Getty Amon-Ra St. Brown makes a catch against Seattle in 2022.
Amon-Ra St. Brown was a revelation for the Detroit Lions late in the 2021 season, and as a result of his play, he’s now firmly on the radar of the entire NFL.
Whether it’s with Lions fans or those who cheer for other teams, St. Brown has now become a household name, which means that some folks are probably wishing he was on their roster. Clearly, given he was a fourth-round pick, many folks would nab St. Brown sooner if they had the chance to do it all over again.
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Taking a look back at the 2021 NFL draft, it’s clear that many teams flat out whiffed on the chance to add St. Brown, and many are downright regretting it now. Recently, ESPN put together a two-round re-draft of last year, and while the Lions didn’t change their picks in either round, another writer had Detroit losing St. Brown long before he was scooped up in the fourth-round.
New Orleans writer Mike Triplett had the Saints pick at 28, and instead of defensive end Payton Turner, he sent St. Brown down south with the selection. As for the reason why, Triplett wrote that he believed the team could have used St. Brown to fill their glaring need at wide receiver.
It’s obvious that St. Brown probably should have managed to get selected a lot higher than he did, making him one of the biggest potential steals of the 2021 class depending on how he develops. Advantage Lions for the foreseeable future.
St. Brown Motivated to Prove Doubters Wrong
It’s possible that without getting passed up, St. Brown would never have become the kind of player he is now trending to be, however. As he said to the media after a game against Seattle in January of 2022 in an interview posted to DetroitLions.com, St. Brown is still motivated by what played out during the draft last year and teams passing him up.
“It’s one of the moments of my life I’ll never forget, that feeling that I had,” St. Brown told the media a few months back. “Day one went by, I wasn’t expecting to go first-round, that was fine. Day two, I was expected to hear my name. Seeing so many receivers go before me. That feeling I had inside, I can’t even explain it. It was gut wrenching. It really does motivate me. Every time I’m doing something well, people are patting my back, I just think of those 16 that went before me and how I felt and that just keeps me going.”
Obviously, St. Brown is a classic case of a player who managed to make it that isn’t taking anything for granted. He’s going to take names as he attempts to remain at the top and stay there in the future with the Lions. That motivation might be what drives him further and harder in the end.
St. Brown Enjoyed Amazing Finish to 2021 Season
St. Brown left no doubt about his future with the performance in the season-finale against Green Bay over a month ago. The rookie not only shattered Roy Williams’ franchise record for receiving yards in a season by a first-year player in the game, he also find a way into the end zone and collected 109 yards on the day. It wasn’t just the finale, however. St. Brown looked like a major weapon most of the second half of the season for the Lions catching and running with the ball.
St. Brown has been on fire for the Lions down the stretch, and the fact he finished with 912 receiving yard and 5 touchdowns will simply springboard him moving forward into 2022. The Lions have seen St. Brown come into his own with big plays, and he has looked like a future dynamo in waiting for the team’s offense.
Fortunately for the Lions, re-drafts aren’t real. The team is glad they’ve got St. Brown on their side for the future and beyond.
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2021 Redraft Has Lions Losing Best Young Player to NFC Rivals