Steelers’ Brown may be the X-Factor in Title Run

The NFL is a league of parody that's played on an even keel, so every professional team these days has 'X-Factor' type players. These aren't usually the name value guys we hear about on a SportsCenter endless loop, or the guys that make the huge money, but guys who are invaluable to their teams as role players and playmakers. If not for Joshua Cribbs, the Browns may not have won a game in the last 5 seasons. Devin Hester has catapulted the Bears to NFC title games with his legs alone. And I don't even need to mention the value of Saints factor back Darren Sproles (who was the top free agent find this offseason). Well the Steelers have their names in the hat for this claim as well, with a guy that not many people outside of Pittsburgh may have even heard of...yet.

Antonio Brown was drafted by the Steelers out of Central Michigan last year in the 6th round (195th overall...yes, I said 195th). He was selected merely as an afterthought by the Steelers front office, not expected to do much on a team that already had a deep receiving core. Used primarily as a returner at first, Brown's speed and ability to make quick guys to allude tackles caught the coaches eye. In his first regular season game in 2010 against the Tennessee Titans, Brown racked up 128 yards in the return game, and ran a reverse on the games' opening play from 89 yards out.

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Now Brown is in his second season, and he's been called upon a great deal more. He lays third on the Steelers receiving depth chart (over veteran Jericho Cotchery and fellow NFL sophomore Emmanuel Sanders), and his return numbers (while racking up over 630 yards in his rookie year) are on pace to be more than doubled. Outside of being featured as an electrifying returner, Brown is often on the field during games' most prominent stages. He made extremely critical catches in his first two playoff games to secure wins over the Ravens and Jets respectively, on third-down, 4th quarter situations. He sits now at 44 catches for 626 yards so far this season, and his targets have gone up (only exceeded by leader Mike Wallace), on pace to break 1,000 yards for the first time in his career. It may be time to start putting this playmakers name in there with the above mentioned factor players. His 'yards per catch' average sits at 14.2, and his affinity for the deep ball grows by the week. This young mans future has no limits, and one thing is for sure: if the Steelers are to make another deep playoff run past December, Antonio Brown will sure be a factor.

By Jason Burke
Pro Football Fans Pittsburgh Steelers Correspondent