Scouting WR Amon-Ra St. Brown
The fourth round of the NFL Draft is a no-man's land, and that is where Detroit selected wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown in this year's draft.
It is a no-man's land, because it is midway through the seven-round draft. A player taken in the fourth round is not considered to be "good enough" by the league to go in the first three rounds, and he is not "bad enough" to slip into the abyss of the later rounds or to become an undrafted free agent (UFA), either.
St. Brown fits that mold exactly. He is more quick than fast, and he has average hands. However, he was fairly productive at a big program in USC, which is exactly where receivers like him get graded and selected.
Will that be good enough for the Lions, who are starving for wide receivers?
I do not believe it will be.
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.
After drafting St. Brown, Lions GM Brad Holmes said, "Well, from the sounds of it, after we drafted St. Brown, I felt like people would get off my (butt) about not getting a receiver."
© Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
WR Amon-Ra St. Brown - 6-foot-1, 195 pounds
40-yard dash time: 4.51, per PFF
Film reviewed (2020): Utah, Washington State and UCLA
Grade: D (below average)
Scouting Report
Diminutive, scrappy and raw-looking receiver who is more quick than fast when it comes to football speed. He has average hands and average hip flexibility. Tends to excel at short, quick receiver bubble screen routes and deeper routes, and fades in the end zone. Showed he is a tough runner after catching a shorter screen route, and will cut it up the field.
He is not elusive by any stretch of the imagination, but he does take what a defense will give him. Average-looking release downfield while running routes, and his route-running skills and technique look raw. Routes do not look sharp, his and cutting at the break points looks rounded. He sort of looks like he is doing his own thing out there. This really showed up on an interception against UCLA, when it looked like he overran the route and the pass got picked off.
Showed average and hard hands. Does not look like a natural receiver who has soft, natural hands. Dropped or bobbled some he should have caught clean (2020: Caught 41 of 59 balls he was targeted on). Showed he can high point deep routes and fade patterns very well. He also excelled as a run blocker. He got after it.
He was a decent college receiver who will struggle in the NFL. The combination of lacking football playing speed, having tightness in his hips and average hands is going to prove to be too much to overcome in the NFL.
I believe Detroit fell in love with his consistent college production, toughness and his effort more than his actual receiver skill set.
Justin Rogers from The Detroit News believes that the Lions liked his weight-room strength and durability.
"His 20 reps on the bench press is among the best numbers posted by a receiver this decade," Rogers said. "During his USC career, he missed one game, as a freshman."
Outside of those factors, 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.
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