Antonio Brown vs. Hines Ward: Who’s the all-time best Steelers receiver?

With former Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown teasing retirement, Steelers Wire takes a look at his stats versus those of Hines Ward.

A hot topic of debate since Antonio Brown “retired” for the umpteenth time on Monday has been whether he’s a better receiver than Hines Ward.

A strong argument can be made for both sides. Ward currently stands as the franchise’s best receiver stats-wise (easy considering he played for five seasons longer than Brown did). However, as you’ll see below, Brown did more in a shorter period of time than Ward.

This breakdown could get much deeper into the analytics and style of play, but we’ll just keep it simple.

Hines Ward

Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

Ward had a wildly successful career in Pittsburgh, complete with 12,083 yards on 1,000 receptions and 85 touchdowns. He was selected to four consecutive Pro Bowls (2001-2004) and had 29 100+ yard games in his 14-year career.

Hines hit a handful of top 10 markers throughout his 14-year career: Receptions (four seasons), yards (three seasons), yards per game (two seasons), touchdowns (three seasons).

Astonishingly enough, Ward’s career highs in targets (160), receptions (112) receiving yards (1329) and touchdowns (12) didn’t come when Ben Roethlisberger was at the helm. His best season was in 2002 with Tommy Maddox and Kordell Stewart at quarterback.

Most of Ward’s career was spent in a run-first offense, and overall the Steelers pass-to-run ratio was 6,762 to 6,990 in those 14 seasons.

Hines helped the Steelers to two Super Bowl wins in three appearances and was named MVP of Super Bowl 40.

Antonio Brown

Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Statistically-speaking, Brown will never be the Steelers leading receiver. It’s just not possible. With that being said, there’s no disputing that AB was a beast when he was in Pittsburgh. Thankfully, he was traded before he got a chance to even sniff the franchise receptions record held by Ward and fell short by 876 yards.

A seven-time Pro Bowler (2011; 2013-2018), Brown left the Steelers as one of the best in the NFL. In nine seasons, he racked up 837 receptions for 11,207 yards and 74 touchdowns.

Brown’s career-high in receiving yards came in 2014 with 1,698. He amassed 100+ yards per game an astounding 42 times as a Steeler.

In 2015, Brown closed in on 200 yards three times and surpassed that mark with 284 yards versus the Oakland Raiders. He also posted a 213-yard game versus the Baltimore Ravens in 2017.

Side-by-side

(AP Photo/Don Wright)

I think it’s fair to pit Ward against Brown in a nine-year comparison. From 1998 to 2006, Ward was targeted 1,026 times to Brown’s 1,275. Ward brought down 648 receptions for 8,005 yards to Brown’s 837 receptions for 11,207. Brown also leads in the touchdown category 74 to 58 and yards per game at 86 to 57. Ironically, the two averaged 13 yards per catch.

Brown was at an advantage as there were 110 more pass attempts in his nine seasons versus Ward’s. Of course, it doesn’t entirely explain Brown’s dominance in the realm of stats. But with the increased attempts, AB had more balls thrown his way, thus more opportunities for receptions, yards, touchdowns and yards per game.

Who’s the better receiver really does come down to a matter of opinion. If you look at the nine-year comparison, Brown wins out. If you look at the overall career, Ward is ahead by a landslide (and rings).

There’s no debate that Brown was something special. It’s just a shame he couldn’t keep his head on straight and retire a Steeler after 14 seasons like Ward did. Brown’s demise in the league wasn’t forced by injury or the perfect end of a double-digit tenured career. He ruined his career all by himself circa immature and selfish acts.

If AB truly does retire — and that’s a BIG if — I’d be bummed. Not because I like him but because I really was looking forward to seeing if he could even come close to what he did when he had Ben Roethlisberger throwing him the rock. Something tells me Brown wouldn’t, but now we may never know.

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