What Makes Antonio Brown Such a Dominant Receiver for the Steelers?

The 2-2 Pittsburgh Steelers may have a few question marks on their roster at present, but wide receiver Antonio Brown is clearly not among them.

Brown, who was the NFL's second-leading receiver in yardage last year with 1,499 yards on 110 catches, currently ranks fourth in receiving yards in 2014. But more important than his 427 yards are his five touchdowns, which have him tied for first place in receiving scores this season. 

With quarterback Ben Roethlisberger throwing six touchdowns so far, Brown's presence has clearly been invaluable. His playmaking ability often seems like the only thing consistently going right for the Steelers on a weekly basis. 

This is nothing new, of course. Brown had an excellent 2013 season, with eight touchdowns and 602 yards after the catch. But now, he looks even better—there doesn't appear to be a cornerback in the NFL to effectively cover him.

Year	Tgts.	Rec.	Rec.%	Yds.	YPR	TD	YAC
2010	19	16	84.2%	167	10.4	0	67
2011	123	69	56.1%	1,108	16.1	2	342
2012	105	66	62.9%	787	11.9	5	344
2013	165	110	66.7%	1,499	13.6	8	602
2014	39	29	74.4%	427	14.7	5	144
Total	451	290	64.3%	3,988	13.8	20	1,499

Pro Football Focus (subscription required) lists Brown as tied for the third-best wide receiver so far this season and tops in its Wide Receiver Rating, which provides the quarterback rating when a specific receiver is thrown at. Roethlisberger's quarterback rating, according to Pro Football Focus, is a league-best 141.1 when throwing to Brown.

Brown's success is owed to his ability to work the entirety of the football field. He can catch deep passes, work inside or outside the numbers and create yards after the catch from simple, shorter throws.

This year, he's had nine targets and eight catches for 74 yards on passes thrown behind the line of scrimmage, seven catches for 68 yards and a score on passes thrown between zero and nine yards from the line, nine catches for 139 yards and two touchdowns on passes thrown from 10 to 19 yards beyond the line and five catches for 146 yards and two touchdowns on passes of 20 or more yards, per Pro Football Focus' charting.

In fact, Brown is presently the best receiver in the league at catching the deep ball. While it is something Roethlisberger does with less and less frequency in Todd Haley's ball-control offense, when he targets Brown deep, good things happen. 

Of eight deep passes (20 or more yards) thrown to Brown in 2014, six have been catchable. Brown has caught five, for 146 yards and two touchdowns, with one drop. So on the rare occasion that Roethlisberger has looked for the downfield shot, more often than not, Brown is his target—and more often than not, Brown has caught those passes and made plays.

Brown's reliability cannot be understated. He caught 66.7 percent of the passes thrown his way in 2013 and is doing even better this season, with a 74.4 percent catch rate. And what he's doing once passes are caught is very impressive, with 142 yards after the catch thus far, ranking him fifth, one spot behind Steelers running back Le'Veon Bell.

	Left	Middle	Right	Total
Minus	1/0/0/0	5/5/22/0	3/3/52/0	9/8/74/0
0-9 Yards	0/0/0/0	7/4/30/0	4/3/38/1	11/7/68/1
10-19 Yards	0/0/0/0	8/8/123/1	2/1/7/1	10/9/139/2
20+ Yards	5/3/84/0	0/0/0/0	3/2/62/2	8/5/146/2

Brown is just 5'10", but he plays like a taller receiver because of his ability to contest for catches, his speed and his unrelenting work ethic. It's not as though defenses are leaving him wide open week after week, leading to Brown setting the NFL record of 20 consecutive games with five or more receptions. He's creating opportunities for himself.

There is no better receiver for the Steelers' style of offense than Brown. The passing game is not reliant on Roethlisberger making plays as much as it rests on his receivers doing something positive with the football after catching it. 

No receiver in the NFL right now looks as capable of executing that plan to perfection as Brown. Practically everything he does on the field makes the Steelers a better team and ever closer to yet another win.