The Pittsburgh Steelers lost the player who many league followers believe is the best wide receiver in football. Still, the team's current receiving corps seems confident they won't miss a beat this season without Antonio Brown.
Perhaps alluding to chemistry issues prompted by Brown's past presence, Steelers wide receiver Donte Moncrief insisted that a sense of support among his position group will lead Pittsburgh to having one of the league's most dangerous arsenals of pass-catchers.
“As [wide receivers] coach [Darryl Drake] said, you’re always going to be as strong as your weakest guy,” Moncrief said, per the team's website. “In our room we try to pick everybody up, make sure everybody’s on the same page and make sure everybody’s ready to go to play every position. If we can do that, our receivers room will be electric.”
The Steelers dealt Brown, who requested a trade earlier in the offseason, to the Oakland Raiders in March in exchange for third and fifth-round draft picks. The six-time Pro Bowler had another standout campaign in 2018, leading the NFL in touchdown catches despite growing crossways with both coach Mike Tomlin and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.
Uber-talented wideout JuJu Smith-Schuster is poised to benefit most from Brown's absence. He broke out in a big way last season, catching 111 passes for 1,426 yards and seven touchdowns, establishing himself as one of the best young receivers in the NFL.
Moncrief, fighting to be the Pittsburgh's No. 2 receiver, signed a two-year deal with his new team in free agency. He had 48 catches for 668 yards and three touchdowns with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2018.
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