Amon-Ra St. Brown 2021 Outlook: Sneaky Slot Receiver Should Find A Role As the Season Looms On
4 years agoNamed after the ancient Egyptian god of the sun, Amon-Ra St. Brown also hopes to become a star. He not only has the best name in this draft class, but he is also a top-tier route runner and has all the tools to be a successful slot receiver at the next level. His stats from USC don't jump off of the page, but all you see in his tape are fluid routes and a knack for finding the soft spots in defenses. He is a reliable weapon on third downs because he knows exactly where the sticks are and how to position himself to be open beyond them. He has enough speed for routine chunk plays, but he does not have the home-run speed to turn any touch into a house call. Regardless, I like St. Brown's potential as the Lions' slot receiver given that their top three receivers from last season (Kenny Golladay, Marvin Jones, and Danny Amendola) are no longer on the team. Quarterback Jared Goff has made his living off of targeting the slot receiver. Tight end T.J. Hockenson figures to be the primary weapon in the passing game and running back D'Andre Swift will be used plenty, but the other receivers on the roster are Tyrell Williams, Breshad Perriman, and Quintez Cephus, and they all play on the outside. Goff will usually throw the ball to any receiver who is wide open because he does not like to throw into tight coverage and that bodes very well for St. Brown. I would not expect a heavy role early on because rookies typically take at least a few weeks to get acclimated, but I would look to target St. Brown as a low-risk high-reward WR5 towards the end of your drafts because the targets should be there.