With what he’s done over the last season and a half, it’s time to call Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown what he is.
Over the final six weeks of his rookie season, Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown was more productive as any wide receiver in the league this side of Cooper Kupp. Many fantasy football managers won their leagues with help from that closing stretch, but wider recognition was the next step as he entered his second season this year.
An ankle injury put St. Brown’s 2022 campaign off-course for a stretch, and he left a game very early with a head injury. But he has ramped it back up lately, to put it lightly, with over 100 yards on at least nine catches in three of the last four games and three touchdowns over the last two games. Going back further, he has at least seven receptions in four straight games and in five of his last six contests.
Over the last four weeks, through Week 13, only Davante Adams put up more receiving yards (431) than St. Brown (Adams played Thursday night to kickoff Week 14). Over the last six games, again through Week 13, only Adams (667), Justin Jefferson (623) and Tyreek Hill (606) have more yards than St. Brown’s 555.
It’s time to put Amon-Ra St. Brown in the class of NFL wide receivers he belongs in
Pro Football Focus’ Ian Hartitz outlined what St. Brown has done over his last season worth of games.
Amon-Ra St. Brown last 17 games:
— Ian Hartitz (@Ihartitz) December 7, 2022
167 targets
127 receptions
1,534 total yards
12 TD
Even includes two games from this season where he played just 21 and 10 snaps due to injury. Pretty, pretty, pretty good.
Pro Football Focus had St. Brown as the highest-graded wide receiver in the NFC through Week 13, and he’s tied for the second-highest grade among all wide receivers.
Highest-graded NFC WR this season:
— PFF (@PFF) December 7, 2022
Amon-Ra St. Brown - 90.7 ☀️ pic.twitter.com/ieOOsO4s3M
16 receivers were drafted in front of Amon-Ra St. Brown. #OnePride pic.twitter.com/2prXFE07dn
— Woodward Sports Network (@woodwardsports) December 7, 2022
As easily expected, via Next Gen Stats, St. Brown is money on the money down.
Amon-Ra St. Brown converted on all 4 of his third down targets in the Lions' 40-14 victory over the Jaguars, gaining 53 yards on 9 routes.
— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) December 4, 2022
St. Brown has gained a first down on a league-high 18.2% of his third down routes this season (min. 50 routes).#JAXvsDET | #OnePride pic.twitter.com/8lwYAgOOpq
Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson had his typical weekly media session on Thursday. He put St. Brown in the top tier of NFL wide receivers (h/t to Pride of Detroit).
"Truthfully, I really think he’s playing like a top five, top 10 receiver in this league right now,” Johnson said on Thursday. “He generates separation on a weekly basis. I think he’s very hard to cover. We’re trying the best we can to keep defenses guessing a little bit of where he’s going to lineup, but he does a lot of things himself.”"
NFL Network’s Rich Eisen also tabbed St. Brown as a top-10 wide receiver in the league.
However you want to slice it–numbers, deeper numbers/grades or what he does that doesn’t show up on the stat sheet, there’s one broad label that fits St. Brown. “Sun God” is a star, and the way things are going calling him a superstar won’t be out of bounds very soon.