Antonio Brown Could Rewrite NFL Receiving Record Books in 2016

In 2015, Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown became the first player in NFL history to catch 130 or more passes for 1,800 or more yards and 10 or more touchdowns. He fell seven catches short of Marvin Harrison’s single-season record of 143 and 130 yards short of Calvin Johnson’s single-season record of 1,964. 

That has some folks thinking the 27-year-old could be on the verge of a record-breaking season as he reaches his prime in 2016. 

“I think it is possible,” receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey said regarding the potential for Brown to become the first-ever player to hit the 2,000 receiving yards mark next season, per Mark Kaboly of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “Just think: Calvin Johnson had (1,964), so you know you can get close to it. Everybody knows what he is capable of. I don’t want to put that pressure on him, but it is definitely possible.”

Let’s examine the factors at play.

 

If Big Ben stays healthy…

Much will depend on quarterback Ben Roethlisberger’s health. The fact Roethlisberger missed a quarter of the 2015 season is a big reason why you might expect an even greater 2016 season from the Pittsburgh offense, but Big Ben is now 34 years old and has taken some beatings. So it’s far from guaranteed he’ll start all 16 regular-season games next season. 

Roethlisberger was a Pro Bowler in 2015 despite missing all four of Pittsburgh’s October games with a knee injury and being severely limited due to a mid-November foot injury. He also suffered a concussion in Week 12, so it’s safe to say he was far from 100 percent much of the season. 

And without him, Brown and the rest of the Steelers offense weren’t the same. 

It’s not totally fair to prorate Brown’s stats from those 12 games with Roethlisberger in order to get a feel for what he might have done had Roethlisberger played the entire season, because three of those games sans Big Ben came against top-10 pass defenses in Baltimore, Arizona and Kansas City. 

But just for fun, we’ll do it anyway. 

If Brown had produced the same way he did with Roethlisberger during the stretch in which Roethlisberger wasn’t in the lineup, he would have caught a record 159 passes for a record 2,132 yards and 13 touchdowns. 

In …

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