He finished his rookie season on quite a run, and Lions’ wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown can join an elite list of pass catchers if he gets to a certain mark again in Week 1.
Amon-Ra St. Brown emerged big-time late in his rookie season, and became a fantasy league winner, with a final six weeks that saw him tally 51 receptions for 560 yards and five touchdowns with a rushing touchdown added for good measure.
Despite a very slow start (43 yards over his first three games, less than 30 yards in four of his first six), St. Brown set the Lions’ rookie record with 912 receiving yards last season. He also became the first rookie in NFL history during the Super Bowl era to post at least eight receptions in five straight games–and he ultimately did in six straight.
Amon-Ra St. Brown can join a prestigious list in Week 1
When the Lions take on the Philadelphia Eagles at Ford Field to open the 2022 season, St. Brown will have a chance to join a fairly exclusive list.
Via Tim Twentyman of Lions.com:
Lions WR @amonra_stbrown needs 8 receptions in his first
— Tim Twentyman (@ttwentyman) July 19, 2022
game vs. @Eagles Week 1 to become 5th player ever to record at least 8 receptions
in 7 consecutive games, joining Antonio Brown (8 in 2014), Michael Thomas (8 in 2019), Anquan Boldin (7 in 2005) & Travis Kelce (7 in 2020)
With eight catches against the Eagles in the season opener, St. Brown can become just the fifth player in NFL history with at least eight receptions in at least seven straight games. If he can tie Anquan Boldin and Travis Kelce’s streaks in Week 1, he’d have a chance to tie the streaks of Antonio Brown and Michael Thomas in Week 2 against the Washington Commanders.
In last year’s matchup against the Eagles (a 44-6 blowout loss in Week 8 on Halloween), St. Brown had three catches for 46 yards on five targets.
It’s a much different Lions’ team now than it was then, but it’s worth wondering how the Eagles will go about defending St. Brown now that the secret is out on him. He will certainly be a high priority, perhaps even drawing some regular coverage from former Lions’ cornerback Darius Slay.