Miller drawing comparisons to Brown
(This is the next installment of a 10-part series on the NFL Draft. Today’s story highlights wide receivers.)
Anthony Miller didn’t wear 84 at Memphis. He didn’t need to, since he looks just like Antonio Brown on the field anyway.
“A lot of people compare me to Antonio Brown,” Miller said at the NFL Combine.
He said it humbly, and only to answer a reporter’s question.
“Yeah, I’ve heard that a lot,” Miller said.
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At 5-11 1/8, Miller’s a full inch taller. And at 201, he’s 15 pounds heavier than was Brown coming out of Central Michigan in 2010.
They both timed nearly the same at their respective pro days, in the 4.48-4.50 range.
Miller’s stronger, more explosive in the jumps, and had an eye-popping 6.65 3-cone drill. Brown’s agility times were also good. He ran his 3-cone in 6.98, but with a better shuttle at 4.18, compared to Miller’s 4.26.
But what’s at the core of the comparison?
“I guess just playing style,” Miller told another reporter.
It’s almost shocking to watch Brown closely the past eight seasons and then to watch Miller on tape. They’re that similar.
“They even strut the same,” said my wife as she looked up from her phone to watch a replay of a Miller touchdown.
She was scouting the celebration, and there were plenty of those. At Memphis, Miller caught 37 touchdown passes. Last season he caught 96 passes for 1,462 yards (15.2) with 18 touchdowns. He ran the ball, too, and returned kicks. The stat lines are very similar to Brown’s at CMU.
Does Miller pattern his game after the Steelers’ All-Pro?
“Not too much,” Miller said. “I just play my game. People just seem to compare him to me a lot. It’s an honor because he’s really the best receiver in the league right now.”
Miller did his best to stay humble in front of the reporters at the Combine. He didn’t want to come off as a college player who actually believes his media comparisons to the best receiver in the world. But Miller’s quarterback at Memphis didn’t hold back.
“I tell people that all the time,” Riley Ferguson said of the comparison. “I feel like he IS the next Antonio Brown.”
Ferguson paused, let the wave of excitement pass and added: “But, at the same time, he’s the next Anthony Miller. He’s himself and he’s going to go out and impress a lot of people and show everybody what he can do.”
Miller, like Brown at CMU, had to walk on to play college football. He signed an imaginary letter-of-intent for local news media in Memphis.
“I signed a blank sheet of paper and people thought I was actually signing with Memphis,” Miller said. “Everybody knew I was good, but some just couldn’t believe that I walked on. But I really did. And now I’m just grateful that I’m here.”
He made it there the way Brown is in the NFL: with a detail-driven work ethic that leaves teammates dizzy.
“He’s crazy, man. He’s a dog,” said Ferguson. “He has one of the best work ethics I’ve ever been around. He’s not going to be scared of it. He’s not going to back down. He’s going to duck his head and get the work done.
“When I think about Anthony, it’s him working, going to practice every single day, no matter what it is. It could be Monday or it could be game day, but he’s going to treat it the same. He’s a heck of a player.”
The Steelers, for one, shouldn’t shy away from the next Antonio Brown. They need a return specialist. They need a reserve who can play both inside and outside. They need someone to groom for a starting job if Martavis Bryant leaves after this season. They would find all of that in a humble overachiever they could place back in James Harrison’s old locker, next to Brown’s, and set those two loose on a world of football, workouts and nutrition that very few others understand.
MY TAKE
The Steelers haven’t shown much public interest in Miller, but they did bring a second-round candidate — Christian Kirk (5-10 3/8, 201, 4.45) — in for a visit, so it shows they’re giving high-pick consideration for the opening caused by Eli Rogers’ ACL tear in the playoff game. Kirk is a better return specialist than Miller, and of course we’ll always give credence to whatever judgments the Steelers have about wide receivers. Miller and Allen Lazard (6-4½, 227, 4.55, 38 vertical), of Iowa State, were the top red-zone producers last season with 11 and seven red-zone touchdowns, respectively. Lazard, according to the Bleacher Report, was the top yardage producer on third and fourth downs. Another personal favorite, James Washington (5-11, 213, 4.50, 39 vertical) of Oklahoma State, is a deep threat with whom the Steelers met at the Combine.
VALUE BOARD
Second Round — Anthony Miller, Memphis; James Washington, Oklahoma State; Christian Kirk, Texas A&M.
Third Round — DaeSean Hamilton, Penn State; Allen Lazard, Iowa State; Michael Gallup, Colorado State.
Fifth Round — Tre’Quan Smith, Central Florida; Richie James, Middle Tennessee State; Justin Watson, Penn.
Seventh Round — Cam Phillips, Virginia Tech; Quadree Henderson, Pitt; Russell Gage, LSU.