NFL’s Best Wide Receiver? Yea, Ahun, You Know Who It Is!

Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown has reached the pinnacle of individual NFL success. Being the league’s best at what he does Sunday after Sunday is no easy task. From the time the first snap is taken, until the clock hits 00:00, defensive coordinators look to control or contain the beast that is Brown, the league’s best receiver.

Yep, I said it, he is the league’s best! Better than Dez Bryant,  who trails Brown in career receiving yards by 1,238 yards. I took into consideration that Bryant missed considerable time this past season due to injury, but the career games played is only a difference of minus two. Both drafted in the same year, both elite, but I’m giving the nod to Antonio Brown.

Odell Beckham Jr. is great young receiver who could very well be the best in the league one day. Putting up an astounding 186 catches in 26 career games is impressive. He also had 90 or more catches in his two seasons so far.

While his immediate impact on the NFL has left us in amazement, I’m curious to see just how long he can continue this level of production. He has a ton of similarities to Brown, electrifying speed, as well as a knack for making Herculean, breathtaking catches. One day, I have Beckham Jr. being of the best, if not there best.

Now here comes Julio Jones, all 6’5 of him. He is the one player that could make a serious case against Brown. Both are straight up showstoppers! Hands, speed, dominance, power off the line, and the ability to make defensive coordinators smash their headsets in sheer frustration. Both finished with 136 catches for the season. Both finished with over 1800 receiving yards.

I really had to think about the small gap that Brown had over Julio. No doubt, through the first seven weeks of the season nobody, absolutely nobody could find an answer against Jones. The one knack against him is that he has not shown the ability to consistently to stay healthy.

After a career year, where he started out as a front runner for MVP, Jones slowly became just another good wideout. His production slipped, and the team failed to make the playoffs. Jones vs. Brown will continue to be discussed around the water cooler, but if this past season is  any glimpse of the future, Brown may not hold the title as the league’s best for long. Just has to stay healthy! Stay on the field, Jones, and you will be unstoppable.

You can make as case for all of the above, but Brown is continually out-playing his counter parts in historic fashion. In 86 career games, Brown has caught 526 for 7093 yards. In fact, in 2015 he caught a career high 136 receptions. 136, that’s second most to only Marvin Harrison’s 144 for season.

This is the third time in four years that Brown has caught over 100 receptions. He is also the first in NFL history to have back to back seasons of 125 receptions or more. Think about that for second, Art Monk, Jerry Rice, Steve Largent, Rod Smith, Marvin Harrison, the list goes on and on, nobody has accomplished this feat.

After taking time to really study the way defenses try to maintain Antonio Brown, I can honestly say he really has no major weaknesses and, I mean c’mon, we have all witnessed his highlight replays on SportsCenter. What he is doing each week is special. In fact, five times this season, he recorded 10 or more receptions.

His best game by far was a week nine match up with Oakland in which he recorded 17 receptions on 23 targets for 284 yards and averaged 17.3 yards per catch. 23 targets, that’s quite a few for one player which brings up the next  variable. Yes, Ben Roethlisberger does target Brown quite frequently, which he should because the number don’t lie! He flat out produces when given the opportunity.

In weeks one, two, three, seven, nine, ten, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, and week seventeen, Brown had a catch percentage above 70% when being targeted. Ehh, have you doubters heard they saying, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” Why would Roethlisberger not continuously target the man with the golden hands? He would be a fool not too.

Even on a team with a deep threat like Martavis Bryant, or the back field monster that is LeVeon Bell, Brown has cemented his name amongst the NFL’s elite. So now, when folks ask who you think the NFL’s best reviewer is, you can say in your best Wiz Khalifa voice, “Yea, Ahun, You Know Who It Is”