Antonio Brown Believes He Tops Julio Jones as NFL’s Best Receiver
Over the years, the conversation around the best wide receiver in the NFL has been a fluid discussion. That has seen many of the game’s top talents at the position such as Julio Jones, Odell Beckham Jr., and now Michael Thomas each make a strong case for that recognition. Among those has been Antonio Brown, but he missed almost the entire 2019 season due to various off-the-field issues that put him on the outside looking for this topic. However, it’s something that Brown still believes he holds that prestigious title over Jones.
Antonio Brown’s NFL career
Before Brown missed almost the entire 2019 campaign, he had put together quite an impressive stretch of highly productive campaigns.
All of that firmly put in the conversation as the game’s best wide receiver as his production was unmatched over a long period. Brown had put together six consecutive seasons that saw him top at least 100 receptions and 1,200 receiving yards and post double-digit touchdowns four times during that span.
During that span, he earned six of his seven Pro Bowl selections, and All four of his First-Team All-Pro nods. Brown also led the league in receiving yards and receptions twice each, which furthered his reputation as being one of the best players in the league. That saw him earn the recognition of being voted by his peers as the second-best player on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2018.
Brown has the resume to certainly put himself among the best players in the league despite missing nearly the whole 2019 season due to his off-the-field issues. That’s something that he has made quite clear.
Antonio Brown still believes he’s the NFL’s best wide receiver
Throughout the last year, Brown has been quite vocal about how he feels regarding practically any topic.
One of which he has honed in on recently has been his standing in the NFL at his position. Brown voiced on an Instagram Live session that he’s still the best wide receiver in the game and that Julio Jones still looks up to him statistically.
There is much credence to Brown stating that he has more touchdowns than Jones over the previous five years, which he has 47 to Jones’ 31 over that span. However, the Falcons’ star wideout holds the edge with 7,795 receiving yards to Brown’s 6,004 during that stretch.
It’s an argument that Brown is squarely in despite being out for a year, but that should factor into the equation as Jones has remained in the league with any internal issues flaring up. He has dealt with injuries along the way. Still, he has remained an elite talent with his production as he has posted north of 1,300 receiving yards in each of the last five seasons, including finishing second all-time with 1,871 receiving yards in a single season.
Brown’s itching to get back into the NFL, but that’s something that is out of his hands entirely that puts his football career up in the air.
What lies ahead of Antonio Brown
At this point, Brown’s NFL future holds much uncertainty as he’s still dealing with some off-the-field matters.
The 31-year-old has continued to voice that he wants to get back into the league, but until he gets his legal matters sorted out in his favor, that will be put on pause. There is the likelihood he faces a suspension from the NFL because of his off-the-field issues that played a part in him being without a team.
There should be more clarity on this front in the coming months, but as of now, Brown is still in the same position of having his NFL future out of his control.
