who was the better WR?

[Wes Mantooth]

Chad, and I don't think it's really even a debate. I think people forget just how elite Chad Johnson was during his prime. He lead the conference in receiving 3 straight years which set an NFL record.

Take a look at his yardage rankings during this stretch of 5 years:

2003 - 4th
2004 - 6th
2005 - 3rd
2006 - 1st
2007 - 3rd

Now take a look at AJ Green's yardage ranks during his best stretch of 5 years:

2011 - 17th
2012 - 10th
2013 - 5th
2014 - 20th
2015 - 8th

Chad Johnson, without a doubt, was the better receiver during his era than AJ Green was in his. Despite playing a decade earlier, when the passing game was entirely different, Chad Johnson has more yards and TD's than AJ Green.

And we haven't gotten to the the fact that the Steelers and Ravens teams Chad faced off against made their counterparts during the AJ Green years look relatively tame. Chad went up against the in their primes Ray Lewis, Ed Reed and Terrell Suggs monster, historic defenses. He went up against the in their prime Troy Polumalu and James Harrison Dick Lebeua lead Steelers defensives.

AJ Green had a fantastic career. I'm not trying to diminish that. And I know he missed a lot of games and he could have put up more numbers had he not. But the numbers are right there. What Chad did in his era was on an entirely different level than what AJ did in his.

Fwiw, Chad is my favorite Bengal of all time so I'll admit to some bias. But I really do think it is cut and dry. He was an unbelievable talent. And I'll warn people about putting Chase ahead of him early on his career just like I did with AJ. Don't just assume someone will be better because they're current. Surpassing Chad Johnson is going to be a tremendous challenge for anyone.