Oakland Raiders: 5 Over-under predictions for the 2019 season
Antonio Brown: 1,300 Receiving Yards
Brown has lofty aspirations; According to ESPN.com’s Paul Gutierrez, he said, “My goal really is to catch Jerry Rice.”
Rice racked up 1,549 catches for 22,895 yards and 197 touchdowns in 20 years. The Hall of Fame wideout only played 3.5 seasons with the Raiders at the tail end of his career, but the fanbase had a glimpse of one of the best to ever play the position.
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Brown thinks he could match one of the greatest of all time, and he should feel that way. No, not because of his incredible workouts posted online. The 31-year old takes care of his body conditioning, which will likely result in a long career. The four-time All-Pro has 837 receptions for 11,207 yards and 74 touchdowns in nine seasons.
If you compare numbers between Rice and Brown, the latter is on pace to match or surpass the former if he plays until about 40 years old.
Brown’s determination to retire as one of the all-time best should keep him motivated to perform at a high level. We’d be naïve to think he doesn’t want to push for big numbers with Pittsburgh Steelers fans watching his every move.
Don’t worry about Brown’s transition from Roethlisberger to Derek Carr. The Raiders signal-caller knows how to connect and build instant chemistry with his top wideouts. Straight out of college, Amari Cooper recorded 1,070 receiving yards. In Michael Crabtree‘s first season with the club, he registered 922 yards.
Brown, who’s now light years ahead of Cooper as a rookie and more productive than Crabtree through their respective careers, shouldn’t have a problem with reaching 1,000 receiving yards and going further.
Since 2013, Brown has eclipsed 1,300 yards in four out of six seasons. He missed the mark by 16 and three yards during the 2016 and 2018 terms, respectively. By the way, the nine-year veteran missed one contest in both campaigns.
Assuming Brown plays through a full 16-game slate, he’s going to break the 1,300-yard threshold.
Over or Under? Over