There was a lot of good material in Don Bank's article about Antonio Brown and the rest of the Steelers receiving group on SI.com.
Now in his fifth season, Brown is the unquestioned No.1 pass catcher on the Steelers. In the article, Brown discussed his angst at finishing just one yard shy of being in the 1,500 yard club last season. Banks also talked about the state of the Steelers receiving core as a whole. It's a unique group that possesses tall receivers, speedy hybrids, young players and experienced veterans.
Lance Moore comes to town with a Super Bowl ring on his hand and nearly a decade of NFL experience catching passes from Drew Brees. He caught a pivotal two-point conversion in the Saints Super Bowl XLIV victory over Colts. Fellow veteran Darrius Heyward-Bey comes to Pittsburgh averaging over 14 yards per catch in his previous five NFL seasons. Rookie Dri Archer has raised many eyebrows with his speed and athleticism. Standing at 6-4 and 211 pounds, fellow rookie Martavis Bryant has the height other receivers covet. Second year man Markus Wheaton is expected to contribute more than his six catch output from 2013.
Banks made a point to mention last year's sixth round pick Justin Brown out of Oklahoma. Banks said that Brown has put together a "strong body of work" this past offseason, which has led to praise from Mike Tomlin and offensive coordinator Todd Haley.
Leading this core of receivers is Brown, the last receiver remaining from the "young money" crew that consisted of Brown, Emmanuel Sanders and Mike Wallace. But who will line up opposite Brown as the No.2 is yet to be known.
My favorite piece of the story had to do with all the buzz surrounding Archer, the speedster from Kent State that has been clocked at running the 40 in 4.26 seconds. When asked how his teammates have reacted to him, Archer said: "They just tell me I'm fast as hell, a lot."
Ike Taylor, a 12 year veteran that once shut down No.1 receivers Chad Johnson, Marvin Harrison and Rod Smith during the team's 2005 playoff run, gave us insight into what it's like to see Archer in the open field.
"When I saw his speed, it was like, man, with some people you don’t even try to catch them," Taylor said. "He’s just fast. That’s the part you don’t want to do, you don’t want to do no chasing. You want to go ahead and get him on the ground quick, because once he gets in that open field, it’s night-night. And night-night means ain’t nobody catching him. I’m just glad he’s on our team."