Why the media is overselling the value of former Steelers Brown and Bell

Antonio Brown and Le’Veon Bell were fantastic football players for the Steelers, but here is why the media is overselling their value to the team.

NFL media has been consumed with talks of Antonio Brown and Le’Veon Bell this offsesaon. While the Steelers did lose two All-Pros, is the national media overselling the value of these two football players to Pittsburgh’s success?

In a recent episode of the Rich Eisen Show, Eisen suggests that the Steelers don’t have a shot without Antonio Brown and Le’Veon Bell:

Eisen’s opening statement in the video was ‘no Brown, no Bell, no shot’ – suggesting that the Steelers don’t stand a chance without the two former All-Pro weapons. However, I believe the media is over-valuing these two players when it comes to the success of the team.

James Conner was fantastic when called upon last year. He averaged more yards per rush than Bell did his last year starting, and more yards per reception than Bell had in any season since 2014.

Despite his compensatory 3rd round label, Conner was productive and efficient for the Steelers – collecting nearly 1,000 rushing yards, 13 total touchdowns, and nearly 500 receiving yards in just 13 games.

Bell has already been replaced, and the Steelers haven’t skipped a beat in the running game.

Antonio Brown, on the other hand, will be more difficult to replace. The 4-time All-Pro was fantastic on the field during his time in Pittsburgh, but his off-field antics got in the way of the Steelers plans.

Brown wasn’t the most efficient receiver in the league last season either. He caught just 61.9 percent of his 168 targets for just 12.5 yards per catch. Though he recorded 15 touchdowns last season, most fans don’t realize that there were 11 interceptions thrown his direction as well (which doesn’t present a good touchdown to interception ratio when targeted).

It’s true that the Steelers won’t be able to replace a player like Antonio Brown, but it’s not impossible to be more efficient without him.

A few weeks ago, an NFL Network analyst predicted the Steelers to have a 7-9 record in 2019 – saying that ‘it is going to be tough for Pittsburgh to go ahead and win without A.B. and Le’Veon Bell.’

Stats showed that the Steelers were better than their record indicated in 2019, and the Steelers lost 3 games down the stretch that were decided by just a field goal each.

I think the national media is overselling the importance of Le’Veon Bell and Antonio Brown to the success of the team. Pittsburgh will have a chance to prove them wrong with a successful season in 2019.