:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/48788993/usa-today-9019152.0.jpg)
Some players do their jobs with so much consistency and so little fanfare that we almost forget how great they truly are. A.J. Green is arguably the best wide receiver in the league, and yet, he's rarely mentioned as such. In 2015, the man was a beast yet again, notching 86 catches for 1,297 yards and 10 touchdowns. In the process he made his fifth Pro Bowl in five years in the NFL. For highlights of Green's stellar season, check out the following video:
Here are some stats that might help us appreciate the Bengals' incredible receiver a bit more:
1. Green has five 1,000 yard receiving seasons in five years. The only other player to accomplish that is Randy Moss.
2. He averaged 15.08 yards per catch on 86 receptions in 2015. The only player to average more yards per catch with that many receptions is Odell Beckham Jr, who barely edged out Green with 15.1 yards per catch.
3. He was nearly unstoppable down the stretch, grabbing seven touchdowns in his last seven games (including the postseason). Four of those touchdowns were thrown by the very green AJ McCarron.
4. He caught 65 percent of his 132 targets, by far a career best. Green's previous best was 59.5 percent last year. In other words, his rapport with Andy Dalton is only getting better.
5. He finished third in Defense-Adjusted Yards Above Replacement, a stat given by football outsiders.com. This stat measures the value of a player's performance on a play where he caught the ball compared to a replacement wide receiver in the same situation. Green's mark of 413 was just one point behind second place Doug Baldwin. Green was well ahead of a number of big play receivers like Julio Jones (343 DYAR), Beckham Jr. (303) and DeAndre Hopkins (268).
6. His 1,297 receiving yards this season gives him a total of 6,171 yards for his career, which is already fifth best in Bengals history. But Green has only played in 76 games. None of the four players ahead of him (Chad Johnson, Isaac Curtis, Carl Pickens and Cris Collinsworth) have played fewer than 100 games.
7. After catching 10 touchdown this season he now has 45 for his career, which is fourth in Bengals history. Green could very well surpass Johnson's 66 receiving touchdowns (a franchise record) by the 2017 season, when he'll still be just 29-years-old.