A wireless receiver including multiple amplifiers coupled in series for amplifying a signal being received, at least one detector that provides a strength indication of the signal being received, multiple AGC schedules each determining a gain reduction schedule for the amplifiers, an AGC schedule selector that selects one of the AGC schedules based on a schedule select input, and an AGC controller that adjusts a gain of at least one of the amplifiers according to a selected AGC schedule based on the strength indication of the signal being received. The AGC schedules may include a first AGC schedule configured for improved SNR performance and a second AGC schedule configured for improved distortion performance. The second AGC schedule may be selected for improved distortion performance when a strong distorting blocker signal is present, and otherwise the first AGC schedule may be selected for better SNR performance.