The AFC North has by far the most interesting group of wide receivers corps in the NFL. Top to bottom all four teams are very interesting at the wide receiver position. I’ll be covering each team, but will be starting with the perhaps the most interesting group: The Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Martavis Bryant one-year suspension for failing and skipping drug tests because of marijuana usage has really flipped this group upside down and devastated what could have been the best squad of pass-catchers in the NFL. Now they have to be completely re-evaluated. Let’s start with how Bryant’s loss impacts the offense.
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It’s difficult to judge how Bryant’s 2015 suspension affected the offense due to the Ben Roethlisberger injury. However, when you look at the difference with and without him in 2014, the numbers are staggering.
Bryant sat out the first six games of his rookie season in 2014 as the team readied him for the jump to the next level. Through the first six games of the season, Big Ben threw for 1,593 yards with eight touchdowns and three interceptions.
In 10 games with Bryant in the lineup, Roethlisberger threw for 3,359 yards with 24 scores and six interceptions. On a per-game basis without Bryant, his numbers average out to 265.5 yards, 1.3 TDs and 0.5 INTs. With Bryant, it averages out to 335.9 yards, 2.4 TDs and just 0.6 INTs per game. Clearly there is a massive difference with and without Bryant in the lineup.
The big question is, how does Pittsburgh fill this void? Obviously Antonio Brown is going to get his. He’s the best and most productive wideout in the NFL and has been putting up historically great numbers. Over the past three seasons he’s racked up 375 receptions, 5,031 yards and 31 touchdowns. That’s as an impressive of a three-year span as we’ve ever seen.
Conversely, let’s write off Darrius Heyward-Bey. I think he’s shown enough to allow us to safely say that he’s not a valuable asset. Even if he was the top option, he wouldn’t be good. Brown is great and DHB is awful, so we’ll put them aside for a moment. Let’s focus on two men and which one will step up in either Markus Wheaton or Sammie Coates.
Some side with the somewhat-proven veteran Wheaton. Others the promising Auburn star in Coates. Wheaton has shown flashes of greatness at times. Nonetheless, he’s also shown wild inconsistency and the inability to be a strong option similar to Bryant.
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Granted, Bryant is a rare talent, but that’s kind of my point. Wheaton flat out isn’t. He’s kind of just another guy. Yes, he did have a nine-catch, 201-yard game last season against the Seattle Seahawks. With that said, other than that he topped three receptions once and maxed out at 72 yards.
Coates, on the other hand, has superior potential. Leading up to the 2015 NFL Draft, Coates was a projected first-round pick. Then in the last week, due to questions about his hands and a not-so-great combine, Coates slipped all the way to the third round. He has ideal size and speed and performs best in the biggest games.
The best example is five-catch, 206-yard and two-touchdown game against the Crimson Tide in the 2014 regular-season finale at Alabama. Despite his issues, he was a steal at pick No. 87 in ’15. This selection seems very similar to when they stole Bryant in Round 4 in the previous NFL Draft.
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Even without Bryant, the Steelers are pretty talented in this department. But the explosive play-maker will be missed unless Coates steps to the forefront immediately.