Below are the CFL's top 20 all-time receiving yards leaders.
This list includes the third-leadingest receiver in the history of professional football, but does not include active players. Ottawa Redblacks wide receiver Eugene Lewis is the league's active yardage leader with 7,273 yards, which ranks 53rd in CFL history.
20) Tony Gabriel – 9,832
The only player on this list spent the first four seasons of his career in Hamilton before being traded to Ottawa in 1975 due to a contract dispute. The Burlington, Ontario native spent seven seasons with the Rough Riders and enjoyed arguably his best CFL wide receiver career to date, winning four Most Outstanding Canadian Player awards, one Most Outstanding Player award and two Gray Cups. Gabriel remains Ottawa's all-time leader in receptions and receiving yards, and his number 77 has been retired by the team.
19) Travis Moore – 9,930
The six-foot-one, 193-pound Ball State product spent a decade in Calgary and Saskatchewan and was a three-straight All-CFL selection from 1999 to 2001. The Santa Monica, California native won two Gray Cups as a player and has since won two more as an assistant coach during his stints with the BC Lions and Ottawa Redblacks.
18) Jeremaine Copeland – 10,015
The University of Tennessee product played eleven seasons with Montreal, Calgary and Toronto, winning two Gray Cups and being a three-time All-CFL selection. The six-foot-two, 202-pound target led the CFL with 1,757 yards in 2003 and is the only player on this list to win a Gray Cup and an NCAA national championship. Copeland had a short career as an assistant coach in the CFL, spending one year in Hamilton and Saskatchewan before being inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 2025.
17) Weston Dressler – 10,026
The Bismarck, North Dakota native was named the CFL's Most Outstanding Rookie in 2008 and never slowed down, enjoying a Hall of Fame career spent entirely on the Prairies with Saskatchewan and Winnipeg. The four-time All-West Division player won the Gray Cup with the Roughriders in 2013 and is by far the smallest player on this list, as he is officially listed at five feet seven inches and weighs 168 pounds.
16) Earl Winfield – 10,119
The Petersburg, Virginia native played eleven seasons with the Tiger-Cats and was also a vaunted kick return specialist, scoring eleven punt return touchdowns and one kickoff return touchdown. Nicknamed “The Jewel,” Winfield led the CFL in all-purpose yards in 1988 and remains Hamilton's all-time leader in receiving yards, receiving touchdowns and 100-yard receiving yards.
15) S.J. Green – 10,222
The six-foot-three, 216-pound University of South Florida player was named All-East Division eight times in 13 straight years with Montreal and Toronto, winning three Gray Cups. Green suffered a horrific knee injury in 2016 when he tore his ACL, MCL, PCL and meniscus, but managed to recover?
set new career highs when he returned to the field the following year with 104 catches for 1,462 yards.
14) Tommy Joe Coffey – 10,320
The seven-time All-CFL player and two-time Gray Cup champion had an incredible 15-year career that saw him inducted into the Wall of Honor in both Edmonton and Hamilton. The West Texas A&M University graduate became the first receiver in CFL history to reach 10,000 career yards and, upon his retirement in 1973, became the league's all-time leading receiver, a record that stood for just over a decade. Coffey passed away in 2020 at the age of 83.
13) Tom Scott – 10,837
The Oakland, Calif., native won five straight Gray Cups during Edmonton's dynasty in the late 1970s and early 1980s and was a five-time All-CFL selection. The five-foot-ten, 180-pound target surpassed Tommy-Joe Coffey's career receiving record in 1984, his final season in the CFL, and held the record for three years before being surpassed by longtime teammate and Hall of Famer Brian Kelly.
12) Brian Kelly – 11,169
The five-foot-nine, 170-pound Target retired as the CFL's all-time leading receiver despite only playing nine seasons in the league. The five-time Gray Cup champion and six-time All-CFL selection had three seasons with more than 1,600 receiving yards and led all CFL receivers with 1,626 yards in 1987, which was his final year. Kelly's career record stood for seven seasons until it was broken by Ray Elgaard in 1994.
11) Arland Bruce III – 11.6
The Olathe, Kansas native had a brief eleven-year career that included stints with the Blue Bombers, Argonauts, Tigercats, Lions and Alouettes. The three-time All-CFL player and two-time Gray Cup champion still holds Hamilton's record for most catches in a single game with 16. Bruce is the highest-ranked player on this list who has not yet been inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame.
