Insider Predicts if Amon-Ra St. Brown Will Make Final Cut with Detroit Lions

Does the former USC wideout have what it takes to grace Detroit's main roster?

Author:
Claudette Montana Pattison
Publish date:
May 28, 2021 4:55 PM EDT

Former USC wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown begins his NFL journey with the Detroit Lions, after the team selected him in the fourth round of the 2021 NFL Draft.

Although St. Brown was an elite athlete at the college level, some analysts criticize and question if he has what it takes to become elite at the pro-level. The Lions are in dire need for some top-tier wide receiver talent, but is St. Brown the answer to their prayers?

Sports Illustrated's All Lions writer Daniel Kelly believes that although the Lions are 'starving' a the wideout position, St. Brown might not have what it takes.

Daniel Kelly writes:

After losing WR Kenny Golladay in free agency to the N.Y. Giants, Detroit needed to make a splash at receiver, and instead, the team made a splash that is the equivalent of throwing a penny into a wishing well, if it believes St. Brown can replace him. I was never a big Golladay fan to begin with. He was decent, but he never struck me as being good or great.

When I think of great, I think of WR Calvin Johnson. St. Brown is more of a "jack-of-all-trades" type, and he reminds me more of Jamal Agnew, who left for greener pastures this offseason, signing with the Jacksonville Jaguars. I much prefer UFA wide receiver Jonathan Adams Jr., out of Arkansas St., compared to St. Brown.

If St. Brown is to make the roster, it will come in the role of what Agnew was, as a utility player who the Lions can motion and move around a lot. St. Brown is like that proverbial joker in a deck of cards. He is also a tough effort guy, which probably drew the interest of Detroit head coach Dan Campbell in the first place.

Kelly goes to to write:

If I did not know any better when I watched St. Brown, I would have thought he was an undrafted free agent, and I would have put a UFA grade on him prior to the draft.

He just does not have any dominant qualities, and that is going to be a tough sell against NFL corners who have superior speed and athleticism. I do not like St. Brown's chances of making the final cut. He is a poor man's Johnnie Morton, for Lions fans who are old enough to remember Morton. St. Brown is going to have a difficult time even beating out UFA wideout Sage Surratt, out of Wake Forest.