Le’Veon Bell is the 2nd best receiver on the Steelers

I’m on record saying it.

Ben Roethlisberger is on record saying it.

Okay, I’d take Ben’s word over mine, any day. However, there’s a lot of truth in the statement: Le’Veon Bell is the 2nd best receiver on the Steelers.

Let me preface this by saying the Steelers have one of, if not the best group of receivers in the NFL. When you make a statement that a running back is the second-best target on the team, you are making several assumptions:

  • The RB catches a lot of passes
  • The RB lines up as a WR at times
  • The top WR must be really good (or really bad, depending on the situation)

All of the above are true, so let’s examine those bullet points, to prove our theory.

Bell catches a lot of passes

Le’Veon Bell already has the fifth most targets (17) and fifth-most catches (14) on the 2016 Steelers.

That’s with missing three games to start the season!

Ahead of Bell in the pecking order are:

  • His three game replacement, DeAngelo Williams, who has 15 catches on 23 targets.
  • Jesse James, with 18 balls caught on 26 targets.
  • Sammie Coates, who has 19 receptions on 31 targets. (Coates also has a reception of 41 yards or longer in each game this season.)
  • Antonio Brown has 37 catches on 56 targets, for 447 yards and 5 touchdowns.

Noticeably, the list above debunks the theory that the rest of the team isn’t good at receiving, or that the quarterback checks down to his backs and tight ends more often than not.

Brown and Coates are the first Steelers duo to each have at least 400 receiving yards, since John Stallworth and Louis Lipps in 1984.

Jesse James has the 3rd-most touchdowns of any Steelers tight end in history, at this point in their career.

AB also ranks first in the NFL with 37 catches, is tied for first in touchdown receptions, and is tied for first in receptions for first downs.

Bell lines up as a receiver: often

Bell is a dynamic, one-of-a-kind threat, who helps both the running, and passing games.

With a 11 pass targets, 9 catches and 88 receiving yards against the Jets, Bell landed in a three-way tie for most targets in the game (with Brown and Coates) as well as a tie with Brown for most catches (9). He lined up early, and often, as a wide receiver; either in the slot, or along the outside, making it difficult for the Jets to have the proper personnel to cover all of the Steelers weapons.

Keep in mind: this wasn’t a game plan only used against the Jets, as Bell lines up all over the field, all year long.

Yet, with a career-high in receptions, and tying a career-high in targets, being heavily featured in the Steelers passing game is far from new for Bell.

Bell outperforms the best receivers on other teams

Bell recorded 45 receptions for 399 yards in 2013, 83 catches for 854 yards in 2014, and 24 more grabs for 136 yards in his limited 2015 season.

Bell’s 105 targets and 83 receptions in 2014 were second-most on the team, behind Antonio Brown: that same season, Brown had the 2nd-most receptions in NFL history.

Bell’s 2014 campaign was also good enough to be ranked as the 19th overall receiver in all of football that season: don’t forget there are 32 teams in the NFL! That means Bell outperformed receivers from 14 other teams. If it weren’t for having an All-Pro receiver on the team, one might wonder if Bell would catch more passes!

After two games, it appears Bell will be in line for a similar mix, behind an explosive Steelers offense lead by early NFL MVP candidate Ben Roethlisberger. Depending on the pass distribution against the Miami Dolphins, Bell could jump as high as 2nd among Steelers receivers this year. An unfathomable feat, having missed the first three games of the season.

This makes Bell the second-best receiver on the Steelers; a player who can be positioned, and relied upon, anywhere on the field.


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