Steelers' Ike Taylor Detailed How Antonio Brown Was Best Receiver He Ever Covered 'Now He's Gone Haywire'

Taylor appeared on fellow Steelers teammate and friend, Cam Heyward's podcast, Not Just Football With Cam Heyward. While on the show, Heyward and Taylor talked about how the Steelers season is progressing so far and took some trips down memory lane. Heyward specifically asked Taylor who was the toughest wide receiver to cover. Taylor has gone up against some of the best receivers in the business including Larry Fitzgerald, Chad Ochocinco, and Randy Moss. Taylor didn't even hesitate before naming his teammate Antonio Brown.    

"I played on the team with him, but now he's gone haywire, AB. I mean we can say whatever we want to say off the field about AB, but on the field, ain't nobody work as hard as AB and I got a great work ethic. Between me, Le'Veon [Bell], and AB, ain't nobody out work AB. You couldn't outwork that man," marveled Taylor.

Heyward wholeheartedly agrees. He said that even now, people will always ask him how some current player compares to Brown. No one compares to Brown said Heyward. He said he tells them to even come close, you have to practice like it's game time and finish every rep in the end zone.     

"Yes! We had to wait on them to come back. This was every day we had to wait on him to come back. But it was such a habit that when he got in the game, that was all he knew, score. Because he do it all the time in practice, every rep in practice," agreed Taylor.

During his heyday, Brown was so incredible, he was compared to every great wide receiver that ever set foot on the gridiron - including Jerry Rice, Julio Jones, Moss, and Terrell Owens. The comparisons are fair. When Brown was in Pittsburgh, he seemed destined to be a first-ballot Hall of Fame player. Taylor has his own wild description of Brown.    

"His route running was Jerry Rice-like. Then when he got toward the sideline, he wound up catching ballerina feet, like his spidey senses on that sideline was something different. You can say what you want to say about AB, but as far as in between those white lines on that football field, couldn't nobody do it better than AB at the time."

Brown spent nine seasons in Pittsburgh and because things went a bit sideways when he left, those statistics are the ones that most accurately represent his greatness. He played in 130 games, starting 103 of them. He was targeted 1,275 times and had 837 receptions for 11,207 yards and 74 touchdowns. Had he stayed in the game, and stayed healthy, who knows what he could have accomplished. 

The Steelers And Antonio Brown - A Tragic Love Story

They say all good things must come to an end and not much was harder than watching the end of Brown in Black and Gold. He left the Steelers at the end of the 2018 season in a swirl of controversy and rumors, requesting to be traded. While there had been whispers of his dramatic escapades over the years, no one was prepared for what came next. 

Brown was traded to the then-Oakland Raiders and almost immediately the drama started. He got frostbite on his feet for improperly using a cryotherapy chamber which forced him to miss most of training camp. Then he filed a complaint, asking to wear an out-of-date helmet, threatening to retire if not given his way. The Raiders fined him for missing practices which led to Brown verbally attacking General Manager Mike Mayock and supposedly calling him a "cracker" while threatening to hit him. 

He never even got to play a regular season game with the Raiders. He demanded a release and went to the New England Patriots. They discovered there were numerous allegations of sexual and personal misconduct against him and was cut in less than a month. 

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers took a chance on Brown in 2020 and he spent nearly two seasons with them and finally won the Super Bowl he had always coveted. Despite the support and friendship of both quarterback Tom Brady and Head Coach Bruce Arians, Brown was not able to keep it together. After running up and down the field half-dressed during a game, the Buccaneers released him as well. When all of his chances ran out, Brown announced his retirement. 

He did not go quietly into the good night, however. Brown purchased his father's old National Arena League team the Albany Empire. That hasn't been smooth sailing either and after a tremendous amount of drama and chaos, Brown and his team were booted out of the league for failing to pay league fees. 

Brown's situation is a sad one regardless of why you think he is the way he is. Is it CTE as Brown and others claim? Or is it just that Brown was always treated like a spoiled diva and he doesn't know how to act any other way? Either way, Brown had the world in the palm of his hands and did not appreciate it. 

Who is the best wide receiver in your opinion? Do you agree with Taylor that it is Brown?