Ohio State Football: Brown won’t be best WR traded, a Buckeye was
Warfield hit the ground running for his new team. In 1970 he only had 28 receptions but accounted for 703 yards (25.1 ypc) and 6 touchdowns. However stats don’t do justice to the impact he had on the Miami Dolphins that year, and how they progressed going forward.
The franchise was just in its fifth year of existence and never had a winning record. In 1970 the Dolphins went 10-4 and made the playoffs, losing to the Oakland Raiders 21-14 in the divisional contest.
The success was in large part due to the improved ground attack with young backs Larry Csonka, Jim Kiick and Mercury Morris having their best seasons to that point. And part of the reason they had the success they did was because if teams loaded the box to stop the run quarterback Bob Griese might throw the ball to Warfield which very well could end up in a quick score.
Warfield’s big play ability downfield created problems for defensive coordinators as head coach Don Shula developed the best running back trio in the history of the NFL point. They wanted to stack the box to stop Miami’s rushing attack but knew they may pay the price if they did.
The result, three straight Super Bowl appearances for the Dolphins and back to back wins in 1972-73.
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Warfield left Miami, along with Csonka and Kiick, to play in the newly formed World Football League after the 1974 season and that stopped the Dolphins’ run. The WFL dissolved quickly and he returned to the Cleveland Browns for two seasons to finish his career.
Paul Warfield’s 427 receptions for 8,565 yards may not blow anyone away who became an NFL fan after quarterbacks began slinging the ball all over the field. But his 20.1 yards per catch should.
To put things into perspective, the great Jerry Rice only averaged 14.8 ypc and Antonio Brown’s career average is 13.4. And Warfield played in an era when defensive backs could mug receivers, and hits that were acceptable then would result in suspensions today. And they still couldn’t stop Warfield.
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Many other wide receivers have put up bigger numbers during their careers but none have impacted two teams the way this Hall of Fame player did. Paul Warfield was quite simply the greatest wide receiver ever traded.