John Harbaugh Says A.J. Green Is Best WR in NFL Ahead of Bengals Matchup

With the Baltimore Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals renewing their AFC North rivalry in Week 1 of the 2017 NFL regular season, Ravens head coach John Harbaugh offered high praise for Bengals wide receiver A.J. Green.

Harbaugh went so far as to call Green the NFL's best wide receiver leading up to Sunday's game. 

"I think I was the first coach to go on record to saying he was the best in the league and that was maybe five years ago, six years ago and I stand by that," Harbaugh said, via Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com. "I think he’s a great player and he’s proven it."

Green certainly belongs in any discussion of top wideouts in the NFL. Since being drafted fourth overall in 2011, he has recorded 7,135 receiving yards and 49 touchdowns in 86 games. 

His streak of 1,000-yard seasons to start his career ended in 2016, though that was due to injuries. Green was on pace to have his best season last year. He averaged a career-high 6.6 receptions and 96.4 yards per game, but he missed the last six games after suffering a torn hamstring on Nov. 20 against the Buffalo Bills.

Per Eliot Crist of Pro Football Focus, Green finished 2016 as the fourth-highest graded wide receiver in the NFL with a mark of 88.1. 

Green has 41 receptions, 726 yards and six touchdowns in eight career games against the Ravens. He did most of his damage against Baltimore's defense during a three-game span from Nov. 2013 to Sept. 2015, with 509 yards and four touchdowns on 24 receptions. 

The Bengals will be looking for that kind of production from Green on Sunday when they host the Ravens at Paul Brown Stadium at 1 p.m. ET.