Countdown to Kickoff: Profile on Pittsburgh Steelers No. 84 Antonio Brown
By Jeremy Klump
The Countdown to Kickoff series continues with a look at Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown, who is the best wide receiver in the game today.
Today is June 16, 2016, which means there are exactly 84 days until the NFL season kicks off.
The first kickoff will be between the two teams that we last saw play in the Super Bowl, the defending Super Bowl champion Denver Broncos and Cam Newton’s Carolina Panthers. While we wait for the rematch that will have awesome story lines to follow, the NFL Spin Zone team has decided to profile a player whose number is associated with the amount of days until that first kickoff.
So without further ado, with 84 days until kickoff, I will profile Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown.
Brown was an easy choice for me with No. 84 because, well, he is the best wide receiver in the game today. There may be some other players in the discussion, but looking at what Brown was able to last season and what he has the potential to do; he is an easy choice for the best pass catcher in the NFL.
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In 2015, Brown was tied for the NFL lead for receptions with 136. Those 136 receptions garnered 1,834 yards and 10 touchdowns. The 1,834 yards were a career high for Brown and also put him fourth on the league’s all-time single-season receiving yards list.
The 2010 sixth-round draft choice out of Central Michigan put on a clinic in 2015 and he could have done better. That isn’t a knock on him, but instead it is noting that his future Hall of Fame quarterback Ben Roethlisberger only started 11 games last season, so Brown was catching passes from a backup the other five games.
In his last three seasons, which all resulted in a Pro Bowl appearance, Brown caught 375 passes for 5,031 yards and 31 touchdowns. Those impressive numbers mean that he averaged 125 receptions, 1,677 yards, and a little over 10 touchdowns over that span.
Brown was drafted with the 195th overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft and 21 wide receivers were drafted ahead of him. Names like Arrelious Benn (39th), Damian Williams (77th), Jordan Shipley (84th), Armanti Edwards (89th), Taylor Price (90th), Mardy Gilyard (99th), Mike Williams (101st), Marcus Easley (107th), Jacoby Ford (108th), David Reed (156th), Riley Cooper (159th), Kerry Meier (165th), Carlton Mitchell (177th) and Dezmon Briscoe (191st) were taken before him.
While many of these receivers taken before Brown sit on their couches watching football because they aren’t even in the league any longer, they are sitting watching the greatness that Brown possesses every time he is on the field. They also watched him receive first-team All-Pro honors two seasons in a row (2014-2015).
If you are in a point per reception (PPR) fantasy league, you should take Brown early in your draft because he has the potential to do big things in 2016.
I have been vocal saying this, and it’s based off of the greatness I see in Brown’s game, but I truly feel that Brown could break two records this season: receptions in a single-season and receiving yards in a single-season.
That would mean he needs to catch more than 143 passes for over 1,964 yards in 2016. That sounds crazy, but as we sit here with 84 days until football; I could see No. 84 accomplish those amazing feats because he truly has the ability to do it.
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Check out all of the Countdown to Kickoff series posts here.