Drafted in the fourth round prior to last season by the Detroit Lions, Amon-Ra St. Brown was the 17th wide receiver to go off the board in the 2021 NFL Draft. Held to just 27 catches for 250 yards with no touchdowns in the first eight games last season, St. Brown exploded with 55 receptions for 553 yards with four touchdowns over the next eight games and made it fairly obvious all the teams that passed on him on draft day messed up.
“I want all the coaches that passed up on me to regret it,” he told Pro Football Focus last year. “That’s something that I love, them seeing me do great and them knowing they passed up on me is the feeling that I want them to never forget. I keep track of these receivers, also. I see what they’re doing, check their stats and just keep pushing.”
That push has extended into this season as St. Brown has caught at least eight passes in each of his team’s last eight games, a feat previously only accomplished by Michael Thomas and Antonio Brown, and has caught seven touchdowns in his last six appearances. Two of those touchdowns came in Week 2 when the second-year pro snagged nine receptions for 116 yards and added two rushing attempts for 68 yards.
St. Brown, who led all players in the NFC with 184 scrimmage yards in Week 2 and now has 17 catches for 180 yards on the season, was recognized with the NFC offensive player of the week award on Wednesday by the NFL.
Joining JuJu Smith-Schuster (Week 8, 2017) and Robert Woods (Week 11, 2020) as the third former USC wide receiver to win offensive player of the week, St. Brown and is the sixth Lions wide receiver to earn the honor, joining Pro Football Hall of Famer Calvin Johnson (four times), Herman Moore (twice), Germane Crowell, Richard Johnson and Brett Perriman.
Just 22 years and 329 days old, St. Brown became the third player all-time under the age of 23 to record a touchdown reception in at least six consecutive games in Week 2, joining Pro Football Hall of Famer Randy Moss (seven consecutive games in 1998) and future Canton resident Rob Gronkowski (six consecutive games in 2011).
Trailing NFL touchdown leader Stefon Diggs of the Buffalo Bills, St. Brown is tied for the second-most TDs in the NFL this season with Nick Chubb (Browns), James Robinson (Jaguars) and Jaylen Waddle (Dolphins). Get to know him.
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