Amon-Ra St. Brown

Amon-Ra Julian Heru John St. Brown (born October 24, 1999) is an American football wide receiver for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at USC and was drafted by the Lions in the fourth round of the 2021 NFL draft. St. Brown was voted to the Pro Bowl in 2022 and 2023, along with being named first-team All-Pro in 2023.

Early years
St. Brown attended Servite High School in Anaheim, California, as a freshman before transferring to Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, California. As a senior in 2017, he had 72 receptions for 1,320 yards and 20 touchdowns. A five-star recruit ranked second among receiver prospects, St. Brown committed to the University of Southern California (USC) to play college football. He played with future USC teammate JT Daniels at Mater Dei.

College career
In his first game of his college career, St. Brown had seven receptions for 98 yards and a touchdown in a win over UNLV. On September 15, 2018, St. Brown finished with a career-high 167 yards receiving in a game against Texas. St. Brown finished his freshman season with 60 catches, 750 yards, and three touchdowns.

On November 9, 2019, he recorded a career high 173 yards in a victory over Arizona State. As a sophomore in 2019, he finished with 77 receptions for 1,042 receiving yards and six receiving touchdowns, adding seven rushes for 60 yards and another touchdown.

As a junior in 2020, he finished with 41 receptions for 478 receiving yards and seven touchdowns in six games.

Pre-draft
On January 2, 2021, St. Brown announced on his Instagram account that he would be declaring for the 2021 NFL draft, and was projected by CBS Sports as a late first round pick. After St. Brown worked out at the NFL Combine, the NFL released its report on St. Brown by senior NFL analyst Lance Zierlein. The report placed St. Brown at a second to third round projection, and predicted he would be an average starter. Other scouting reports, including ones by Pro Football Focus and The Draft Network, placed St. Brown anywhere from a third to fourth round selection, with emphasis on him being a second string receiver.

2021 season
St. Brown was drafted in the fourth round, 112th overall, by the Detroit Lions in the 2021 NFL Draft. He signed his four-year rookie contract with Detroit on June 17, 2021. St. Brown played his first game in Week 1 against the San Francisco 49ers, recording his first reception and finishing the game with two receptions for 23 yards. He made his first career start during Week 5 against the Minnesota Vikings, recording seven receptions for 65 yards in their 17–19 loss. St. Brown recorded his first career scoring play in a 2-point conversion attempt in their Week 6 loss of 11–34 against the Cincinnati Bengals.

The Lions entered their Week 13 matchup against the Vikings with a record of 0–10–1, in a 364-day, 15-game winless streak. With 4 seconds left in the fourth quarter, down 23–27, quarterback Jared Goff threw the game-winning touchdown pass to St. Brown, his first career receiving touchdown, clinching the Lions' first win of the season. In late December, St. Brown won the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Month award. Throughout December, he had recorded 35 receptions, 340 receiving yards, and three receiving touchdowns, all of which led the entire rookie class. In addition, he recorded 26 rushing yards.

Overall, St. Brown finished his rookie season with 90 receptions for 912 receiving yards and five receiving touchdowns, to go along with 61 rushing yards and 1 rushing touchdown. St. Brown finished fifth in yardage for the 2021 wide receiver rookie class, as well as having the most yardage for a non-first round pick.

2022 season


In their season opener against the Philadelphia Eagles, St. Brown put up an eight-reception, 64-yard performance with one receiving touchdown. Coincidentally, his touchdown came two minutes before his brother Equanimeous scored a touchdown in the Chicago Bears' season opener (this was his brother's first touchdown as a Bear). In Week 2 against the Washington Commanders, St. Brown became the first player in NFL history to have six straight regular season games with at least eight receptions and at least one touchdown, finishing the game with nine receptions for 116 yards and two touchdowns. The streak began in Week 15 of the 2021 season. St. Brown was named NFC Offensive Player of the Week for his performance. In a Week 3 matchup against division rival Vikings, his streak would end when St. Brown received 6 passes for 73 yards with no touchdowns. In the second quarter of that game, St. Brown would visit training staff with an ankle injury. This injury would cause St. Brown to miss their Week 4 matchup against the Seattle Seahawks, where the Lions would lose in a close 45–48 battle. Returning in Week 5 against the New England Patriots, St. Brown put up just 18 yards on four receptions, ending with the Lions getting shut out 0–29.

With the Lions returning from their bye week to play against the Dallas Cowboys, St. Brown went into concussion protocol after being tackled by Cowboys' cornerback Jourdan Lewis following his first reception of the game. St. Brown would not return in that game. He returned to play in Week 9 versus the Miami Dolphins. In Week 10, against the Bears, he had ten receptions for 119 yards in their 31–30 victory. In Week 12, against the Buffalo Bills, he had nine receptions for 122 receiving yards and a receiving touchdown, in their 28–25 loss. In a 40–14 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars the following week, he had 11 receptions for 114 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns. In a Week 15 matchup with the Carolina Panthers, St. Brown topped 1,000 receiving yards for the 2022 season, becoming the youngest receiver in Lions' franchise history to accumulate 1,000 receiving yards in a single season, beating out Calvin Johnson's record by eight days. For his efforts, St. Brown was named as a Pro Bowler. He was ranked 67th by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2023.

2023 season
In Week 2, against the Seahawks, St. Brown made his first career fumble, which was recovered by the Seahawks. This was one of three turnovers committed by the team that day, resulting in a Lions loss in overtime 37–31. He started the 2023 season with injuries that caused him to miss the fourth quarter of their Week 2 game.

In Week 11 against the Los Angeles Chargers, St. Brown caught eight passes for a career-high 156 yards and a touchdown in a 41–38 win. The game also marks the fourth consecutive game in which St. Brown caught for more than 100 yards. In Week 18 against the Vikings, St. Brown caught a 70-yard touchdown pass, the longest reception of his career.

St. Brown finished the 2023 season third in the NFL with 1,515 receiving yards (behind Tyreek Hill and CeeDee Lamb) He was selected as a First team All-Pro and earned Pro Bowl honors.

In the Wild Card Round game against the Los Angeles Rams, St. Brown had eight receptions for 110 yards in his playoff debut, including a crucial first down pass from Jared Goff in the fourth quarter that secured a 24–23 victory, the Lions' first playoff win in over 30 years. He scored a receiving touchdown in the Lions' win over the Buccaneers in the Divisional Round.

On April 24, 2024, St. Brown signed a four-year, $120 million contract extension, keeping him under contract with the Lions through the 2028 season.

NFL awards

 * 2x Pro Bowl selection (2022, 2023)
 * NFC Offensive Player of the Week – 2022 (Week 2)
 * NFL Offensive Rookie of the Month award – December 2021

Lions franchise records

 * All-time rookie receiving yards: 912
 * Youngest player with 1,000 yard receiving season: 23 years 61 days

Personal life
St. Brown's mother, Miriam Brown née Steyer, is from Leverkusen, Germany. His father, John Brown, was a bodybuilder in the 1980s and a two-time amateur Mr. Universe. His brother, Equanimeous, currently plays for the New Orleans Saints in the National Football League (NFL), while another brother, Osiris, played college football at Stanford. St. Brown is also a community ambassador for Unite Health Share Ministries, a Christian healthcare non-profit organization. In addition to English, St. Brown also speaks fluent German and French. His father chose his children's names from an interest in names he considered African, particularly Egyptian ones.