Antonio Brown, Martavis Bryant's Fantasy Outlook After Michael Vick's Injury

The football gods are doing their best to smash Antonio Brown's fantasy value into dust. First, the Pittsburgh Steelers lost Ben Roethlisberger. Now, they're down to Landry Jones after Michael Vick exited Sunday's game.

According to Kent Somers of AZCentral.com, the Steelers medical staff and an independent neurologist evaluated Vick for a possible concussion, which allowed Jones to step in as the team's starting quarterback. That moment surely sent shivers down the spines of Brown's fantasy owners.

His final numbers in Pittsburgh's 25-13 victory certainly left a little to be desired:

Receptions	Targets	Yards	AVG	TD
3	8	24	8.0	0

Although the All-Pro wideout had his third straight disappointing performance, he's undroppable on reputation alone, even with this concerning trend heading into Week 6, courtesy of NFL on ESPN:

It's understandable to be frustrated about Brown at the moment. He went from putting up massive numbers in Weeks 1 and 2 to being a complete non-factor in the Steelers' last three games. But we're still talking about one of the best wide receivers in the league; Brown doesn't become a worse player because his team's starting QB is out.

Plus, Jones acquitted himself well under center for the Steelers, going 8-of-12 for 168 yards and two touchdowns. He won't be that efficient every game, but as long as Jones isn't a complete disaster, Brown's fantasy value in standard leagues should rebound in the coming weeks.

Rather than who's playing QB for the Steelers, owners who are counting on Brown might be more scared by Martavis Bryant, who had a monster game against the Arizona Cardinals:

Receptions	Targets	Yards	AVG	TD
6	8	137	22.8	2

Since this was Bryant's first game of the season, many fantasy owners were likely in the same boat as Bleacher Report's Mike Freeman:

The second-year wideout is averaging nearly a touchdown a game since entering the league. In 11 career games, he has 10 receiving TDs. Especially with a backup quarterback, a taller receiver like Bryant is a godsend in the red zone—or in general if the QB wants to take a chance down the field.

Just get the ball somewhere in Bryant's catch radius, and let him do the rest of the work, like on this pass in the third quarter, via NFL Network:

As good as Bryant is, Brown will likely remain the No. 1 target in the passing game, and Le'Veon Bell will get his touches on the ground and through the air as well. Until the Steelers prove otherwise, Bryant's fantasy value is somewhat stunted by his place in the team's offense.

Plus, Roethlisberger's return—whenever it happens—would almost certainly benefit Brown more so than Bryant, given the strong rapport between Brown and Big Ben.

Nobody should expect Bryant to keep consistently putting up numbers like he did Sunday, but if he can repeat or slightly improve upon last year's averages—54.9 yards per game, 0.8 TDs per game—then he's certainly worth using at the very least as a flex and a WR2 if you're unhappy with whomever you currently have there.