Steelers OTAs: WR Justin Brown making an impression
By Jim Racalto on Jun 5 2014
Second-year WR Justin Brown has built on his progress from last season, and has been turning heads during OTA's thus far. There's talk that he could beat out Darrius Heyward-Bey for an active roster spot as the fifth receiver. How realistic is this possibility? Very.
There's more than one "Brown" in the Steelers' wide receivers' group fans should pay attention to in 2014.
Mark Kaboly of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and Jim Wexell of Steel City Insider are both raving about second-year WR Justin Brown's performance so far at OTA's, and they believe there's a realistic chance that he could beat out Darrius Heyward-Bey for the final active roster spot at WR.
The Steelers signed Heyward-Bey this past offseason to a one-year contract worth $795,000, with $65,000 guaranteed. Brown is currently under contract through this season at a base salary of $420,000.
It's far too early to actually tell if Brown can, or will beat out Heyward-Bey, but if the battle for the spot is close during training camp, to me it's a no-brainer to roll with Brown over DHB for several reasons.
First, I don't think it would be very tough for even an average receiver to beat out Heyward-Bey in the hands department. He keeps finding his way onto rosters because of his size and blazing speed, but nobody has ever accused him of having great hands. It's very plausible that Brown is already superior in this facet.
Then there's age. While Heyward-Bey isn't exactly old at 27, Brown is only 23. Again, if the battle is close, why not go with the younger receiver who is already getting paid less money? Plus, if Brown makes the roster and happens to play well on special teams and in spot duty, he will be a relatively cheap signing if the Steelers want to consider a long-term contract.
Brown is also taller than Heyward-Bey at 6-foot-3, which instantly gives Ben Roethlisberger another big target.
Heyward-Bey was signed to try to help fill the void left by the departures of Emmanuel Sanders and Jerricho Cotchery, while being a serviceable veteran presence. But there's a reason he's never gained 1,000 yards receiving in a season and has already been on two teams. He simply isn't that good.
Right now this is all speculation, as we don't know how either guy is going to perform come training camp. DHB could come in, surprise everyone, and easily lock up his roster spot. Or Justin Brown could come in, surprise everyone, make it close, and leave head coach Mike Tomlin with a tough decision to make.
It's on Brown to keep working and force his coach to make that type of decision. This will be an interesting development to keep an eye on when the Steelers head to Latrobe for training camp in July.
[URL]http://www.behindthesteelcurtain.com/2014-steelers-otas/2014/6/5/5783620/steelers-otas-news-reports-position-battles-justin-brown-wide-receivers[/URL]
Steelers receiver Justin Brown continues to progress in workouts
By Mark Kaboly
Published: Sunday, June 15, 2014
Antonio Brown was a sixth-round draft selection by the Steelers, just like Justin Brown.
Antonio Brown had established veterans ahead of him on the depth chart heading into his second season, just like Justin Brown does this year.
However, there is one glaring difference between the two — Antonio Brown, who went on to surpass 1,000 yards receiving by his second season — never got the opportunity Justin Brown is getting this spring.
“No, no, not this early on,” Antonio Brown said.
The Steelers took a good look at Justin Brown during the recently completed three weeks of spring practices by giving him first-team reps alongside Antonio Brown and Lance Moore before ramping up the frequency with the top unit by the end of the sessions. He's worked at all three positions with the first-team reps coming in three receiver sets.
Heading into the final stretch of offseason workouts cumulating with a three-day minicamp starting Tuesday, it could be much of the same for the 6-foot-3 receiver who spent all 17 weeks of his rookie season last year on the practice squad.
“It is definitely good getting some reps with the ones,” Brown said. “When my number is called, I am just trying make sure that I ready and I know what I am doing. I've noticed (the Steelers taking a long look at him), and it's definitely encouraging.”
No one expects Justin Brown to have a jump from obscurity to a 1,000-yard season in a year like Antonio Brown, but the Steelers want to see if he's capable. There is a need at the position after losing 113 catches and 16 touchdowns from a year ago when the defections of free agents Emmanuel Sanders and Jerricho Cotchery.
“I feel like I have been trying to better my game,” Brown said. “I am trying to go hard every day and show the coaches that I have been working hard. But as I said, I still have a ways to go.”
The Steelers brought in two free agent receivers (Moore, Darrius Heyward-Bey); three receivers who were in another camp last year (Danny Coale, Lanear Simpson, Kashif Moore); drafted one in the fourth round (Martavis Bryant); and added a rookie the second week of OTAs (C.J. Goodwin) in the hopes of finding someone who could fill out the position.
Derek Moye and Markus Wheaton are holdovers from last year, but they have a combined eight catches between them. The Steelers would like to see Wheaton, a third-round pick last year, assert himself, but the speedy receiver was slowed by a finger injury last year and has been kept out of team drills at times this spring, thus giving Brown an unexpected opportunity.
“Justin is doing some great things,” quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said. “I just like that he keeps working to get better and every day you see improvement from him.”
Brown made plenty of plays after transferring from Penn State to Oklahoma for his senior year amid the Jerry Sandusky scandal.
Brown equaled the amount of catches he had at Oklahoma in one year (73) and nearly doubled the touchdowns catches (five) compared to what he had all three years at Penn State.
Brown finished with 879 yards — eighth in the nation — his only year at Oklahoma with Landry Jones, now a backup with the Steelers, as his quarterback.
