FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. -- Who's the greatest … oh, I don't know, fill in the blank. Pick any player in any sport.
You know, the great G.O.A.T. debate. C'mon, we've all played this game, and participated in these (sometimes) silly discussions.
Why? Because everyone's got an opinion, especially when it comes to sports – and has a stat they love to throw out there to impress the room, one they think will tilt the debate in their favor.
And that's my point here: You can always find a statistic – or a category – that, if you're smart, you can use in your favor.
Like, for instance, when it comes to who the best receiver in the NFL is right now. I think based on 2016, most NFL fans would agree that player was Falcons receiver Julio Jones, right? He was, after all named the No. 3 player in the NFL Network’s Top 100 Players of 2017, as voted on by the players.
Need more convincing? Take a look at this stat from our friends at Pro Football Focus.
Or look how good Jones played during the postseason. When Matt Ryan looked his way, no one was better.
If you still don't agree, who is it? Maybe you're throwing Antonio Brown's name out there. Or possibly A.J. Green's. If so, you're clinging to that whole stat-centric argument.
Maybe you're pulling the "but who was best when it came to scoring on the deep ball" card. OK, I get it. A.B. was tops there.
And if you're on Team Green, you're just sticking to the deep ball, period.
But we all know so much more goes into it – that it helps to be in a great offense and it can't hurt to have Matt Ryan or Ben Roethlisberger tossing you the rock, either.
But what do the players think? Even better, what does one of the all-time great receivers think?
Well, we now know because former Lions great Calvin Johnson, a.k.a., Megatron, recently weighed in. And here's what he said when it comes to his current favorite receiver in the game.
"Favorite wide receiver ... oh that's tough" said Johnson. "I have a friend in A.J. Green, who's with the Cincinnati Bengals. And I like Antonio Brown, but it's hard to pass on Julio Jones. He's a beast."
You can watch and listen to Johnson answer the question below during a press conference for the Italian Bowl. His response on the receivers is at the 4:40 mark.
So, to be clear, Johnson acknowledged that he's friends with Green, likes Brown but said it was "hard to pass on Julio Jones."
Sounds pretty clear to me.
And since we are talking so much about Megatron, let's take a minute and recognize his greatness, shall we?
