By: Andy Davies

Antonio Brown is one of the sports’ most controversial figures. However, whenever he steps on the field, there is always magic. Aged 34 and without a team, retirement is more likely than Brown finding a new team. But is he a Hall of Famer?

Let’s take a look at the reasons for and against his inclusion, before coming to a decision. 

Reasons For His Inclusion

If it were not for his off-the-field behavior, Brown would most likely be a first-ballot Hall of Famer. He has six straight 1,000-yard seasons between 2013 and 2018, almost eclipsing the 2,000 mark in 2015 when he achieved 1,834. 

With 12, 291 career yards and 83 career touchdowns, it is hard to ignore his production. A seven-time Pro Bowler and a member of the Hall of Fame All-2010 team, he also caught for a touchdown in Super Bowl 55 as he and the Tom Brady-led Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the Kansas City Chiefs on his way to his only ring to date.

In his prime, he was electric. Pure speed, quick feet, and an ability to change his movement and trick defenders were pure footballing ecstasy. However, his recent behavior has left a sour taste in people’s mouths. 

Reasons Against His Inclusion

It seemed for a while that Brown had matured. Living in Tom Brady’s house, no trouble for a while, and performing when it mattered in the playoffs. 

And then the wheels fell off again in the 2021 season, with his return seeming all but unlikely. His walk off the sideline, which was followed by throwing his shirt in the crowd, was the last straw for then Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians.

Brown was a distraction during his last season with the Pittsburgh Steelers, falling out with several players such as quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. He then was traded to the Oakland Raiders but was let go before he even took to the field after falling out with head coach Jon Gruden. This is after he had arrived at training in a hot air balloon, caught frostbite on his feet, and had a dispute with the league over the helmet that he wanted to use. He lasted just one game with his next team, the New England Patriots, before being released due to off-the-field allegations.

Sadly, for Brown, fans remember this behavior more these days than how good of a player he was.

Conclusion

It is for this reason that he is most likely not going to become a Hall of Famer. It should be noted that Ray Lewis is in the Hall of Fame despite those allegations, but he was never convicted. Brown’s behavior was there to see in plain daylight. It would set a bad example to the young generation if he were to be included.

The post Is Antonio Brown a future Hall of Famer? appeared first on Pro Football Mania.

The NFL has witnessed countless alpha wide receivers (with swag) in its existence. There has been a plethora of Hall of Fame-caliber WRs over the prior 15 years — such as “Megatron”, Larry Fitzgerald, Terrell Owens, and Randy Moss. So, where do these recent, electric wideouts stand amid the best-ever WRs? Well, I’m going to untwine the 10 best WRs of all time.

1. Jerry Rice

The legendary San Francisco 49ers wideout Jerry Rice may have used stickum, but he was undoubtedly the best WR to play the game. Rice was a first-team All-Pro a whopping 10 times! He had eight seasons of 13+ receiving touchdowns. Furthermore, he ousted six seasons of 1,499+ receiving yards. He even won Offensive Player of The Year in 1987 and in 1993.

2. Randy Moss

Before Justin Jefferson mopped the floor against opposing cornerbacks in Minnesota, there was a mythical character named Randy Moss that terrorized opponents. Moss had 17 receiving touchdowns as a rookie – which led him to garner Offensive Rookie of The Year. His most impressive season arrived in 2007 with Tom “The GOAT” Brady – where he unveiled a record-breaking 23 receiving touchdowns in a single season.

3. Don Hutson

Don Hutson may be a dinosaur-like WR – as he started his NFL journey in 1935. Nonetheless, he ascended into an unstoppable force with the Pack. He was named first-team All-Pro a whopping eight times in his football life. In 1942, he (quite) impressively unleashed 1,211 receiving yards and 17 receiving touchdowns.

4. Chris Carter

The other greek god-like Vikings WR to make this list is none other than Chris Carter. The eight-time Pro Bowler finished with 13,899 receiving yards and 130 touchdowns. Carter – also known as “Sleepy” – ousted three seasons of 13+ touchdowns. Could another NFC North wideout be ranked after him?

5. Calvin Johnson Jr.

“Peace through Tyranny” – Megatron

The former unearthly Detroit Lions WR Calvin Johnson Jr. once summoned two New Orleans Saints cornerbacks to guard him on a play. Johnson Jr. wasn’t only a WR from a different planet, but he also played at an unusually high level with pedestrian QB play. Megatron ousted 1,681 receiving yards and 16 TDs in 2011 and then managed to unleash 1,964 yards in 2012.