[URL]http://triblive.com/sports/steelers/6280058-74/brown-steelers-antonio#ixzz34loyZJPD[/URL]
Justin Brown just waiting for his chance
By Jeff.Hartman on Jun 16 2014
In the 'what have you done for me lately' NFL, sometimes players just need one opportunity to prove their worth to the team.
Can one play, one game, make or break a career? Some might disagree, but if you look beyond the red tape you'll see that sometimes players simply need a chance to prove themselves.
Every year you see and hear about players that have risen from obscurity to become high profile NFL superstars, and fans always wonder where this player came from? More likely than not, the player simply was given an opportunity. Whether it was due to an injury above them on the depth chart, or the fact that they proven their worth in practice with hard work and determination, they finally got their shot.
The Pittsburgh Steelers have had their share of players who have risen up to perform when given the opportunity, and their share of players who have dropped the ball, figuratively and literally, and squandered away their chance.
A player like Limas Sweed is a player that had the tools, but when given the opportunity to make plays on the field, it just never panned out, and because of that he is no longer with the Steelers and no longer in the NFL.
The other side of the coin are players who's stars shown brightest when they were given the chance. Antonio Brown as a 6th round draft pick was given the chance to make a play in the AFC Championship game against the Baltimore Ravens in 2010 took that chance, in the form of a 58 yard catch, pinned it to his helmet, and never looked back.
The Steelers very well could have a few players on their current roster going through OTAs and minicamp that could just need that one chance to prove themselves, and it looks like former Penn State and Oklahoma receiver Justin Brown could be in the Steelers' plans.
Brown has gotten more reps with the starting unit this year throughout OTAs than he had all of last year combined. For whatever reason, the Steelers are giving him his shot.
"It is definitely good getting some reps with the ones," Brown told Mark Kaboly of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. "When my number is called, I am just trying make sure that I ready and I know what I am doing. I've noticed (the Steelers taking a long look at him), and it's definitely encouraging."
For Brown, he knows it is all about improvement and making sure that when the time comes, he is able to make the plays necessary to solidify himself on the Steelers' roster.
"I am trying to go hard every day and show the coaches that I have been working hard. But as I said, I still have a ways to go."
Now, it is simply up to Justin Brown not to drop the ball.
[URL]http://cdn1.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/34398771/20130503_jla_al8_049.0_standard_709.0.jpg[/URL]
Steeler teams featuring stat-driven, me-first, fantasy-football-darling diva types such as Antonio Brown & Le'Veon Bell won no championships.
Super Bowl winning Steeler teams were built around a dynamic, in-your-face defense plus blue-collar, hard-hitting, no-nonsense football players on offense such as Hines Ward & Jerome Bettis.
We don't want Juju & Conner to replace what we lost in Brown & Bell.
We are counting on Juju & Conner to return us to the glory we once had with Hines & The Bus.
Im pulling for him.....glad to hear no one talking about Moye regardless
Steeler teams featuring stat-driven, me-first, fantasy-football-darling diva types such as Antonio Brown & Le'Veon Bell won no championships.
Super Bowl winning Steeler teams were built around a dynamic, in-your-face defense plus blue-collar, hard-hitting, no-nonsense football players on offense such as Hines Ward & Jerome Bettis.
We don't want Juju & Conner to replace what we lost in Brown & Bell.
We are counting on Juju & Conner to return us to the glory we once had with Hines & The Bus.
Don't sleep on Steelers WR Justin Brown
July, 31, 2014
Scott Brown | ESPN.com
LATROBE, Pa. – Justin Brown wanted to see how one of the best wide receivers in the NFL trains, so he spent a couple of weeks in between the end of offseason practices and the start of training camp working out with Pittsburgh Steelers teammate Antonio Brown.
To hear Antonio Brown tell it, he worked over the wide receiver with the same surname.
“He fell asleep a couple of days [after working out],” Brown said. “Ask him about it.”
Antonio Brown's offseason workouts are strenuous, as teammate Justin Brown can attest.
Justin Brown said Antonio Brown might have embellished a little bit.
“It was pretty hard, but I didn’t pass out,” Justin Brown said. “Everyone involved in those workouts was at some point laying on their back.”
What is no exaggeration is how maniacal Antonio Brown is about training, which is one reason why the two-time Pro Bowl receiver has ascended to the top of his profession after watching 194 players get drafted ahead of him in 2010.
Included in their daily regimen were sled pushes, sprints, pass-catching drills, running ladders while wearing weighted vests and lifting weights.
The training that preceded the Steelers’ arrival at camp is another reason why it would not be wise to sleep on Justin Brown.
A 2013 sixth-round pick, he shined during the offseason practices and he has seemingly caught everything thrown his way at camp. Brown, who spent all of last season on the practice squad, would add some size to a smallish group of wide receivers, and the 6-3, 209-pound former Oklahoma Sooners receiver has impressed the leader of the position with his approach.
“I think he’s really motivated and hungry about getting an opportunity to play,” Antonio Brown said.
Justin Brown is much more confident this year after feeling his way through training camp last year, similar to trying to find a light switch in a dark room.
“Just knowing more has allowed me to play faster,” Brown said. “It still comes down to going out and making plays and that’s what I’ve got to do.”
[URL]http://espn.go.com/blog/pittsburgh-steelers/post/_/id/7846/dont-sleep-on-steelers-wr-justin-brown[/URL]
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