2018 was a rocky season for Antonio Brown and I don’t mean this on the field. I’m talking about the antics on the sidelines. There were times when he was shown on the sideline throwing a water cooler because he didn’t get the football. I think the icing on the cake came prior to the Pittsburgh Steelers week 17 showdown against the Cincinnati Bengals where Antonio and Ben Roethlisberger reportedly got into a strong disagreement that forced the star wide receiver to leave the team facility. He would also end up missing the game. The Steelers also ended up missing the playoffs. About a month into the off-season, AB was vocal about wanting to be traded. I even gave my thoughts about where I could see him ending up. A trade has finally happened. Number 84 will be playing for the Oakland Raiders when the 2019 season begins.
Let’s put the antics to the side and talk about him as a football player. He’s one of the ten best all-around players in the business and one of the three best wide receivers in the league. Since coming into the league, he’s been so consistent. The numbers don’t lie. For the sixth straight season, he caught 100 passes which is the longest streak in the NFL. He also recorded 1,297 yards receiving and scored 15 touchdowns which ranked tops for wide receivers in 2018. When I watch him play, he reminds me a lot of a running back in open space because of his ability to bounce off defenders and I like that mindset because it shows he won’t go down easily. He runs his routes fluidly, he can catch everything thrown his way and he displays excellent footwork which has made him so successful at this point of his career. 2017 was the best I had ever seen him look. He was just dominant each week that season and made cornerbacks look sillier than the norm when trying to defend him. I’ve seen him make some difficult catches then I just sit there and ask myself, how did he do that? It doesn’t matter what route he runs, just throw him the football and he’ll come away with it.
The Raiders got them an elite offensive weapon for Derek Carr. If this pans out, Carr and Brown will become one of the best tandems in the league, I already see it happening. If AB can continue to play at this consistent pace, I think it’ll be time to mention him in the same conversation with Jerry Rice, Randy Moss and Terrell Owens, all Hall of Fame wide receivers.