6. Terrell Owens

Terrell Owens, also known as Antonio Brown before Antonio Brown, was a pillar of top-tier domination over a long duration of time. He somehow managed to unleash seven seasons of 13+ receiving touchdowns. He also had nine seasons of 1,000+ receiving yards. TO was named first-team All-Pro five times in his career.

*TO also played in a Super Bowl with a broken leg!

7. Larry Fitzgerald

The Arizona Cardinals legendary wideout Larry Fitzgerald made a whopping 11 Pro Bowls in his “only Cardinals” career. Fitz has notched eight seasons of at least 8 TD catches. Furthermore, he’s unleashed nine seasons of 1,000+ receiving yards. He finished his AZ career with 121 TDs & 17,492 yards. He also co-won Walter Payton Man of The Year in 2016.

8. Marvin Harrison

Marvin Harrison was undeniably a gift from the football gods to the Indianapolis Colts. Harrison unleashed eight seasons of 10+ receiving touchdowns. He also had three seasons of 1,500+ receiving yards. He was named first-team All-Pro three times, made eight Pro Bowls, and even took second place in the OPOY voting in 2002. Let’s not forget that he and Peyton Manning won Super Bowl XLI.

9. Antonio Brown

The utterly talented & controversial WR Antonio Brown has been a wrecking ball over the past decade. Brown has been named first-team All-Pro four times and he’s also made seven Pro Bowls. He’s recorded 12,291 total yards and 83 touchdowns. Of course, AB picked up his pivotal Super Bowl ring with Tom Brady last season. So, the question is: is AB done in the NFL?

10. Steve Largent

The Seattle Seahawks greek god-like WR Steve Largent unleashed eight seasons of 1,000+ receiving yards. He finished with an impressive clear-cut 100 receiving touchdowns in his football life. He obtained seven Pro Bowl selections and was named at least second-team All-Pro five times. Largent dazzled opponents long before DK Metcalf in the Rainy City.

The post 10 Best Wide Receivers of All Time appeared first on Pro Football Mania.

By Chris Moore (Twitter: @fantasy_moore)

Potential Return

Following his walk-off against the Jets, many thought it was the end of Antonio Brown in the NFL. But that potentially may not be the case. Brown has had multiple off-field issues during his career in the NFL, but due to his talent, NFL franchises have continued to give Brown chances. Brown had a disastrous exit with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last season. While most franchises probably won’t take the flier on Brown due to his character concerns and off-field drama, there could be a few that take the chance.

Baltimore Ravens

After Brown was released from the Buccaneers, he expressed the next quarterback he wants to play for is Lamar Jackson. The Ravens were one of the teams Brown said he wanted to play for next, and signing Brown could make sense for the Ravens. Jackson and the Ravens’ offense struggled last season due to injuries and the lack of offensive weapons. They have one of the best tight ends in the NFL and a young pair of wide receivers in Marquise Brown and Rashod Batemen, but the offense was still very lackluster at times.

Baltimore struggled with injuries last season, so it’s fair to say Jackson had a down year in 2021. Adding a veteran receiver in Brown who could help ease the expectations off Marquise Brown and Rashod Batemen could be very beneficial to Jackson in 2022. With the emergence of the Bengals in the division and the AFC only getting better, the Ravens need to do something to elevate their offense in 2022 if they expect to compete in the conference.

Dallas Cowboys

The Ravens weren’t the only team Brown expressed interest in this offseason, as the Cowboys were also mentioned as a destination where Brown would like to play. The Cowboys just traded away star wide receiver Amari Cooper to the Browns. While the Cowboys still have Ceedee Lamb and plan to resign Michael Gallup, they still have a hole at wide receiver. Gallup is coming off a torn ACL, and the Cowboys don’t have a lot of depth behind those two guys. Signing Brown would give the Cowboys three dynamic wide receivers like they had last season, at a way cheaper cost.

Arizona Cardinals

The Cardinals need to get Kyler Murray more help if they want to compete in the NFC. The Cardinals have looked like a completely different team when DeAndre Hopkins isn’t on the field. Murray holds onto the ball longer, and their wide receivers struggled to get open when Hopkins wasn’t in the lineup.

