When the Detroit Lions selected wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown out of USC in the fourth round of the 2021 NFL Draft, I was excited because I believed he could play a similar role to what Golden Tate played during his time in Detroit.
St. Brown was outstanding during his rookie season as he caught 90 passes for 912 yards and five touchdowns. But what was even more impressive is that he ended the season with six-straight games where he had eight or more receptions (51 total).
Now, Amon-Ra is heading into his sophomore campaign and he is focused on taking his game to the next level.
“For me going into year two, I just want to play more free, not think as much, and I think that just comes with repetition. That’s what we’re doing in training camp, getting reps,” St. Brown told 97.1 The Ticket earlier this week. “One thing I’ve focused on is after the catch, going crazy, making guys miss, scoring, doing whatever it takes to get in that end zone every time I touch the ball.”
Detroit Lions OC Ben Johnson says Amon-Ra St. Brown is ‘On a mission’
During a recent press conference, Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson raved about Amon-Ra St. Brown, saying that he is “on a mission”.
“He’s special, man. He really is. He he’s on a mission right now,” offensive coordinator Ben Johnson told reporters on Friday. “We talked in the spring a little bit about each coach giving each player areas of improvement. He is taking those to heart. And you can really see that translate on the field right now.
Johnson specifically talked about how Amon-Ra St. Brown is focused on improving what he does after he catches the football.
“I talked to him middle of the summer during our off time, just seeing how he’s doing. He’s like, ‘Coach, I’m telling you right now — this run after catch, I’m all over it. I’m all over it.’ And I think you see that every single day on the field.”
“Ball gets in his hands and he is consciously thinking to knife up the field and get what I can — break tackles along the way,” Johnson explained. “The aggression that he had, he has that controlled aggression, which for a receiver is rare. It shows up in the run game, it shows up in his route-running, his breaks, and it carries over for the rest of the group.”
Nation, do you think Amon-Ra St. Brown can replicate what he did over the final six games of the 2021 season or will he take a step back due to the number of weapons the Lions have on offense?
