Oakland Raiders: 7 last-minute predictions ahead of the 2019 season
6. Antonio Brown will produce, but it won’t translate to wins
There’s been a lot of talk about Antonio Brown this offseason.
Like a lot, even by “a lot’s” standards.
We’ve heard so much about his frostbite, his helmet preferences, his opinions on showing up consistently for work, along with a medley of other drama. But we won’t know how good the trade will be until we finally get to see him in real, regular-season games.
Lost in all of the headaches caused this offseason, to a lot of football fans, is that Brown is still an elite receiver in the NFL. He currently ranks 34th all-time in receiving yards and he’s only 31-years-old.
Brown has voiced his ultimate goal of catching Jerry Rice’s 22,895 total, which hasn’t even remotely been threatened.
Is it possible? Sure, if everything were to fall the right way, but even if it didn’t, Brown could end up finding himself high up on this list.
Why does that matter for this season?
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Because it gives you a sense of what Brown thinks of his career trajectory. It gives an idea of how focused he’ll be to achieve impressive stats this season.
And with a receiving core that will have Brown far-and-away as the number one option, it’s not hard to believe that he’ll be targeted often this season. As long as he’s out there on the field, he’s going to get what he wants out of the offensive scheme.
Mix in some impressionable pieces like the man taking the snaps and you might end up with even more targets than you initially were expecting. If Brown isn’t getting thrown to enough, Carr, Gruden, and all local and national media will be hearing about it.
It’s a headache the Raiders are going to want to avoid.
Brown should be north of 1,500 total receiving yards in 2019, which would be around his 2017 first-team All-Pro ranks. He could conceivably jump up to the top-20 all-time in receiving yards.
The bad news for the Raiders is that it will likely come at the detriment of the team. While Brown might put together a great season for himself, it could come at the expense of other receivers.
Carr has had his issues battling himself while also battling the defense and having an upset Antonio Brown looming will likely be on the back of his mind if he isn’t careful. It’s a volatile situation. Brown won’t back down from it.
The Oakland Raiders have made quite the investment in Antonio Brown, and they’re going to do what they can to appease him.
It won’t take much for him to start threatening retirement again. Let’s just hope that he prioritizes chasing the ghost of Jerry Rice instead.