Christian Kirk is also set to hit the open market and could be playing elsewhere in 2022. Hopkins has had durability issues over the past two seasons, and the Cardinals need to find Murray more weapons. Brown would form a dangerous duo with Hopkins and give Murray another guy he can rely on.  

The post Top 3 landing spots for Antonio Brown appeared first on Pro Football Mania.

By Zach Kurt

There is always a week of overreaction in the first week of the season and as smart fantasy managers, you should take advantage of the overreactions. There are also a lot of panic trades (products of the overreactions) in the first few weeks of the season. PAY ATTENTION TO INJURIES and if someone had Ryan Fitzpatrick as a starting QB in Superflex, then sell high on a mediocre QB. Also, watch for the players dropped on waivers! Paying attention to the overreactions, waiver wire transactions, and injuries allow you to sell high and make a profit from these specific individuals. 

Antonio Brown had an absolutely monster game and has been one of the best to ever play the game. However, I do believe he is the 3rd target in this offense and is just a 1-year rental. Brown is 33 years old, he has a troublesome past and this is likely Brady’s last year. Not a lot of WR’s are fantasy relevant at 34 years old. I just saw Brown get traded for a 1st and a 2nd in dynasty. This is an absolute overpay which is why you can sell high because he is AB. People are buying into the narrative of him being vintage AB. Sell, Sell, Sell!

We have seen the Sam Darnold Robby Anderson connection before and it was not lucrative. Robby was an absolute PPR machine last year. He filled a role on that team that was missing due to CMC’s absence. Now CMC is back, D.J. Moore is the WR1, and Terrace Marshall had double the amount of targets in comparison to Robby’s targets. Robby had one monster 12 point play but besides that one play he put up a goose egg. If you are going to sell Robby do it as fast as you can. He is the #4 option on this offense and that is just not something I want as well as it seemed to work this week..

The leader of the texans backfield has arrived. Mark Ingram had a lot of volume on Sunday. He accumulated  25+ carries as well as a score on the ground. In a crowded backfield, he seemed to get the edge. However, this will more than likely be the only team they beat this year. This is why they had such a run-heavy game script. Ingram may be the “lead back” but all 3 backs had a TD and all had decent involvement. To me this means it is going to be split up every game and Ingram will be used in positive game scripts Like I said above this may be the only team that they have a positive game script against. I would sell as high as you can although for a 31-year-old RB on a very bad team you aren’t likely to get a huge return.

Gronk looked like vintage Gronk against a very bad team this week. However, I don’t believe he is in prime Gronk form. Everyone in fantasy absolutely loved Gronk he was similar to Kelce just more TD-heavy! He is a 1-year asset and is the 4th target on the team. A crowded WR room and a crowded TE room for Gronk screams sell him on nostalgia. This isn’t 2016 as much fun as that would be!

Tyrod Taylor has gotten replaced every season over the past couple of years. It could happen again this year. Now I like Tyrod as a player but there is nothing special about him. Tyrod is a mobile QB that can throw the ball accurately enough to pass as a starter in the NFL. the Texans drafted David Mills and with my projection of the Texans being one of the worse teams in the NFL I believe he will assume the starting role at some point this season. I say that because at some point they will be knocked out of playoff contention and they need to see what they have in mills before they grab a high capital QB in the 2022 draft! Go find the guy that just lost Fitzpatrick and offer him a “Steal” on Tyrod.

Now I don’t expect you to get an absolute bounty for any of these players. I do expect many of these players to lose value over the course of the season. They all have great opportunities to sell on. Don’t forget to pay close attention to those transactions and injuries.. It is a way to take your league by storm and sell high. As always send those trade offers because DYNASTY NEVER RESTS!

The post Dynasty sells after Week 1 appeared first on Pro Football Mania.

By Jesse Moeller (Twitter: @jmoeller05)

With the NFL season 78 days away, I figured it was time to dive in and find some value plays for the upcoming year. Where I wanted to start my search is at the wide receiver position. It is a position chalked full of talent that you can randomly pick a player and say they are top twenty-four in fantasy or a WR2. Or it at least would seem that way. I wanted to pick one player, each valued as a WR3, WR4, and WR5, who will outperform that ADP this year, and become a flex player or better this season. I will list my preferred options in each range and select a winner for each group. We will be using Fantasy Pros ADP as of June 22nd, 2021.

