Keeping up with the Steelers. The real housewives of Pittsburgh. Antonio Brown, Mike Tomlin, and Ben Roethlisberger are the closest thing to a reality show in the NFL. Rumors and drama have been flying across the league when it pertains to Antonio Brown. Is he requesting a trade? Does he really want out of Pittsburgh? Who cares? The Pittsburgh Steelers don’t need Antonio Brown.
You might be thinking that I’m a psychopath at this point but don’t jump to conclusions keep an open mind. The Steelers don’t need Antonio Brown? That’s exactly what I’m saying. Look, I don’t have much positive to say about Mike Tomlin. I don’t think he is great outside of on the mic after games. Tomlin is the master motivator but what he never gets credit for is developing talent.
Pittsburgh has drafted skill position players probably better than any organization in the NFL. Credit whoever you want. Kevin Colbert for drafting the players or Tomlin for coaching them up, the Steelers have been nailing draft picks for years. Colbert has been the Steelers general manager since 2000. Here are his draft picks at running back and wide receiver since that time.
- 2000: Plaxico Burress (1st round), Danny Farmer (4th round)
- 2001: Chris Taylor (7th round)
- 2002: Antwaan Randle El (2nd round), Verron Haynes (5th round), Lee Mays (6th round)
- 2003: JT Wall (7th round)
- 2005: Fred Gibson (4th round), Noah Herron (7th round)
- 2006: Santonio Holmes (1st round), Willie Reed (3rd round)
- 2007: Dallas Baker (7th round)
- 2008: Rashard Mendenhall (1st round), Limas Sweed (2nd round)
- 2009: Mike Wallace (3rd round), Frank Summers (5th round)
- 2010: Emmanuel Sanders (3rd round), Jonathan Dwyer (6th round), Antonio Brown (6th round)
- 2011: Baron Batch (7th round)
- 2012: Chris Rainey (5th round), Toney Clemons (7th round)
- 2013: Le’Veon Bell (2nd round), Markus Wheaton (3rd round), Justin Brown (6th round)
- 2014: Dri Archer (3rd round), Martavis Bryant (4th round)
- 2015: Sammie Coates (3rd round)
- 2016: Demarcus Ayers (7th round)
- 2017: JuJu Smith-Schuster (2nd round), James Conner (3rd round)
Hit after hit after hit after hit. Go look at Bill Belichick’s draft history at skill position players. It’s 95 percent, miss. Pittsburgh has never needed to go out in free agency and spend to replace any of these guys. The Steelers just draft that. Le’Veon Bell? Don’t need him either. James Conner was statistically better than Bell in 2017. Hell, when Conner went down because of an injury, Jaylen Samuels did a nice job.
Pittsburgh already has Antonio Brown’s replacement on the roster. JuJu Smith-Schuster has already earned the right to be a number one receiver in this league. James Washington can be a deep threat. Whoever the Steelers draft in the 2nd or third round will be great too. Guess what? Antonio Brown is 30. The decline is in the near future. If I can get a high draft pick for Brown, I would move him today.
I get that Brown might be the best receiver in football but he is also a pain in the ass. Brown cares more about his stats than he does about wins. There’s a reason why his former teammate, Ryan Clark, talked shit on him.
Whether it was the Facebook Live video causing a distraction and sharing inside secrets or throwing a tantrum and not showing up for work, Brown is a headache. Show me the playoff wins for Chad Johnson, Odell Beckham, Brandon Marshall, DeSean Jackson, or Dez Bryant? Dallas moved off Dez and they were a better football team.
Antonio Brown is a great player but he is a me guy over a we guy. Look at what happened to Seattle. Richard Sherman, Michael Bennett, and others? See ya! Then won more games without them? Not a coincidence. Even fantastic players like Terrell Owens, Keyshawn Johnson, and Randy Moss all had a shelf life suiting up for numerous organizations. Antonio Brown? Pittsburgh doesn’t need him.
