The NFL has produced its share of milestones over the years, as the greats of the sport continue to climb their way up the all-time list. Some of these players are still in the early stages of their careers, which makes these milestones even more impressive.
Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, and Justin Herbert are rewriting the record books for quarterbacks (with Joe Burrow on the verge of joining them). Nick Chubb and Ezekiel Elliott have some impressive marks for running backs, while Tyreek Hill and Justin Jefferson lead a new era of wide receivers that set new milestones each year.
On the defensive side of the ball, Von Miller continues to climb the rankings of the all-time greats, while T.J. Watt is entering the conversation of the greatest pass rushers ever. Darius Leonard continues to set a new standard for linebackers after a hot start to his career.
Here are some players that are on the verge of milestones to watch out for in 2022 as training camp gets underway across the league.
Patrick Mahomes
- Needs 4,500 passing yards and 35 touchdown passes to become the fourth quarterback ever with four career seasons of those totals, joining Tom Brady (five), Drew Brees (four) and Peyton Manning (four).
- Needs 35 touchdown passes to become the fifth quarterback ever with four career seasons with at least 35 touchdown passes, joining Tom Brady (six), Aaron Rodgers (six), Drew Brees (four) and Peyton Manning (four).
- Needs 2,264 passing yards in his first 12 starts to surpass Matthew Stafford (21,254) for the most passing yards ever by a player in his first 75 career starts. Mahomes has 18,991 passing yards in his career.
- Needs 23 touchdown passes in his first 12 starts to surpass Dan Marino (173) for the most ever by a player in his first 75 career starts. Mahomes is at 151 career touchdown passes.
Travis Kelce
- Needs 1,000 receiving yards to become the first tight end in NFL history with seven seasons of at least 1,000 receiving yards. Kelce has at least 1,000 receiving yards in each of the past six seasons, the most in NFL history for a tight end.
- Needs 103 receptions to surpass Jason Witten (806) for the most receptions by a tight end in his first 10 seasons in NFL history.
- Needs 994 receiving yards to become the fifth tight end in NFL history with at least 10,000 career receiving yards, joining Tony Gonzalez (15,127), Jason Witten (13,046), Antonio Gates (11,841) and Shannon Sharpe (10,060).
Lamar Jackson
- Needs 827 rushing yards to become the fifth quarterback with at least 4,500 career rushing yards, joining Michael Vick (6,109 rushing yards), Cam Newton (5,628), Randall Cunningham (4,928) and Russell Wilson (4,689). Jackson has 3,673 rushing yards as he enters his fifth season.
- Needs one game with at least 100 rushing yards to surpass Michael Vick (10 ) for the most such games by a quarterback all-time. Jackson has 10 career 100-yard rushing games.
Justin Herbert
- Needs 30 touchdown passes to surpass Dan Marino (98) for the most by a player through his first three seasons in NFL history.
- Needs 30 touchdown passes to become the first player ever to record at least 30 touchdown passes in each of his first three seasons.
- Needs 3,608 passing yards to surpass Andrew Luck (12,957) for the most by a player through his first three seasons in NFL history. Herbert has 9,350 passing yards in his first two seasons.
- Needs 4,000 passing yards to become the first player ever to record at least 4,000 passing yards in each of his first three seasons.
Tyreek Hill
- Needs six touchdown catches to become the fifth player in NFL history to record at least six touchdown receptions in each of his first seven seasons, joining Larry Fitzgerald, Marvin Harrison, Don Hutson and Randy Moss.
- Needs seven touchdowns to join Randy Moss as the only wide receivers in NFL history with at least seven touchdowns in each of their first seven seasons.
Justin Jefferson
- Needs 1,148 receiving yards to surpass Randy Moss (4,163) for the most receiving yards by a player through his first three seasons in NFL history. Jefferson has 3,016 receiving yards in his first two seasons.
- Needs 1,400 receiving yards to become the first player ever to accomplish the feat in each of his first three seasons.
T.J. Watt
- Needs nine sacks to surpass DeMarcus Ware (80) for the second-most sacks by a player in his first six NFL seasons (since sacks became an official stat in 1982). Only Reggie White (95) has more. Watt has 72 career sacks.
- Needs 13 sacks to become the first player since 1982 to record at least 13 sacks in five consecutive seasons.
- Needs 15 sacks to join Reggie White (1986-1988) as the only players since 1982 to record at least 15 sacks in three consecutive NFL seasons.
- Needs 20 sacks to become the first player since 1982 to record at least 20 sacks in consecutive seasons
Von Miller
- Needs 14.5 sacks to become the fifth player since 1982 with at least 130 sacks in his first 12 NFL seasons, joining Reggie White (165.5), Bruce Smith (140), DeMarcus Ware (138.5) and Jared Allen (136). Miller has 115.5 sacks in his career.