The WR3 (25-36) candidates: Tee Higgins (25), Chase Claypool (26), Brandon Aiyuk (27), D.J. Chark (29), Courtland Sutton (32), Ja’Marr Chase (33), Robby Anderson (35), Brandin Cooks (36)

My WR3 is Tee Higgins

I have been pounding the table for Higgins this entire offseason, so it should come as no surprise I would take him here. Higgins had a fantastic rookie year that was interrupted by a Joe Burrow injury in week 11. Higgins was having a remarkable season up until that point. While Higgins did not put up similar stats when Burrow was out, his target share jumped up to 24%. Closing out the year Higgins out-snapped and received more targets per game than Boyd.

As we moved into the offseason, Higgins hype went into overdrive. He reached the WR12 rankings in dynasty circles in March as the community was foaming at the mouth, thinking of the possibility of Burrow throwing to Higgins for the next decade. But, instead, the Bengals passed on Sewell and drafted super prospect Ja’Marr Chase Burrow’s partner at LSU. As a result, Higgins value took quite the dive as we are unsure how the pecking order would sort out in Cincy.

Now the concern is how much volume is available in an offense due to the receiving talent the Bengals currently possess in Higgins, Chase, and Boyd. There have been various teams in the last few seasons to support multiple top 24 receiving options. As the best passing attacks in the NFL support numerous players. Here is a list of each team in the last four years to support two top 24 WR.

2020: (4) Seahawks, Vikings, Cowboys, Steelers
2019: (3) Buccaneers, Rams, Cowboys
2018: (5) Falcons, Buccaneers, Steelers, Vikings, Rams
2017: (3) Steelers, Lions, Eagles

You might notice teams showing up multiple times, which makes sense as the best passing attacks allow two and sometimes three wide receivers to be relevant in fantasy. You have little to worry about from Higgins this year, as the Bengals will be amongst the league leaders in pass attempts in 2021. Higgins is an integral part of this offense and will command targets throughout the season. Do not let the name of Chase scare you off of upside Higgins presents in 2021. If you are curious where I stand on the two I will let my tweet below clear it up

The WR4 (37-48) candidates: Will Fuller (39), DeVonta Smith (40), Curtis Samuel (41), Jerry Jeudy (42), Michael Pittman (46), Laviska Shenault (47), Jaylen Waddle (48)

My WR4 is Curtis Samuel

The Washington Football team had a very condensed passing attack in 2020, with Terry Mclaurin, J.D. McKissic, and Logan Thomas accounting for 354 targets out of a possible 573. That’s a whopping 61.7% of the attempts going to three players. The most interesting statistic is how involved McKissic was in the passing game with Alex Smith compared to the other quarterbacks on the roster last year. In the eight games with Smith, Mckissic had a 22.9% Target Share. In the games without Smith, his Target Share dropped to 13.8%! That is a monumental change based on the play of the quarterback.

Enter Curtis Samuel and Ryan Fitzpatrick. The offense should look drastically different in 2021, with Fitz as the wheel. While Fitzpatrick is not the gunslinger, so many of us believed him to be. Fitzpatrick does not check down to the running back the way Smith did last year. Instead, his skills complement Samuel flawlessly. Fitzpatrick has one of the lower average depth of target during his career in the NFL, where Samuel disrupts a defense. Samuel in space underneath is how to use his talents best. Samuel is the type of guy you want to generate YAC, and those underneath throws create openings allowing Samuel to obliterate defenses.

An often misunderstood part of Samuel’s game is how dynamic of a player he is. In 2019 he was given 27 deep attempts (>20 yards downfield), best for eight in the NFL. Which, to anyone outside Carolina, may come as a severe surprise. Carolina corrected previous mistakes this last year, increased his slot snap share > 50%, gave him 41 rushing attempts, and cut his deep targets in half. Giving a player with his skillset the majority of slot snaps has the same goal as increasing his rushing attempts. Letting Samuel in space, allowing him to use his speed, which is why Samuel could put together the season he did.

The WR5 (49-60) candidates: Corey Davis (49), Antonio Brown (50), Michael Gallup (51), Cole Beasley (52), Darnell Mooney (55), John Brown (58)

My WR5 is Antonio Brown

Antonio Brown is someone I am grabbing everywhere I can, as I expect big things from him this year. However, one of our generation’s most transcendent wide receivers will be catching passes from Tom Brady, AKA The Goat, in 2021. I scratch my head, wondering what I am missing, with almost everyone fading Brown to the later rounds of drafts.