10) Derrel Mitchell – 12,014
The Miami, Florida native was named the CFL's Most Outstanding Rookie in 1997 and had a distinguished career with Toronto and Edmonton, earning three All-CFL selections and winning two Gray Cups. “Mookie” still holds the record for most catches in a season, having caught 160 passes for 2,000 yards in 1998. He remains the Argonauts' leader in receiving yards and receiving touchdowns.
9) Don Narcissus – 12,366
The Port Arthur, Texas native was a four-time All-CFL honoree and won one Gray Cup in 13 years with the Roughriders. Narcisse had eight 1,000-yard seasons, seven in a row from 1989 to 1995, and remains Saskatchewan's franchise leader in career receptions with 919 and single-season receptions with 123.
8) Ray Elgaard – 13,198
The Edmonton, Alta., native won three Most Outstanding Canadian Player awards and one Gray Cup during his 14-year career in Saskatchewan, retiring in 1996 as the league's all-time leading receiver. This record stood for three years before being broken by Allen Pitts. The six-foot-three, 220-pound slotback was a four-time All-CFL selection and remains first in Roughriders franchise history in receiving yards and receiving touchdowns. Elgaard is the highest-ranked Canadian-born player on this list.
7) Ben Kahun – 13,301
The 10-time All-East Division player was twice named the CFL's Most Outstanding Canadian and won three Gray Cups in 13 seasons with the Alouettes. The Orem, Utah native led the CFL in receptions four times, including three straight years from 2006 to 2008, and had at least one catch in 144 consecutive games. He remains the Gray Cup's all-time leader in receptions and receptions, as well as Montreal's franchise leader in receptions, receptions and touchdowns.
6) Terry Vaughn – 13,746
The five-foot-eight, 185-pound target played 12 seasons in the CFL with Calgary, Edmonton, Montreal and Hamilton, winning two Gray Cups and placing in the Western Division seven times. The University of Arizona player became the first player in league history to record 1,000 career catches and holds the record for the most 1,000-yard catches in CFL history with eleven.
5) Nick Lewis – 13,778
The Southern Arkansas University alum entered the CFL as a lean and trim Most Outstanding Rookie and finished his career 15 seasons later as a big-bodied player affectionately known as “Fat Nick.” Lewis was a three-time All-CFL player, a two-time Gray Cup champion and remains the league's all-time leader in receptions with 1,050 after breaking Hero Simon's record in 2017.
4) Darren Flutie – 14,359
The three-time All-CFL player and two-time Gray Cup champion lived in his brother's shadow for years, but finished his CFL career as one of the league's all-time greats, playing twelve seasons for BC, Edmonton and Hamilton. Flutie still holds the records for most receptions in a single game (14) and receptions in a single season (111) in Lions history and has the longest hitting streak in Tiger-Cats history, having made a tackle in 82 consecutive games.
3) Allen Pitts – 14,891
The Tucson, Arizona native was a six-time All-CFL selection and won two Gray Cups during his eleven-year career with the Stampeders. The six-foot-four, 200-pound target retired as the CFL's all-time leader in receiving yards and receiving touchdowns, although both marks were later broken by Milt Stegall. Pitts remains the league's all-time leader in yards per game (84.6) and 100-yard games (64), as well as Calgary's franchise leader in receptions, receiving yards, receiving touchdowns, 100-yard games and yards from scrimmage.
2) Milt Stegall – 15,153
The six-foot, 184-pound receiver was named to the All-CFL team six times in 14 seasons with the Blue Bombers and was named the league's Most Outstanding Player in 2002. The Cincinnati, Ohio native retired as the league's all-time leader in receiving yards and remains its all-time leader in career touchdowns (147) and single-season touchdowns (23). Stegall is also Winnipeg's all-time leader in touchdowns, receptions, receiving yards, receiving touchdowns and 100-yard games.
1) Geroy Simon – 16,352
The Johnstown, Pennsylvania native played 15 seasons with Winnipeg (British Columbia) and Saskatchewan, earning six All-CFL selections, one Most Outstanding Player award and winning three Gray Cups. Simon surpassed Stegall, his two-year Blue Bombers teammate, to become the league's all-time leader in receiving yards in 2012 and remains BC's leader in touchdowns, receptions, receiving yards, receiving touchdowns and 100-yard games.
