Player Profile: Amon-Ra St. Brown

Amon-Ra St. Brown, an unconventional name, shouldn't turn fantasy managers and the general football public away from this talented rookie WR.

St. Brown possesses a lot of skills that could translate to on-field success in Detroit this season. Here are three reasons why St. Brown could have a breakout season and why his current value of WR76 is a steal.

Lions rookie WR Amon-Ra St. Brown: "I'm ready to take someone's job"https://t.co/jC1sIF0KCj pic.twitter.com/MlF8rIhos2

— Around The NFL (@AroundTheNFL) May 17, 2021

#1: His talent

St. Brown was electrifying at the University of Southern California, registering seven touchdowns in back-to-back seasons, including a six-game, 2020-shortened season.

Only rookie Seahawks WR D'Wayne Eskridge had more touchdowns while playing six or fewer games than St. Brown in the entire FBS. Detroit invested a fourth overall pick in St. Brown, 112 overall, to bring some of that touchdown ability to their team.

In November, Amon-Ra St. Brown was considered a potential 1st rounder.By January he was just an early Day 2 guy, now I’ve seen Mock Drafts have him falling to the 3rd and further.If you’re in a deep dynasty league, make sure he lands on your roster.pic.twitter.com/9ZPfRBWv6I

— Elvin Ryan (@ElvinRyan_FF) February 9, 2021

---

#2: Opportunity

The Lions have surprisingly had some very good WRs over the past decade. The franchise has had Calvin Johnson, Kenny Golladay, Marvin Jones Jr. and Golden Tate, who have all had massive impacts on the passing game during the Stafford era.

But none of those four WRs remain on the team who have a completely new identity under first-year head coach Dan Campbell. The current depth chart at WR for the Lions includes Tyrell Williams, Breshad Perriman and Quintez Cephus.

Williams missed the entire 2020 season, while Perriman missed four games in 2020 and has never finished inside the top 50. Meanwhile, Cephus is going into his sophomore season after scoring just 67 fantasy points in 13 games as a rookie.

St. Brown is also a slot specialist, the only such player on the current Lions roster. No one in Detroit has the slot skills St. Brown has, which could translate to immediate playing time.

Amon-Ra St. Brown has FOUR touchdowns in the first quarter for USC 🤯(via @CFBONFOX)pic.twitter.com/uku1lBSybD

— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) December 7, 2020

---

#3: Poor defense is beneficial to their offense

The Detroit Lions have one of, if not the worst, defenses in the NFL, which is extremely beneficial to their offense. They play from deficits in most games and are almost always forced to rely on the passing game to put up points, especially in the second half.

The Lions' new QB, Jared Goff, has had incredibly successful seasons before, including consecutive campaigns of over 4600 yards in 2017 and 2018. Goff isn't an elite QB and won't carry this team to the playoffs, or even a winning record. But he could rack up a ton of yards and easily throw 30+ TDs in 2021.

Another benefit of having Goff at QB is his history of throwing to the slot. Goff developed strong chemistry in Los Angeles with Rams slot WR Cooper Kupp, who finished as the WR5 in 2019.

Kupp's 4.62 40-yard dash time was slower than St. Brown's 4.51, and both players were drafted outside the first two rounds. Goff could develop a similar sense of chemistry with St. Brown, who should dominate the slot and work his way over 1,000 yards in 2021.

"He’s taught me some things about certain routes and things Cooper Kupp did with him back with the Rams that he loved."https://t.co/6qWPOejhTS

— Kyle Gerard Bauer (@theFellowKGB) July 17, 2021

Be sure to leave every single fantasy draft with Amon-Ra St. Brown. He is the perfect sleeper and breakout player for the 2021 season and could easily return to his current value.

---

Follow me on Twitter @realdtharrison for much more content as the NFL off-season continues.