Antonio Brown - Alive & Well in TB?

[MR ROURKE]

I think WR3 on your FF is right where you want him. I wouldn't feel great about him as my WR#2, but he has upside games to really help you out at the WR3 or flex.

[joeylitz]

I just don't get it. Most redraft and dynasty rankings have him somewhere between 22-26.

Last year should have been a great year for him. It was his 3rd year in the league; he had an amazing camp; he had Mike Wallace on the other side to draw coverage. He finished with mediocre stats. Also concerning is that he's averaged only 3.5 TDs over the last two years.

I like guys that know how to find the end zone and I'm not sure he will regularly find pay dirt.

So...where am I wrong? Like I said, he gets such a high ranking but are people still remembering his "breakout" 2 seasons ago?

[sloth8u]

people are remembering what they saw two years ago. he struggled last year with lingering injuries. if that happens again this year, it will be concerning to owners. i have heard him multiple times mentioned as the best route runner in the league. (ive tried to find it and post it on the forums, but it was in a radio interview on espn i believe) its obvious to me that the steelers believe he is their future wr1. if he and ben can get together, there are not alot of other guys there to steal targets. i dont think his ceiling is top 10, but somewhere around 15, which makes him a great wr2. im guessing in the fantasy community that he gets this year to prove he belongs in this range, if he cant do it this year, i imagine he start dropping down the rankings. i personally think he breaks through this year and see the wr 12-18 finish that some think he can have. solidifying him moving forward as a nice wr2 option on our fantasy teams.

[FiremanEd]

How much love is he getting? I think he is solid WR3, and WR2 in PPR. The problem will probably be TDs...

To gauge, who would you take;

Brown vs Mike Wallace
Brown vs Amendola
Brown vs Torrey Smith
Brown vs Bowe

I can see a range of opinions on all these comparison. If you are banking on him as high-end WR2 I think you are looking best case (PPR only)

[slaughterrt]

I have had him rostered since his rookie year waiting for him to explode. Every yesr is supposed to be THE year...still waiting. However don't forget that he fields kicks too so potential TDs there.

[Mangelo]

I see you just joinedyea day ago. You shoulda been here a year ago. That was real love, of the Mary j blige variety. He was better than mike Wallace according to some.

[slaughterrt]

I think Brown would be a more consistent player of the low WR2 variety. Wallace was more of a hit or miss/deep threat guy with WR1 potential, but just as good a chance to put up a goose egg.

[henry1jg]

FIRE UP CHIPS!!!

[seahawks506]

Besides Big Ben Brown is the only sure thing they have at any skill position, really. Who knows how Bell will do, if Sanders and Wheaton will step up- none of them have proven much at the NFL level yet. Brown is going to play the X receiver which in Haley's offense has always been pretty productive. Brown did reach 1100 yards a couple years ago so we know he's capable of being a nice PPR WR2, pretty much someone has to catch passes for Ben, and Brown is the WR1. Personally I think he's been undervalued this offseason and will be a solid WR2 option if he can stay healthy.

[PapaBearsPlaybook]

Hi All,

Can he be a mid-high WR2 producer this year?

Thoughts?

[RonW15]

yeah that seems about right..... somewhere in the top 20

[FiremanEd]

Somewhere in Top 20 is too optimistic for me. 12-26 is more my range. Needs to do more than last year, and I don't know if the Wallace loss hurts or helps. I like the catches opportunity, but he needs more TDs to stick top 20.

[bob2005]

Brown is a difficult WR to forecast and he seems to have several things working against him.

He's still young so his body of work is small. There's the feeling that we don't quite know who he really is yet.

Perhaps more damaging is that he's small and not very tall. And he was drafted in the sixth round. So I think that lowers expectations further. If he was 6'2" and even a third round pick, more people would be more comfortable about Brown and there would be less of a sense that he could just be a mirage.

Even though he is less celebrated than his former teammate Mike Wallace, a case could be made that they are closer in quality than most people think. Brown is stepping into a new role so there is some risk there.

There's also the widespread perception that he doesn't score TDs. People seem to remember that he only scored 2 TDs two years ago and forget or minimize the fact that he caught four TD passes in the last four games to finish last season.

There seems to be a bias on the part of most people to possibly undervalue Brown rather than overestimate his worth. There should be more clarity after this season.

[preeti222]

Antonio Brown= no brainer. He's going to have a huge year.The Steelers offense has a few question marks, but he will be good this year.not #1 material but high end 2.

[henry1jg]

I think Antonio (Fire Up Chips!) will be a low end WR2/high end WR3. Likely in the 22-28 range.