One of These Three Teams Should Be Antonio Brown’s Landing Spot
It’s been well reported for weeks that Antonio Brown will be on the move this offseason.
Brown and the Steelers have decided to part ways after nine seasons together, of which AB was consistently one of the best receivers in football.
With the free agent class lacking superstar talent, Brown will be one of the hottest commodities this offseason. The Steelers will obviously want a first round pick for him although with his age (he’ll be 31 when the season starts) and diva attitude, they might struggle to get that.
Teams also know that they basically have to trade him, so the Steelers don’t have a ton of leverage, unless a bidding war ensues.
Obviously every team in football benefits from having a talent like Brown. But I’m going to look at which three teams benefit the most. This list is only looking at NFC teams, since the Steelers said they won’t trade Brown to an AFC team.
3. Los Angeles Rams
This team made a lot of moves last offseason, including trading for a wide receiver. After being so close to winning a Super Bowl, I wouldn’t be surprised to see them make a few more big moves. This offense was explosive last year and adding Brown into a McVay offense would be a deadly combination. Of course, their success would be predicated on Goff taking a big step forward. As far as trade pieces go, they do have a late first round pick (31st) and two third round picks. If the Steelers aren’t willing to take just the 31st pick, I’d try to swing something like the two third round picks and Robert Woods for Brown. The Steelers get some good picks out of it and a solid receiver in return. The window for this team with this group of guys is closing (they have to either pay or move on from Goff soon) so this move really puts them all in.
2. Philadelphia Eagles
The Eagles once again made the playoffs behind their lord and savior Nick Foles. However, with Foles leaving this offseason, the future once again rides with the oft-injured Carson Wentz. Wentz has been solid in each of his first three seasons. One thing he lacks though his a true arsenal of weapons. Outside of Alshon Jeffery and Zach Ertz, the Eagles have a lot of average players. Sproles is old, Adams and Agholor are average, and Golden Tate is leaving. Adding Brown to the mix makes this one of the deadliest offenses in football. You have two legitimate threats outside with Jeffery and Brown and two solid options inside with Ertz and 2018 first round pick Dallas Goedart. Philly has a first (25th) and two second round picks. They could try to swing something where they offer both second rounders for Brown or maybe just the first rounder. This team is also in a position where their star QB is still on his rookie deal, so winning now before you have to pay him is a priority.
1. Green Bay Packers
Unlike the first two teams on this list, the Packers’ window is closing because their quarterback is getting old. One of the biggest travesties of the NFL today is that Rodgers doesn’t have more rings. Last year was a totally wasted year for this team. Outside of Davante Adams, this team lacked weapons. Aaron Jones is a solid back but was hardly used, Equinameous St. Brown and Marquez Valdez-Scatling are both physically talented receivers, but both very inexperienced. Jimmy Graham is washed up. And Randall Cobb was injured and never seemed to take that next step forward. Adding Brown makes this team an instant favorite to win the NFC. Giving Aaron Rodgers two number one receivers and a new, offensively minded head coach is a deadly combination. This trade needs to happen for the Packers because they realistically only have 3-4 more years of winning with Rodgers as the focal point. The Packers have two first round picks this year, via a trade with the Saints last year. This would allow them to trade one of the picks for Brown and still have a first round pick to help build around Rodgers. Maybe they could trade their 30th pick and throw in one of their young receivers to sweeten the pot.
There are a lot of teams that would benefit from getting Antonio Brown. However, the three mentioned above would be put over the top and would likely become one of the favorites to win the NFC. When this trade happens, it will be the biggest story of the 2019 offseason.
-Stephen Brown III (@sbtrey23)