Detroit Lions General Manager Brad Holmes selected wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown out of USC with the number 112 pick of the fourth round in the 2021 NFL Draft. St. Brown has quietly put together an extremely productive rookie season, especially, the last three weeks during which he’s turned on the after burners. Over the last three weeks St. Brown has averaged 11.6 targets per game, while gaining 8.6 receptions along with 83 yards per game. Compare those number to his first 11 games of the season in which he was target a mere 4.7 times per game with 3.5 receptions and 32 yards per game.
In last weeks blowout upset of the Arizona Cardinals Amon-Ra ended the game with 8 receptions for 90 yards and a touchdown. Over these last three weeks St. Brown has recorded 26 total receptions, good for 40% of his receptions on the season.
He has also set the Lions franchise record for receptions by a rookie. Currently, he sits at 65 receptions good for 601 yards and 2 touchdowns. In fact, after setting the franchise record and completing his third consecutive big game he received this message from the league:
Coincidence?!?!?!
Amon-Ra also became the first Lions rookie to catch at least eight passes in three consecutive games.
Despite the obvious differences in skillset in comparison to former wide receiver Golden Tate, St. Brown could become the Lions slot receiver for the foreseeable future once Holmes adds receivers to the outside. The one major difference between Tate and St. Brown is YAC. Tate was fantastic at scrapping out yards after the catch, while St. Brown does leave something to be desired in that category.
“I just want to keep working on yards after the catch. Catch a 5-yard route, make it 20, 40-plus yards. That just comes with you gotta break tackles. You gotta be great with the ball in your hands. So that’s something that I just want to keep working on.”
It’s quite possible that GM Brad Holmes has found this franchise a 4th round gem. If he’s able to add the right pieces through the 2022 NFL Draft and Free Agency it is possible that Detroit has themselves a man who came be the guy to move the chains for the long haul. Even QB Jared Goff is excited about the future of St. Brown:
“I’ll say it again, he’s a stud. We’ve known it since training camp. Finally getting him involved quite a bit now. I thought the route on the touchdown was just so perfect. It’s such a unique route that only some guys can run, and you have to have a good feel for the space and the game. He has all of that. We had him on a few choice routes today and we’re constantly talking on the sidelines. He’s really starting to learn. He’s really starting to pick it up and understand coverage, and understand where the holes are, and it’s really fun to play with him.”
What do you think Lions fans? Is Amon-Ra St. Brown a significant piece of the future?
https://www.mlive.com/lions/2021/12/ask-kyle-on-the-lions-offensive-creativity-the-future-at-coordinator-and-the-emergence-of-amon-ra-st-brown.html
https://sidelionreport.com/2021/12/20/amon-ra-st-brown-gets-random-drug-test-third-straight-nice-game/
https://www.espn.com/blog/detroit-lions/post/_/id/38219/rookie-amon-ra-st-brown-like-detroit-lions-finishing-2021-season-strong