Add ‘making contested catches’ to the list of reasons why Antonio Brown is the best WR in the NFL

The global fan base of the Pittsburgh Steelers knows all about Antonio Brown. They watch him on a weekly basis make ridiculous play after ridiculous play, and it seems as if the general NFL fan knows just how special Brown is as well.

Brown’s overall body of work has been well documented. Over the past four years he has seen new heights in terms of receptions and yards, but the fine folks at Pro Football Focus have added another feather to his already prestigious cap.

His ability to make contested catches.

Again, Steelers fans won’t be shocked. After all, Brown has beaten man coverage, double and even triple coverage to bring in passes.

Check out what they said about Brown’s ability to make the tough catches:

ANTONIO BROWN (51.2 PERCENT)

If we went back and tracked this for prior seasons, I’d expect Brown to be a stalwart in the top 10. Brown’s 22 contested catches were the most in the NFL behind only Tampa Bay’s Mike Evans (who had a ridiculous 54 contested catch opportunities and 23 catches). That’s almost a quarter of his catches on the season coming when contested. His 424 yards on those receptions were also second-most in the league.

When it came to NFL rankings, Brown was 8th among his receiving peers, but fans shouldn’t be distraught over his ranking. Browns’ 51.2 percent was just .5 away from being in the Top 5. So, the margin between most receivers was rather slim.

There are still a lot of people who debate the best wide receiver in the NFL currently is. Some say Julio Jones while others used to suggest Dez Bryant. At this point you have to wonder how anyone could even try to suggest Brown isn’t the best receiver in the game today, and potentially one of the greatest to ever play the position in league history.