When the New Orleans Saints parted ways with Marques Colston earlier in the 2016 offseason, it split up the most prolific quarterback and wide receiver tandem of the last decade. A seventh-round pick in the 2006 NFL Draft, Colston racked up 9,759 yards and 72 touchdowns in 10 years with the Saints and all but 58 of those yards came from passes from Drew Brees.
Ranking the NFL’s best quarterback-receiver tandems of the last decade
Marques Colston and Drew Brees racked up nearly 10,000 yards in 10 years together, but there are 17 other tandems who combined for more than 5,000 yards.
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But that wasn't the only duo that was split up earlier in the offseason. The Atlanta Falcons cut ties with Roddy White and Calvin Johnson retired after nine seasons with the Detroit Lions, splitting up the second- and fourth-most productive pairs of the last 10 years.
Still, a few of the top tandems are still racking up yardage together, including Antonio Gates and Philip Rivers with the San Diego Chargers, and Ben Roethlisberger and Antonio Brown with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Along with Colston, White and Johnson, many of the most dominant receivers of recent years are also nearing the end of their careers, if they haven't reached it already. The best years of Gates, Andre Johnson and Larry Fitzgerald are all clearly in the past.
Still, there are some promising young pairings that should quickly climb up the leaderboards. Blake Bortles has a pair of young receivers in Allen Robinson and Allen Hurns who racked up big numbers in 2015, and Jameis Winston connected with Mike Evans for more than 1,200 yards in their first year together.
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