Two summers ago, fans and media alike witnessed the summer of Antonio Brown.
Social media tirades, helmet-gate and a verbal altercation with Oakland Raiders general manager Mike Mayock brought Brown’s tenure with the silver and black to an end just six months after it began, followed by legal troubles that sidelined him for the entire 2019 season. The release would take place a day before Brown’s $30 million of guaranteed money owed to him by the Raiders would have been official.
A year and a half later, Brown was a Super Bowl champion for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, hauling in one of quarterback Tom Brady’s three touchdown passes in Tampa Bay’s 31-9 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs.
With a decorated career that has included seven Pro-Bowl nods, four All-Pro selections and 11,746 career receiving yards, Brown has long cemented himself as one of the all-time great receivers in the history of the NFL. Brown said to the media on Monday that he’s ready to move on from his past and make new history in Tampa Bay.
“I’m excited to be done with the stuff from the past,” Brown said. “It’s a new chapter for me. I’m excited to write it. I’m excited to be here.”
Despite this, Brown enters the 2021 season with many wondering if the 33-year-old wideout is still one of the best at his position. After all, Brown has only suited up in nine games since 2018 and his departure from the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Signs were there last season that Brown still possesses the unique breakaway speed and ability, as seen on Brown’s first Buccaneer touchdown against the Atlanta Falcons, when Brown got loose on the left sideline and received a perfectly thrown ball from Brady for the score. 45 catches for 483 yards and four scores in eight games led to almost a 1,000 yard pace for Brown over the course of a full season.
The signs were even more prevalent during the playoffs when Brown battled through a knee injury to become one of Brady’s favorite targets even with the presence of fellow Pro-Bowl receivers Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and Rob Gronkowski.
In training camp this season, Brown has been the talk of camp, often times the highlight of the offense on most days. Brown has been open often and his rapport with Brady has been sublime, a sign that Brown is back to being “business is boomin” Brown, the one that we routinely saw mentioned in the top-three of wide receiver rankings before his tumultuous 2019.
Brown was ranked as the 24th best receiver in football by ProFootballFocus’ wide-receiver rankings for 2021, but his ceiling might be much higher than that.
Consider the fact that the last time we saw Brown in a full season he hauled in 104 targets for 1,297 yards and 12 touchdowns and the near 1,000-yard pace in a half-season as the third option in the passing game, the talent is still there.
So, could Brown actually lead the Buccaneers in receiving this year? The short answer is yes.
Take Evans from last season. Evans saw his lowest target share of his career last season with 109 and took all the way up till week 17 to cap off his seventh consecutive 1,000-yard season. And with Evans only topping 80+ receptions in a season twice in his career, the likelihood of Evans catching the most passes is arguably the lowest between himself, Brown and Godwin.
Speaking of Godwin, the newly franchise-tagged 25-year-old figures to be the key cog in the machine that is the Buccaneers offense, and the likeliest to receive the most targets from Brady. In the 12 games that Godwin suited up last season, Godwin received 84 targets. Over a full season’s average, Godwin would have received 112 targets, which would have been a career high. For context, Brown has gone over that number of targets seven times in his career, including an eye-popping 193 targets in 2015. And with 62 targets in eight games last season, Brown would have been thrown to 124 times, which would have led the Buccaneers.
The key to Brown leading the team in receiving will be where these targets will be taking place. Brown’s yards per reception last season was 10.7, the second lowest of his career, with a career low 9.4-yard average depth of target.
All indications during camp show that Brown’s speed is still there, and the propensity to make defenders miss is as evident as ever. Health will be a key factor as well, but is something that has never been a hurdle in his career, with last year’s knee injury being the only significant injury of his career.
That knee injury culminated in knee surgery during the offseason for Brown, but head coach Bruce Arians has indicated that Brown’s knee is not an issue.
“A.B. is in great shape and obviously the knee is fine,” said Arians, in a press conference with the media on Monday. “Having heard it all again, having been out of the system for a while and getting back in, getting all the practice time and the meeting time, he’s still a great, great football player.”
Whatever the case, Brown will be a key contributor in Tampa Bay’s quest for the all-elusive repeat as Super Bowl champions.
And general manager Jason Licht will continue to relish in the move to bring Brown in last season as one of the best moves in the GM’s tenure with the Buccaneers.