4 Ways Amon-Ra St. Brown Can Improve in 2022
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After being named as the Rookie of the Week for his performance against Green Bay in Week 18 and setting new rookie club records for yardage and receptions, can wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown improve in 2022?
The answer is yes, as there are a number of ways St. Brown can improve.
As Bo Schembechler used to say, "Every day you either get better, or you get worse. You never stay the same."
According to ESPN, the average career in the NFL lasts 3.3 years and players have to work to keep improving, as oftentimes, only the best play past their rookie contracts.
There are four things St. Brown can do to take the next step toward proving he is one of the best receivers in the league.
1.) Look to stay in bounds after the catch
This stood out on the game film. St. Brown has a natural inclination to want to head toward the sidelines after making catches.
While he ranked 15th in the NFL in total number of receptions (90), St. Brown ranked 30th in total yardage (912) and 92nd in average yards per catch (10.1). Despite the high number of catches, those statistics are telling. St. Brown gave up too easily after making the grab.
To St. Brown's defense, he started making moves to stay in bounds after the catch late in the season. However, he will need to do this all the time going forward. St. Brown needs to make defensive backs tackle him, instead of letting the sidelines do their job.
2.) Run crisper routes
Yes, St. Brown caught 90 passes on 119 targets in 2021, but his route running did not look crisp or well defined enough. This is one of his biggest areas of opportunity, and running better routes will also improve his ability to pick up yardage after the catch.
St. Brown showed a tendency to lose his body control too often on routes. This indicates St. Brown was not exactly at the right spot when the ball arrived.
While he capitalized on the high number of targets (24th most), his route running made him look like a fourth-round draft choice.
Junfu Han, USA TODAY NETWORK
3.) Improve on contested throws
There were opportunities in contested situations where St. Brown was locked up in coverage and could not come down with the catch.
A receiver's hands are his most valuable asset. St. Brown needs to work on improving the strength in his hands this offseason. With stronger hands, he would have a much better chance of catching the ball in those situations.
Jerry Rice, one of the greatest receivers in NFL history, developed his hands while growing up and catching bricks from his dad, who was a brick mason.
St. Brown has strong-looking arms, but clearly his hands need strengthening.
4.) Become a complete wide receiver
Out of his entire rookie highlight reel, there is only one time he was able to get behind a defense deep for a touchdown, and that was against Arizona. That also happened to be St. Brown's longest catch of the season, going for 37 yards.
In order to take his game to the next level, St. Brown is going to have to develop his deep game in the NFL. St. Brown needs to prove to Detroit he can get deeper and high-point the ball in the pros, like he did at USC.
If he can not do so, St. Brown will quickly be labeled as a slot possession receiver, who excels in the short-to-intermediate route levels. But, if such occurs, it will leave the Lions shopping for receivers who can get deep.
The last thing St. Brown can ill-afford to do, as he heads into his second season, is let his rookie season go to his head. St. Brown can not think he has arrived.
Another draft class of receivers is coming in and NFL defenses are now much more aware of St. Brown. Undoubtedly, these defenses will be much more prepared to face him in 2022.
