How Amon-Ra St. Brown can realistically break Calvin Johnson's record in 2024

This offseason, the Detroit Lions have handed out a couple of hefty contracts, one to their quarterback Jared Goff, and the other to star wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown.

It's a new era in Detroit. This is a competitive team. Times have changed. So, the money is being well-spent.

As for the latter of the two players, St. Brown enters the 2024 season with a fatter bank account along with the chance to do something special -- break the single-season receiving record held by former Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson.

The Lions legend recently spoke on his record and believes it's going to be broken, one day:

"I mean, it's bound to fall at some point the way it's going, so it is what it is. I held it down, I don't know even know how long, over a decade now."

Could St. Brown be the one to do it?

There's reason to believe he can. Josh Reynolds left in free agency and the Lions are counting on the unproven Jameson Williams to take his place. Last year, Reynolds accounted for 40 receptions on 64 targets. St. Brown could see even more targets going forward, upping his chances to do something historical.

What would Amon-Ra St. Brown need to do to break Calvin Johnson's record?

First, let's look at some quick facts.

St. Brown finished the 2023 season third in the league in receiving yards with 1,515.

Johnson's record-breaking year came when he caught 122 passes. St. Brown caught 119 last year.

Johnson averaged 16.1 yards per reception that season. In 2023, St. Brown averaged just 12.7.

Let's say St. Brown ups his total reception number to 135, which would be roughly just one more per game. If he wanted to break the record, St. Brown would need to average 14.5 yards per reception.

How about looking at it from one more perspective.

Michael Thomas owns the single-season reception record with 149, but let's say St. Brown gets close and ends the 2024 season with 145 -- which is not out of the question, considering the vacated targets from Reynolds. If St. Brown caught 145 passes this year, he'd need to average 13.5 yards per reception to break Johnson's record.

Is it seeming a little more feasible, now?

Totaling almost 2,000 receiving yards seems like a monstrous accomplishment, and it is. Johnson's record of 1,964 has stood for 12 years now, but if anyone in the league can break it, St. Brown is definitely a candidate.