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A.J. Green

Best is yet to come for Cincinnati receiver

I had a thought on A.J. Green that I’d like to share with the rest of the class. Trying to figure out how good he might be.

Green, I think, is a superstar. He’s a Calvin Johnson or Randy Moss type of guy. Great talent, and we’ve seen the production to back it up.

In his last two years, Green has averaged 98 catches and 11 touchdowns.

But has he reached his ceiling? Or can he get even better?

As I look at the other great pass catchers of recent years, my thinking is he’s still ascending.

Green won’t get any faster, and he won’t jump any higher, but there’s also the experience/polish/know-how factor, and that’s actually more important.

Look at the greatest receivers we’ve seen. Not only Johnson and Moss, but Jerry Rice, Marvin Harrison, Larry Fitzgerald, Sterling Sharpe, Andre Johnson and Terrell Owens.

If you look at the two best seasons by each of those eight guys, only 2 of those 16 seasons came in the first three years of anybody’s career. The majority – 11 of 16 – came between the 4th and 7th years. That’s the window Green is entering right now. I think he can still be a little better.

TOP-2 SEASONS BY SUPERSTAR RECEIVERS
ExpYearPlayerNoYardsAvgTD
2nd2005Larry Fitzgerald103140913.710
3rd1987Jerry Rice65107816.622
4th1999Marvin Harrison115166314.512
5th2011Calvin Johnson96168117.516
5th2008Larry Fitzgerald96143114.912
5th1992Sterling Sharpe108146113.513
6th2001Marvin Harrison109152414.015
6th2001Terrell Owens93141215.216
6th2012Calvin Johnson122196416.15
6th2003Randy Moss111163214.717
6th2008Andre Johnson115157513.78
7th1994Sterling Sharpe94111911.918
7th2009Andre Johnson101156915.59
10th2007Randy Moss98149315.223
11th1995Jerry Rice122184815.115
12th2007Terrell Owens81135516.715

—Ian Allan

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