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Antonio Brown already has a season’s haul of stats

By Kevin Parvizi

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Pittsburgh Steelers star wide receiver Antonio Brown broke out in a big way last season, as he established himself as an elite receiver in this league without Mike Wallace taking targets away from him. Brown was certainly impressive in the 2011 and 2012 seasons, showing off his playmaking ability, but he took things to a whole new level in 2013, as he showed off plenty of chain-moving chops en route to 110 receptions for 1,499 yards and eight touchdowns. Those are insane numbers, but if you think that was impressive, wait until you take a look at what Brown is on pace for this season.

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    • San Francisco 49ers legend Jerry Rice is the unanimous best wide receiver in NFL history, and he recently gave Brown some major praise. There’s no doubt that the Steelers superstar deserves it, and there’s a strong chance he could be the best wide receiver in the game today. It would be foolish to state that he hasn’t been the best wide receiver in the league, because the numbers show that everyone else has paled in comparison to him this year.

    With a league-leading 71 receptions for a league-high 996 receiving yards, Brown already has a season’s worth of stats on his hands. In nine games, Brown has already put up numbers that most wide receivers would kill to have in a season. I mean, talk about a 70-catch half-season, right? With an average of 110.7 yards per game and 7.9 receptions per game, he’s on pace for 126 receptions and 1,771 receiving yards this season. That’s simply ridiculous, and that’s not even taking into account his eight receiving touchdowns, which puts him on pace to cross the goal-line 14 times by the end of the season.

    What makes Brown so impressive is his all-around ability, and true No. 1 wide receivers have to be able to win at all levels. Brown is certainly able to do that, as he is one of the league’s best playmaker with his game-breaking speed and average of 14 yards per reception. Oh, and his eight receiving touchdowns. His 71 receptions show that he’s more than capable of moving the chains for the Steelers offense, and it’s his ability to line up as an “X”, “Z”, or slot receiver that sets him apart from other top guys. He’s catching about 69% of everything thrown at him, and the pressure he relieves off of his teammates is enormous. Thanks to Brown, young deep threats Markus Wheaton and Martavis Bryant have plenty of room to operate when they want to stretch the field vertically.

    I still have Calvin Johnson safely at the top, but I wouldn’t be upset if you decided to call Antonio Brown the best wide receiver in the NFL, because his numbers have been off-the-charts. It’s his ability to consistently dominate that is the scariest thing for defenses. He’s had at least 100 receiving yards on five occasions this season, and he’s never had a game with less than five receptions or less than 84 yards. Yes, you read that correctly. His freaking game-low for receiving yards this season is 84. By comparison, teammate Bryant’s season-high in three games is 83, while Wheaton has had just one game above that threshold (97 yards in his big Week 1 performance against the Cleveland Browns).

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