WR Antonio Brown
The sighs. The mumbles. The groans. Expressing emotion as a Steelers fan over former Steelers WR Antonio Brown may be considered bitterness to the general public, but the headlines don’t escape him. In recent weeks, the mulling of retirement and now suspension of eight games for the upcoming season seems reasonable to what has happened in the past year alone.
However, there are different times to concern over that, because AB was the ultimate weapon when he was in his prime in the NFL. Not the fastest, not the biggest, didn’t have the highest vertical, but shattered coverages that revealed his elite intelligence (OF THE GAME). Practically, being an artist at the WR position can take the athlete to unforeseen heights.
Four straight First-Team All-Pros from 2014-17, three of those seasons reeling in 1500+ receiving yards, and a career-high of 1834 in 2015, he was absurd. In that span for receivers with at least 300 receptions, he ranked first in catches, receiving yards, touchdowns, was second in yards per target, fifth in catch percentage, and sixth in yards per reception.
It wasn’t just a year with Brown, and all due respect to the greatness of Atlanta Falcons WR Julio Jones, but that crown was never taken off until AB did his rendition of being a king in a Medieval’s novel. It was apparent, and it pains what has spurred out since his fallout with the organization.