While Antonio Brown may make more headlines off the field these days than he ever made on the field, he was a Hall of Fame-caliber player when he actually took the field as an NFL player. One of Brown’s greatest strengths was his route-running, and Pro Football Network’s Dakota Randall ranked Brown the second-best route-runner in NFL history, behind San Francisco 49ers legend Jerry Rice.
“He wasn’t the tallest wideout, nor was he the fastest. Brown possessed elite quickness and burst, which he paired with breathtaking route-running ability. In fact, many football experts argue that Brown is the greatest route runner of all time. In his prime, there wasn’t anything he couldn’t do at receiver.”
Brown’s route-running ability likely came from his legendary work ethic. While things tailed off at the end of his career, Brown was notorious for giving his all at practice each and every day during the prime of his career. It’s one of the reasons that former Steelers GM Kevin Colbert thinks there’s no debate that Brown is a Hall of Fame receiver. Despite not having the measurables of many elite receivers, Brown separated himself with unbelievable footwork and was able to create space and become one of the best receivers of his era.
In fact, it’s hard to argue that Brown wasn’t the best receiver in the league when he was with the Steelers, as he put up six straight seasons of 100-plus catches and led the league in receptions in 2014 and 2015 with 129 and 136 receptions, respectively.
Things ended poorly with him in Pittsburgh, but he truly was an elite talent during his time with the Steelers, and it’s a shame that the team couldn’t have more success during the Killer B’s era with him, Ben Roethlisberger, and Le’Veon Bell. The closest the Steelers came to the Super Bowl during that era was in 2016, which was also the last time the Steelers had a playoff win. That season, they lost to the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship game, a game where Brown had seven receptions for 77 yards in a 36-17 blowout loss at Gillette Stadium.
Given how unhinged he’s become off the field, it’s become increasingly difficult to separate the person and the player, but Brown was one-of-a-kind during his tenure with the Steelers, and it’s hard to debate that he had one of the greatest peaks of any receiver in NFL history, and his route-running was undoubtedly elite. Pro Football Network gives him the respect he deserves by putting him at No. 2, and even in the era of elite receivers we’re currently in, it’s rare we’ll see another receiver with the same prowess as Brown.