Aaron Donald
- Needs 12 sacks to become the fourth player since 1982 with at least 110 sacks in his first nine NFL seasons, joining Reggie White (137), Jared Allen (117) and DeMarcus Ware (117). Donald has 98 sacks in his first eight seasons.
- Needs 12 sacks to become the second player since 1982 with at least 12 sacks in five consecutive seasons, joining Lawrence Taylor (1985-1989).
- Needs eight sacks to become the third player since 1982 with at least eight sacks in each of his first nine NFL seasons, joining Derrick Thomas (first 10 seasons) and Reggie White (14 seasons).
Josh Allen
- Needs 4,000 passing yards and 35 touchdown passes to join Patrick Mahomes as the only quarterbacks with at least 4,000 passing yards and 35 touchdown passes in three of their first five seasons.
- Needs five rushing touchdowns to join Cam Newton (seven straight seasons from 2011-2017) as the only quarterbacks with at least five rushing touchdowns in five consecutive seasons.
Mark Andrews
- Needs 1,034 receiving yards to become the third tight end with at least 4,500 receiving yards in his first five seasons, joining Jimmy Graham (4,752) and Kellen Winslow Sr. (4,513). Andrews has 3,466 career receiving yards.
- Needs seven receiving touchdowns to become the third tight end with at least seven touchdown receptions in four consecutive seasons, joining Antonio Gates (nine consecutive seasons from 2004-2012) and Jimmy Graham (four from 2011-2014).
Tom Brady
- Needs at least 5,000 passing yards to join Drew Brees (2011-2013) as the only players in NFL history to record 5,000 passing yards in consecutive seasons and can join Brees (five seasons) as the only players with at least 5,000 passing yards in three different seasons.
- Needs at least 4,000 passing yards to tie Peyton Manning (14 seasons) for the most such seasons in NFL history.
- Needs 2,431 passing yards to become the first player in NFL history with 100,000 career passing yards, including the postseason. Brady enters the season with 97,569 career passing yards.
- Needs at least 40 touchdown passes to become the first player in NFL history to record 40 touchdown passes in three consecutive seasons and can become the first player with at least 40 touchdown passes in four different seasons.
- Needs at least 30 touchdown passes to tie Drew Brees (10 seasons) for the most such seasons in NFL history.
- Needs 25 touchdown passes to surpass Peyton Manning (16 seasons) for the most such seasons in NFL history
Joe Burrow
- Needs 4,500 passing yards to become the first player in NFL history to record at least 4,500 passing yards in two of his first three seasons.
- Needs nine games with at least 300 passing yards to surpass Andrew Luck (19) for the most such games by a player in his first three seasons in NFL history.
Ja’Marr Chase
- Needs 1,562 receiving yards to surpass Justin Jefferson (3,016) for the most receiving yards by a player through his first two seasons in NFL history.
- Needs 1,250 receiving yards to join Odell Beckham Jr., Justin Jefferson and Randy Moss as the only players to accomplish the feat in each of their first two seasons in NFL history.
Mike Evans
- Needs 1,000 receiving yards to become the first player with at least 1,000 receiving yards in each of his first nine seasons in NFL history and can join Jerry Rice (11 seasons, 1986-1996) and Tim Brown (nine, 1993-2001) as the only players with at least 1,000 receiving yards in nine consecutive seasons.
- Needs 13 touchdown receptions to become the fourth player in NFL history with at least 13 touchdown receptions in three consecutive seasons, joining Lance Alworth (1964-1966), Terrell Owens (2000-2002) and Jerry Rice (1989-1991, 1993-1995)
Jonathan Taylor
- Needs 16 touchdowns to surpass Barry Sanders (47) for the most-ever by a player in his first three seasons. Taylor has 32 career touchdowns.
- Needs eight games with at least 100 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown to surpass Earl Campbell (19 games) and Eric Dickerson (19) for the most such games by a player in his first three seasons in NFL history. Taylor has 12 career games with at least 100 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown.
Russell Wilson
- Needs 42 touchdown passes to surpass Peyton Manning (333) for the most by a player in his first 11 seasons in NFL history. Wilson has 292 career touchdown passes.
- Needs 13 wins to surpass Tom Brady (125) for the most wins, including the postseason, by a starting quarterback in his first 11 seasons. Wilson has won 113 starts since 2012.
Aaron Rodgers
- Needs 40 touchdown passes to become the first player ever with at least 40 touchdown passes in four different seasons.
- Needs 35 touchdown passes to become the first player ever with at least 35 touchdown passes in seven different seasons.
- Winning MVP would give him an NFL record five MVP awards.
Ezekiel Elliott
- Needs at least 1,250 scrimmage yards and eight touchdowns to join LaDainian Tomlinson as the only players to accomplish the feat in each of their first seven seasons in NFL history.
Darius Leonard
- Needs four interceptions to become the third linebacker in the Super Bowl era with at least 15 in his first five seasons, joining Jack Ham (17) and Stan White (16). Leonard has 11 career interceptions in his first four years.
