Best WR in franchise history - Analysis

[Goalpost]

Well, I would put Chad 1st, but Chase could pass him eventually if he stays injury free.

Ike had an impact in the game we still see today. The NFL adopted a rule to which his name was attached.

"The Isaac Curtis rule" should not be confused with the "Mel Blount rule", which was a stricter revision of "The Isaac Curtis Rule". Because Isaac Curtis had world-class speed there were no defensive backs who could keep up with him; all of the teams would double and sometimes even triple cover him. In 1973 in his first year, the Bengals won the Central Division and faced the eventual Super Bowl Champions, the Miami Dolphins. Don Shula's defensive backs did not have the speed to cover Curtis and Shula decided that he would have them push, bump, and hold him down the field. After that game, NFL defenses, including the Steelers started doing the same thing to stop Curtis. Paul Brown wanted the rule changed telling the NFL Competition Committee, "What good is it for us to have performers, if they aren't allowed to perform."

"The Isaac Curtis Rule" states that a defender is allowed to block a receiver within five yards of the line of scrimmage. After the initial yards any contact will be considered holding, which is a five-yard penalty and an automatic first down.

"He changed the game," said former Bengals teammate and wide receiver Cris Collinsworth. "There's no question because no one could keep up with him. They put in the five-yard bump rules and all that crazy stuff that it all eventually became".[4]