May 17, 2026, 11:49 AM ET

Detroit Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown has finished as the WR3 for three consecutive seasons in Half-PPR formats, and he remains one of the safest selections in the first round of 2026 fantasy drafts. He is the only player to reach 115 receptions in each of the past three seasons, and his 33 red zone targets in 2025 led the league, while only Davante Adams saw more looks from within the 10. The Lions added very little in the way of pass-catchers through either free agency or the NFL Draft, and even with tight end Sam LaPorta expected back and healthy after undergoing surgery to repair a herniated disc, St. Brown's status as a true target-dominator remains unchallenged. Playing in his fifth professional season, St. Brown saw a career-high 31.2% target share in 2025, and that number could again be on the rise under new offensive coordinator Drew Petzing. Only two current playcallers used more multi-tight end sets than Petzing in 2025, and if that trend continues in Detroit, St. Brown could see an even higher concentration of targets as one of only two wide receivers routinely on the field. Since the start of the 2022 season, Jared Goff has racked up an NFL-leading 18,206 passing yards, with Patrick Mahomes the only other quarterback to top 16,000 yards in that span. Operating as the primary option in what has been, and should continue to be, one of the league's elite offenses, the 26-year-old St. Brown should have no trouble returning first-round value as RotoBaller's WR5.--Patrick McGrath