Getty Desmond Howard speaking at the Super Bowl in 2014.
The Detroit Lions are hoping for a big year out of wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, and they could be in-line to get it in a big way due to personal motivation.
Former NFL wideout Desmond Howard knows what it takes to make a successful receiver much less player. In the league, Howard was a mainstay for 10 years, a Super Bowl champion and former Super Bowl MVP. He was also a Pro Bowl player with the Lions in 2000.
Howard spoke to Heavy.com on behalf of Town House. Town House teamed up with Howard to debut NEW Town House Game Day Dippers, specially shaped football-themed crackers in the brand’s popular dippable format.
When asked specifically about St. Brown, a rising young wideout from his former team from 1999-2002, Howard brought up the fact that former NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers has the same kind of mindset on the field that has helped drive him to greatness through the years.
“I watched Hard Knocks, and he was talking about how he carries a chip on his shoulder. It’s the same thing, really as Aaron Rodgers,” Howard told Heavy.com. “If you ever hear him talk about what happened to him during the draft, that still sticks with him today, and motivates him. St. Brown is the same way, I saw him talk about how he knows every receiver who was picked in front of him. He can tell you each one that was picked in front of him, and what number he was picked.”
That mindset, Howard concedes, helps give St. Brown a major advantage over the competition every time he suits up on the field. The reason involves the fact that the motivation is constant for the wide receiver where it might not be the same for some other players.
It’s a big factor that might help St. Brown in his quest to become the best of the best this coming season and in the future when all is said and done.
Howard: St. Brown Plays With Uncommon Desire
According to Howard, because St. Brown understands how many times he was passed up and how underrated he may have been, it shows the hunger he has for the game. That hunger allows him to get to a consistent level every time he hits the field.
As he said, that type of hunger isn’t common across the league, and will allow St. Brown to never get complacent with anything he might accomplish in the past or the future.
“Because he has that chip on his shoulder, he plays with a huge hunger and desire that’s just not common, and you don’t see that often, from players. I think that’s going to motivate him throughout his whole career, like it motivates Aaron Rodgers,” Howard said to Heavy.com. “This is a consistent thing with him, that I can see helping to elevate his game to another level, each year.”
St. Brown is never the type to think he’s made it. Every day after practice, he is spotted working on pass-catching, something that has been known to motivate his teammates. It’s clear his desire is to be the best, and he is locked-in on that goal.
While some might wonder if St. Brown is in line for a sophomore slump, that might not be a fair concern if things play out in this way.
Watch St. Brown Rattle off 2021 Wideout Class
The video of St. Brown that Howard references is certainly impressive indeed. It shows that the wide receiver has the kind of mental capacity to always drive him no matter the situation.
On Hard Knocks, St. Brown sat down for an interview and showed off the fact he knew every single player that was taken before him in the draft at his position. Here’s a look at the video courtesy of Barstool Detroit on Twitter:
If you’re a wide receiver who was drafted before Amon-Ra St. Brown, he remembers you, and he’s comin’ for you
The focus of St. Brown shows in the clip, and it’s something which Howard sees as a big advantage for him with the Lions not just in 2022, but the future as well.
If St. Brown has half as good a career as Rodgers has enjoyed thanks to that drive, it would be a big win for Detroit in the end.
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