Brown did miss a good chunk of the season last year, but that should not be a reason to fade A.B., as when he was on the field for Tampa, Brown was heavily involved. He trailed only Davante Adams in Hog Rate last season. Hog Rate is a metric designed to tell you how much a player is featured on the field. The simple version is that it is Targets Per Snap. For Brown not playing until week 9, coming in and immediately establishing himself is remarkable considering how the year started. It shows us that Brady truly has eyes for Brown, and I would expect that to lead into the 2021 season.

Brown had a more significant target share than Evans and Godwin in the games he played last year. So I see it as a mess for Evans and Godwin, going six rounds earlier, as Brown will push both for the lead in team targets. Don’t miss out on the best sleeper wide receiver in your draft this season. Grab Brown everywhere you can.

Even outside the top 60, there are some promising dart throws for your fantasy team this season. The names Elijah Moore, Nelson Agholor, John Brown, Parris Campbell, Emmanuel Sanders, and Rondale Moore are ones I expect to outproduce their current ADP. Grab these players late in your draft. You will enjoy having them on your rosters for this year. All of these players are in offenses either needing an alpha or are lacking multiple threats. There is an obvious path for them to come in and be relevant early and often in 2021.

The post 3 sleeper WRs for redraft appeared first on Pro Football Mania.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have had arguably one of the best receiving cores in the NFL as of late.  They have also added to it this offseason during the draft, taking Jaelon Darden with the 129^th pick.  They also re-signed Antonio Brown, and franchise tagged Chris Godwin, bringing their four top receivers back for another season.  

In this article, I will be predicting the stats of the Bucs top three receivers who should all get touches, those being:

• Mike Evans
• Chris Godwin
• Antonio Brown

Each of these receivers brings a different skillset to the team, and should each have pretty varying levels of different receiving stats.  With that said, here are my predictions”¦

Mike Evans

Statline: 123 receptions on 76 targets (61.8% catch rate), 1208 receiving yards, 10 TDs

Mike Evans had a relatively down year in 2020 by his standards, likely because of all the new weapons brought in.  However, with Tom Brady continuing to age, it is apparent that his arm fell off a little bit last year in terms of the deep ball.  With this in mind, Evans should have a “comeback” year of sorts in 2021, continuing his streak of 1000 yard seasons through his whole career.

The reason Brady factors into this is because Evans tends to run the short-intermediate routes, while Antonio Brown will run the deep slot routes most of the time.  This precise route running from Evans should allow him to be Brady’s favorite target this season, as it will make his job exceptionally easy.

Chris Godwin

Statline: 68 receptions on 89 targets (76.4% catch rate), 895 receiving yards, 8 TDs

Chris Godwin has mostly had the lesser of the two stat lines out of this duo, and I do not think that will change unless Evans has a severe drop off in production.  With that said, he still sees a slight increase from 2020 as he likely will play one more game than last year at the least (played in 12 last season).  

This increase likely will not cut into the other receivers on the team, as like I mentioned this is purely due to an increase in games played not number of targets per game.  At only 25 years old this season though, he should be looking to make an entry for the WR1 conversation on the team.

Since he would be going against the 2^nd best CBs in the teams he plays, his coverage would be slightly sparse compared to Evans.  If they can draw coverage off of eachother and try to “pick and roll” per-say, that would give them a huge advantage on the field for sure.  

Antonio Brown

Statline: 60 receptions on 82 targets (73.2% catch rate), 795 receiving yards, 8 TDs

Another player who will benefit from more games played is the addition from last season, Antonio Brown.  My guess is he will likely start 10-12 games of the 17 this season, which is why he has such a drastic improvement in this statline compared to last season.  His primary focus as a receiver is turning YAC and getting to the endzone if he can rip a gap open.

The low-ish receiving yards compared to the other two receivers is due to just lack of volume, sharing between three primary receivers is absolutely difficult to do, even for someone like Tom Brady.  There is only so many receptions that can be given out per game, and the focus of the offense is heavily reliant upon Godwin and Evans, so this deteriorates the touches of everyone else.  

With that said, since he would likely be going up against the CB3 of each team he plays, this would still allow him to produce no doubt.  When the duo ahead of him is getting a lot of the focus, he can get to the seam and rip off long plays.  

The post Projecting the prominent Buccaneers WRs stat lines in 2021 appeared first on Pro Football Mania.