Antonio Brown dubbed Steelers best value pick since 2006

The Pittsburgh Steelers have had some excellent draft picks under Kevin Colbert, but here’s why Antonio Brown was labeled their best value pick since 2006.

When you think of the Steelers all-time greatest NFL Draft steals, it’s hard not to slot Antonio Brown near the top of the list. Brown joined the team as a sixth-round pick back in 2010 — a draft class that already included Emmanuel Sanders in the third round.

Despite the odds stacked up against him, Brown quickly worked his way up the depth chart. By his second season in 2011, he made the Pro Bowl as a return specialist while gaining over 1,100 receiving yards. Two years later in 2013, Brown would begin one of the most productive and dominant six-year stretches we have ever witnessed at the wide receiver position.

Recently, Pro Football Focus draft analyst Michael Renner listed every team’s best value pick since 2006. It was no surprise to see Antonio Brown take the cake for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Here’s what Renner had to say:

"PITTSBURGH STEELERS: WR ANTONIO BROWN, CENTRAL MICHIGAN (195TH OVERALL IN 2010)Even with his career in turmoil ever since he left Pittsburgh, Brown is still the single most valuable receiver of the PFF era according to our WAR metric. Finding that in the sixth round is an all-time draft steal."

Some of the biggest late-round steals who made this list for other teams include Eagles OT Jordan Mailata (233rd overall pick in 2018), 49ers TE George Kittle (146th overall in 2017), and Cowboys QB Dak Prescott (135th overall in 2016).

Renner’s rankings were hand-selected from all players drafted since 2006. For the Steelers, the only other best value picks PFF could have considered including would have been OT Kelvin Beachum (248th overall in 2012), LB Vince Williams (206th overall in 2013), WR Mike Wallace (84th overall in 2009), or CB William Gay (170th overall in 2007), via Pro Football Reference.

Sadly, one of the greatest draft finds in Pittsburgh Steelers history will always have a dreaded stamp of disgrace attached to his name.

Steelers draft steal comes with painful memories

As time goes on, new generations of Steelers fans will emerge who will never fully understand the turmoil, drama, and division Antonio Brown caused. For the rest of us, the name still leaves a bitter taste in our mouths.

Brown was on a Hall of Fame pace with Pittsburgh before his self-centered ego and arrogance caused him to force his way out the door — sabotaging his trade value in the process. After a laundry list of incidents and losing the respect of his teammates, the Steelers had no choice but to ship away one of the greatest draft choices they’ve ever made.

Fans no doubt have fantasized about what his career would have looked like had he not shattered relationships and if he would have been able to keep his head on straight. Brown would have had a chance to crush every Steelers receiving record.

At the pace he was on prior to his departure, Brown conceivably could have been the third-leading receiver in NFL history — passing Terrell Owens and falling short of just Jerry Rice and Larry Fitzgerald.

We will always remember Antonio Brown as one of the Steelers all-time greatest value picks in the NFL Draft. However, we wish we could go back and re-write a different ending to his career in Pittsburgh.