Moss has 574 catches and would have to average 100 catches a year for the next 10 years to catch Rice. That means he would have to play until he was 38. Harrison has 845 catches and he's 33. To catch Rice, he would have to average 101 catches a year the next seven years and retire at the age of 40. Owens, who has 669 catches would have to average 100 receptions for close to nine seasons to get there.

Sure, it caused him to fall to the 16th pick in the 1985 draft, but things even out once a player enters the NFL. Rice was a 6-2 receiver who supposedly had 4.7 speed in the 40-yard dash. Obviously, dropping him down in the draft because of that was an oversight. He turned out to be the greatest receiver of all time and he can thank those initial scouting reports for not only making him work harder but for allowing him to stay in the league longer.

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His next stop is the Pro Football Hall of Fame in a vote that will take no more than 4.7 seconds.
From one of the articles, I thought this was interesting:

This is what he chose. Don't forget that when you want to start slagging him for not knowing when to go. He didn't want anything left in his tank. He wanted to run out of gas on the road. He wanted to be used up completely, because he didn't know how else to go out, and perhaps because that is not a choice football offers to mere mortals.

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Thus, when you ask, "Didn't he know this day would come?" expect the answer, "Yes, and it's what he wanted."

Going out on top was enough for Jim Brown. Going out on fumes was enough for Jerry Rice. Regret it if you must, lament if you wish, but the NFL doesn't give choices very often, so take it for what it's worth. Jerry Rice chose this, with full knowledge and awareness of how it would end. He might have hoped otherwise, but he knew.