A friend of mine claims that NFL wide receivers are the greatest athletes in team sports.

I won't disagree. The best ones have the speed to make the big play downfield, the strength and agility to fight off and outmaneuver defensive backs, the hands to make the impossible catch, the acrobatics to adjust in midair, the courage to go over the middle.

Jerry Rice, of course, is the best of the best. I was reminded of his greatness in the Raiders' first-round playoff win over the Jets, when he torched New York for nine catches and 183 yards. Not bad for a 39-year-old legend who nearly retired before returning for a 17th NFL season.

I was also reminded of how underrated Rice has been throughout his career. When he was with the 49ers, he played second fiddle in the press to Joe Montana and then Steve Young. When the team faded away as a Super Bowl contender, so, apparently, did our memories of Rice's dominance. When the ESPN SportsCentury 48-member panel voted for the greatest North American athlete of the 20th century, Rice ranked a disappointing 27th, behind three boxers and six outfielders.

Now, rejuvenated in the black and silver, Rice is once again grabbing our attention. Many of us know Rice is the all-time leader in touchdowns, receiving yards and catches. But what I argue is that perhaps no athlete in team sports has ever dominated his position like Rice. After a terrific season in 2001 -- 83 catches, 1,139 yards, nine TDs -- Rice just added to his lead over the second-place guys in those categories:

Touchdowns
Rice: 196 (185 receiving, 10 rushing, 1 return)
Second place: Emmitt Smith, 159
Difference: +23.3 percent

Receptions
Rice: 1364
Second place: Cris Carter, 1093
Difference: +24.8 percent

Receiving yards
Rice: 20,386
Second place: James Lofton, 14,004
Difference: +45.6 percent

Rice's dominance is clear. Carter is second all time among receivers with 129 touchdown catches ... 56 fewer than Rice. And no other receiver is within 6,000 yards of Rice. That's five years of Pro Bowl-caliber perfomance.

Compare Rice to Carter. Rice has averaged at least 15 yards per catch in nine different seasons. Carter has done that only three times, but in those seasons he caught just 5, 39 and 27 passes. He has never averaged 15 yards in a season where he made the Pro Bowl.

Speaking of the Pro Bowl, Keyshawn Johnson made it this year. Widely acknowledged as one of the best receivers in the game today, Johnson also made Sports Illustrated's all-NFL team. He had the grand total of one touchdown catch. He's reached double digits in TD catches just one in six years -- Rice has done it nine times, including a record 22 TD receptions in 1987 (in just 12 games!)

OK, so Rice has clearly dominated the wide receiver position. How does he compare to other athletes? Sticking to football, Dan Marino is the all-time leader in passing yards and touchdown passes:

Passing yards
Marino: 61,361
Second place: John Elway, 51,475
Difference: +19.2 percent

Touchdown passes
Marino: 420
Second place: Fran Tarkenton, 342
Difference: +22.8 percent

Marino has sizeable advantages similar to Rice; however, he ranks third in quarterback rating (behind Young and Montana) and never won a Super Bowl in his spotty postseason history. Rice, meanwhile, is the clear leader in postseason catches (133; Michael Irvin, 87), yards (1,994; Irvin, 1,315) and TD catches (20; John Stallworth, 12). And he played on four Super Bowl winners.

Jim Brown was the highest football player on the SportsCentury list, ranking fourth. He only played nine seasons but had 12,312 rushing yards and 126 totals TD; however, in 10 seasons Barry Sanders put up similar numbers: 15,269 rushing yards and 109 TDs.

Montana, who ranked 25th on the SportsCentury list, does not rank first among quarterbacks in any major category, not even Super Bowl victories or postseason passer rating (he's second behind Bart Starr).

What about other sports? When Babe Ruth hit 60 home runs in 1927, it was more than any other American League team. People talk about how he dominated baseball in his era -- he led the AL 12 times in home runs and 13 times in slugging percentage -- but he wasn't the only one doing it in his time. Rogers Hornsby, Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx and Hank Greenberg all put up similar numbers to Ruth and, of course, Hank Aaron eventually passed him as the all-time HR leader.

Still, Ruth remains the all-time leader in slugging percentage:

Ruth: .690
Second place: Ted Williams, .634
Difference: +8.8 percent

Michael Jordan topped the SportsCentury list. He is the NBA leader in points per game:

Jordan: 31.2
Second place: Wilt Chamberlain, 30.1
Difference: +3.7 percent

Of course, Jordan has won more championships than Rice (6 to 4), but others have won more than Jordan and he doesn't lead the NBA in anything else except midcareer retirements (2). Here's one other superstar to consider:

Points
Wayne Gretzy: 2,857
Second place: Gordie Howe, 1,850
Difference: +54.4 percent

Goals
Wayne Gretzky: 894
Second place: Gordie Howe, 801
Difference: +11.6 percent

Assists
Wayne Gretzky: 1,963
Second place: Ray Bourque, 1,169
Difference: +67.9 percent

Gretzky's advantages may be even more impressive than Rice's. One interesting note, however: Mario Lemieux hasn't played nearly as many games as Gretzky, but has averaged more points per game: 1.975 vs. 1.921. And as great as the Great One was, it should be pointed out that while he won four Stanley Cups in five years with the Edmonton Oilers, after he was traded in 1988, the Oilers won the Cup again in 1990.

Is Jerry Rice is the greatest team sport athlete of all time? Maybe not. Maybe the wide receiver position isn't "important" enough for him to rank as high as Jordan, Ruth and Gretzky.

In my book, however, he deserves to be mentioned alongside them.

Just ask the Jets.

David Schoenfield is an editor at ESPN.com.