Amon-Ra St. Brown Reacts to Lions' 2023 Draft
When in doubt, trust in Brad Holmes. Detroit Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, for one, believes in that sentiment.
Holmes, the third-year Detroit general manager, has faced his fair share of criticism for his selections of Alabama running back Jahmyr Gibbs (No. 12 overall) and Iowa linebacker Jack Campbell (No. 18 overall) in the first round. The general consensus from fans and pundits alike has been that Holmes reached for the two players, and at two positions that don't carry significant value in the first round.
That hasn't deterred St. Brown, a fourth-round pick of Holmes and the organization in 2021, from backing the front-office executive's decision to draft Gibbs and Campbell.
"Once they got Jahmyr Gibbs, I'm like there's no way we keep David Montgomery, Gibbs and (D'Andre) Swift, because essentially, Gibbs and Swift are like the same running back," St. Brown expressed to his brother, Equanimeous, during the latest edition of the "St. Brown Brothers" podcast for The 33rd Team. "So, I'm like, bro … sure enough, a few hours later, they're talking about trading Swift.
"So, the draft went on. We got (Jack) Campbell, the dude from Iowa, linebacker. I'm like, damn, we got a linebacker and a running back that early in the draft. Like, you know, a lot of fans, I talked to a few. They didn't expect that. They were like, 'I feel like we got to get something else in the draft that early.' But, I was like, bro, I trust, you know, what Brad Holmes and the guys do. They drafted me, so I know they know talent, obviously."
St. Brown is easily one of Holmes' best draft picks. The USC product has turned into the go-to target in the Lions' passing game, and is coming off his first 1,000-yard receiving campaign as a pro. In fact, he's coming off a year in which he recorded 106 catches for 1,161 yards and six touchdowns, en route to earning his first trip to the Pro Bowl.
Later in the episode, Equanimeous, now a member of the Chicago Bears, questioned Amon-Ra on why the Lions wideout wasn't drafted until the fourth round by Holmes & Co.
In response to Equanimeous, the younger St. Brown expressed, "I was still available at the time. Wait, he still drafted me, though, right?"
Equanimeous countered, "But, I'm saying, why'd it take him so long, if they know talent?"
Ultimately, Amon-Ra defended his general manager.
"He (Holmes) knows talent," Amon-Ra responded. "Why didn't the Bears draft me?"
According to Equanimeous, the reason why is that Ryan Poles wasn't the Bears' general manager at the time. In defense of the elder St. Brown sibling, Poles took over as Chicago GM the year after Amon-Ra was drafted by the Lions.
Additionally, the St. Brown brothers debated which of their teams possesses the better receivers room. To no surprise, no clear-cut winner prevailed, with each St. Brown taking their respective squad in the debate.
"Please, Mike (the show's producer), add the crickets to this … crickets, crickets (with the sound of crickets chirping in the background)," a smiling Amon-Ra said, after Equanimeous went through the Bears' wideouts. "Like what, we are not worried about (the Bears' receivers). We won't even get there, bro."
