Amon-Ra St. Brown's road to winning Offensive Player of the Year will be tough

The Detroit Lions are blessed with a running back tandem that might be the best in the league. Tight end Sam LaPorta might be the best player in the league at his position shortly. Jared Goff keeps impressing with his steady play, and he has the makings of an intriguing MVP candidate this year.

Sometimes overlooked is Amon-Ra St. Brown. He has become one of the best wide receivers in the league, improving his numbers each year.

Bleacher Report writer Brad Gagnon profiled some under-the-radar picks for every NFL award in 2024, with St. Brown as a dark horse for Offensive Player of the Year.

"The trajectory is pointing way upward for Detroit's standout No. 1 target, and it wouldn't be surprising at all if he were to top 125 catches, 1,800 yards and a dozen touchdowns in his age-25 season. But eight players have better OPOY odds."

Last season, St. Brown put up career-bests with 119 catches for 1,515 yards and 10 touchdowns, He'll have to surpass those numbers in a big way to win Offensive Player of the Year (2,000 yards and 15 touchdowns?.

Amon-Ra St. Brown has uphill battle to claim NFL's Offensive Player of the Year award

As nice as it would be to see St. Brown named the best offensive player in the NFL, he's going to have an uphill battle to claim the award and some of those factors are out of his control.

First off, St. Brown would have to have a massive statistical season to even get in the conversation for the award. The Lions spread the wealth offensively in the red zone, meaning St. Brown could have another fantastic season and fall short of setting eye-popping stats. That likely won't matter to him as long as the Lions are winning, and there won't be any pressure from St. Brown to get the ball for number's sake.

Eight of the last 11 Offensive Player of the Year winners have been a quarterback or a running back. Only three times since 2013 has a wide receiver won-Michael Thomas in 2019, Cooper Kupp in 2021 and Justin Jefferson in 2022. The odds are against St. Brown, even with some recent momentum for wide receivers.

This isn't to say St. Brown should be doubted. He is likely to have a huge season, and continue to be one of the most important Lions. He might even be the overall team MVP. Just don't count on him winning such a significant league-wide award.