Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who’s the greatest wide receiver of ’em all? Too many options to choose from? Let’s narrow it down a bit, and focus just on the past decade. Even then, it’s a tough call. Over the last 10 years, NFL fans have been lucky to witness two extraordinary wideouts in action — Antonio Brown and Julio Jones.
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Brown and Jones have notched up jaw-dropping stats. They have made a habit of torching elite defenses and making spectacular catches — week in and week out that too. Both the WRs can justifiably be called legends.
So who was better? Both Brown’s and Jones’ fans will argue till the cows come home for their hero. But for Philadelphia Eagles WR and Super Bowl champ AJ Brown, the choice is clear.
It is Jones over Brown for AJ, who stated it on the Million Dollaz Worth of Game podcast. He and show host Gillie Da Kid then argued over the decision to rank Jones higher.
In Gillie’s eyes, Brown deserved the nod over Jones simply because of his unmatched production between 2013 and 2018. “AB led the league in receptions for six years in a row with like 100 catches per season,” he pointed out.
The former Steelers star had 686 receptions, 9,145 receiving yards, and 67 receiving TDs while being a Pro Bowler in each of those years. As far as production is concerned, Brown was unmatched.
AJ Brown, however, defended his stance by noting that Jones was no slouch either in that period. “Okay, okay. And in that six-year span, you should look up what Julio was doing too. Both were at the top of the game,” replied the Eagles star.
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So how does Jones stack up? During the same period, he had 623 receptions, 9,388 receiving yards and 37 receiving touchdowns. He averaged 15.069 yards per catch and converted a shade under six percent of receptions into touchdowns, compared to Brown’s record of 9.76%.
So the numbers are clear. As good as Jones was in that period, his counterpart was simply a step above. But that said, on his day, Jones was nearly unstoppable as his ability to win tussles at the deep and make runs after the catches were next to none. His overall career numbers paint a similar picture as well, with a whopping 903 receptions, 13,629 receiving yards, and 63 receiving TDs.
And Gillie had the debate-clinching argument — Super Bowl rings. As we all know, Brown won the Super Bowl in 2021. Jones, too, made it to the grandest stage once in 2017. But the Atlanta Falcons lost to the New England Patriots, with Brady inspiring his team to a comeback from 28-3.
So, what’s the final verdict? If production were the metric, then Brown easily overpowers Jones with a better six-year peak. Add to this, his consistency, plus the Super Bowl victory, and the former Bucs WR makes a strong case for himself.
On the other hand, Jones was the more physically dominant player with a longer prime and the NFL record for most yards per game in history. So, ultimately, there’s no wrong answer to this question. Both are amongst the best WRs to have played the game.
