Harrison fits in Arizona and whether teams should be calling about him. Fitzgerald did not hesitate.

"Put the blinders on. Block out the outside noise. Continue to work on your craft."

He has watched the tape. "He has gotten better every single year," he said. "Unfortunately, sometimes the numbers don't support somebody's growth. Like, there is growth there."

The comparison to his father is the part that bothers Fitzgerald most. Marvin Harrison Sr. is "one of the greatest wide receivers, one of the greatest football players to ever play," he said, adding that it hurts him to say that about a Syracuse guy. "To be compared to that is very difficult. And it's unfair, to be honest with you."

Then he offered his own résumé as perspective. "I look back to my rookie campaign. I was terrible. He was way better his rookie year than I was as a rookie." He likes the system and a quarterback who "can spin it" and throws on time, and he hopes Harrison gets going against a Giants team decimated by injuries.

Rich pointed out the extra layer on Harrison: the receiver pipeline from his school, with JSN as the reigning offensive player of the year, Olave and Garrett Wilson producing, and Terry McLaurin as the OG. And now there is Jeremiah Smith.

Fitzgerald has been busy watching his son at Notre Dame, but he has seen enough. "Oh my goodness. He's an absolute mutant," he said.

His comparison is Calvin Johnson. "Calvin Johnson was the same 6'4", 230 pounds. He could run every single route in the route tree. He was incredibly difficult to tackle." Both, he said, are physical freaks with a killer mindset.

He brought up Smith scoring four touchdowns last week, and one moment in particular stuck with him. "I remember seeing the defensive back talking to him and he just completely broke their will."

His forecast was simple. "He's going to take the league by storm when he gets in there next year."

Fitzgerald's son Devin has played in three of Notre Dame's first four games, contributing on special teams and offense. "This is a team that can compete for a national championship," Fitzgerald said, and nothing gets handed out. His son loves playing for coach Freeman.

Rich said he had asked who was the bigger helicopter dad, Larry or Jerome Bettis. The verdict was neither. Larry, he was told, is just a chill dad. Fitzgerald explained that he and Bettis talk about it all the time. "There's already an inherent pressure on our boys," he said. "We cast somewhat of a shadow." The plan is to give them space and be there when asked.

Before signing off, Fitzgerald pointed people to draftkings.com to join the Pink'Em campaign, free NFL pick'em pools throughout October, with a goal of another $100,000 this month.

And for the record, when Fitzgerald asked Rich who took the longest on that Hall of Fame walk, the room had an answer ready: Ray Lewis took way longer. Rich agreed. Larry, he insisted, was merely too popular.