Steve McNair was part of a productive offense for much of his career with the Oilers/Titans but not one that would be categorized up there with the “Air Coryell” or Bill Walsh prototypes. And McNair certainly wasn’t surrounded by the kind of Hall of Fame talent that other quarterbacks such as Troy Aikman or Terry Bradshaw enjoyed.

In fact, the guys who leap to mind when I think of McNair’s favorite targets are WR Derrick Mason and TE Frank Wycheck. And sure enough, those are the guys who did, by far, most of the work with McNair.

I figured we’d take a look at the guys who caught the most passes and touchdown passes from McNair and produced the most receiving yards on the other end of his throws. Mason and Wycheck are at the top of every category (all thanks to researcher Matt Pomeroy for helping me get these stats to you guys).

OK, here it goes:

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Most Career Receptions from Steve McNair:

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Most Career Receiving Yards from Steve McNair:

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Most Career Receiving Touchdowns from Steve McNair:

So it’s pretty much what you’d think.

Mason and Wycheck were excellent players (and Mason could force himself into a Hall of Fame discussion with a few more productive seasons), but this isn’t the kind of Big Three that you would see a guy like Peyton Manning associated with (another reason I think John Elway also is overlooked sometimes — his list wouldn’t be filled with Jerry Rice or Marvin Harrison or Michael Irvin, either).

Mason, who also played with McNair in Baltimore, will speak at services for the late quarterback this week, and Wycheck, who has been a radio analyst for the Titans since retiring after the 2003 season, remained close with McNair after their playing time together ended.

– Jason La Canfora

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