Is Antonio Brown the Greatest Steelers WR?

[Lonbull]

I'm old enough to have seen the greats....(well I never saw Elbie Nickel) -- but I'm asking this seriously -- or has Steeler Nation known this for some time and I just hadn't heard it?

Is Antonio Brown the Greatest Steelers WR of All-Time?


Hines Ward - unfortunately played a great deal of his career when we didn't have very good Quarterbacks. Granted Hines always gets extra points in my book because he played like an extra Off. Lineman when we needed him to block.

Lynn Swann -- was a human highlight reel -- and always came up big during the Super Bowls

John Stallworth -- longevity -- Mr. Clutch game in and game out.

Louis Lipps - never played for a very good team, but he had a lot of talent.


**I think I've taken Antonio Brown for granted -- it's not a great comparison, but back in the day when I'd watch Michael Jordan play....I would think he wasn't having "that" great of a game....and then you look at the stats sheet at the end of the game and he had 42 points.....Brown feels very similar.

L.B.

[RuthlessBurgher]

I think we have 3 players on this team who are the most talented players to ever play their position in Steeler history.

Brown is better than Ward/Swann/Stallworth/Lipps.

Bell is better than Harris/Bettis.

Ben is better than Bradshaw.

[SteelerOfDeVille]

Bell is better than Harris/Bettis.

This is the PERFECT point because it leads me to another. How do you determine the best... is it talent? Performance? Duration? Is Bell's 30-some games enough to make that determination yet?

For example, I put Barry Foster ahead of Harris and Bettis, talent wise. Talent-wise, Barry was Ladanian Tomlinson before LT2 (in an uncommitted person).

[Mr.wizard]

Brown is hands down the best receiver to ever play for the Steelers and I don't even think it's close.

[Captain Lemming]

This is the PERFECT point because it leads me to another. How do you determine the best... is it talent? Performance? Duration? Is Bell's 30-some games enough to make that determination yet?

For example, I put Barry Foster ahead of Harris and Bettis, talent wise. Talent-wise, Barry was Ladanian Tomlinson before LT2 (in an uncommitted person).

Always felt for a very brief period, Foster at his peak was Steeler GOAT among running backs.
Never was overly impressed by Franco period.....he was very good for a long time on a great team.

Bell has been the best of all of them

I

[Mr.wizard]

I think Bell is the best too because he can hurt you in so many ways on any down and distance.

[Captain Lemming]

Brown is hands down the best receiver to ever play for the Steelers and I don't even think it's close.

Gotta agree......but in my heart.....Swann and Stallworth "feel" like they were better, as they have that "childhood hero" status for me

[Captain Lemming]

I think Bell is the best too because he can hurt you in so many ways on any down and distance.

But Conner can fill his greedy shoes easily.....

[Cinnjerm3000]

I kinda settled into the idea that Brown is the greatest this team has ever seen after the 2015 season. It's crazy thinking he was less than 200 yards shy of breaking 2000 yards (a mark no receiver has ever achieved) and didn't even have Ben for over a quarter of the season. He's on pace to accumulate more receptions and yards in a five year period than any receiver in NFL history. Yeah, it's pretty safe to say he's the greatest...by kind of a lot.

[Furious]

Gotta agree......but in my heart.....Swann and Stallworth "feel" like they were better, as they have that "childhood hero" status for me

Couldn't agree more. As a kid these guys were TITANS!... (that's why Lambert is still in my top two of all time Steeler greats). But statistically Swann and Stallworth can't touch AB. He's a rare talent and appears he's going to continue slamming the numbers both Steeler and NFL. With his preparation and regard to his craft, his legacy might be GOAT level when it's all said and done.

With that said, no one has ever or will ever play the wideout position like Hines. He played WR like Lambert, Butkus, Singletary, Harrison and Lott. Miss seeing him lay the wood on the field.

[SidSmythe]

The fact that Antonio Brown works so hard at his craft while putting up the numbers makes him the best ever.

[feltdizz]

It's not even close.

[SteelerOfDeVille]

But statistically Swann and Stallworth can't touch AB.

it's a different game today than it was back then. If a QB threw for 3000 in a season, that was incredible. Now, we've had guys throw for 5000. Put Swann in today's game and he's probably the best WR in the game (think of how many times we've seen OBJ's catch).

Look at the all-time single season leaders - all but 2 ore mid 80's or more recent (after Swann and Stallworth retired). The vast majority have happened since the year 2000 (19 of the 30). You have guys on the list like David Boston (who isn't in Swanny's league). Point is, it's not really an apples-to-apples comparison to look at stats alone.

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/leaders/rec_yds_single_season.htm

[Starlifter]

it's hard not to make the case for AB. his work ethic and determination alone make him a standout. The problem I have with determining the best is that we are watching AB today while the games and our memories are fresh. I was only 12-15 years old when franco, lynn, terry and john et al were doing their thing - and I haven't watched a complete game of theirs since NFL network rebroadcast a superbowl. I also think it's really tough to compare different eras.

It would be fun to watch a complete broadcast from the 70's, one from the 80's, 90's etc and compare to today. To see swann go over the middle and nearly get decapitated without a flag being thrown. To watch the raiders try to take out franco's knees. To watch Lambert try to knock brian sipe into retirement - that would be amazing.

having said all that, what AB is doing is remarkable. And in my opinion has established himself as the best the steelers have every fielded.

[SidSmythe]

it's hard not to make the case for AB. his work ethic and determination alone make him a standout. The problem I have with determining the best is that we are watching AB today while the games and our memories are fresh. I was only 12-15 years old when franco, lynn, terry and john et al were doing their thing - and I haven't watched a complete game of theirs since NFL network rebroadcast a superbowl. I also think it's really tough to compare different eras.

It would be fun to watch a complete broadcast from the 70's, one from the 80's, 90's etc and compare to today. To see swann go over the middle and nearly get decapitated without a flag being thrown. To watch the raiders try to take out franco's knees. To watch Lambert try to knock brian sipe into retirement - that would be amazing.

having said all that, what AB is doing is remarkable. And in my opinion has established himself as the best the steelers have every fielded.

It would be interesting to see what Swann, Lipps or Stallworth would have done with today's technology and expectations.
You can't compare the 70s NFL to the 21st Century! The mentality isn't the same....nor was the money at stake.