© Lon Horwedel-USA TODAY Sports
St. Brown Did Not Want to Be Drafted by Lions, Now Grateful
St. Brown reflected on Draft experience ahead of 2024 first-round.
Amon-Ra St. Brown has accomplished plenty for the Detroit Lions through his first three NFL seasons. So much so, in fact, that St. Brown was rewarded with a groundbreaking four-year extension to make him the highest-paid wideout in the league.
The day following the announcement of his extension, St. Brown was in downtown Detroit making appearances in the hours leading up to the first round of the NFL Draft. He handed out free pizzas for Little Caesars, then spoke to members of the local military in a Salute to Service event for USAA.
"I gotta go harder. I told everyone, 'I'm going harder now.' I'm not changing. My goal, or our goal, is that Lombardi," St. Brown said, via ESPN. "We need it. We feel like we can do it, so that's our goal going into the season. We want that trophy. I'm not changing, everyone knows that. I hope they do or they'll find out. I'm just glad I'm here for four more years."
St. Brown shared that ultimately the extension was the conclusion of three-month negotiations between the team and his agent. With that over, he can continue to focus on helping the Lions be successful.
"I'm gonna sign it in a few hours," the wideout said Thursday. "But no, I feel like nothing's really changed for me. I'm just excited. Obviously, I'm thankful for the Lions and my agent and everything that went down. But, I feel like I'm the same guy. I'm gonna do what I do, not gonna change for anyone or anything."
However, during the USAA event, he looked back upon his draft weekend in 2021. Spending the weekend with the family, he remembers the anguish of not hearing his name called in the first two days of the draft.
As frustrated as he was with not being drafted in the first three rounds, he came to the conclusion that there was one location he didn't want to end up on the draft's third day.
"Day three, I'm coming in. I go back to the house that we were having the party at. At the time, my brother (Equanimeous) is playing for the Packers," St. Brown said. "So I'm like, 'It would be dope if the Packers called me and I was playing for the Packers. Play with you, play with Aaron Rodgers, Davante Adams.' I would learn so much, I told my brother, 'The one team I don't want to play for is Detroit.' I'm from southern California, and Detroit, they didn't win many games. It wasn't a team that I really watched besides Megatron."
As fate would have it, he wound up finding his perfect landing spot in Detroit. Though he initially didn't want the call from Brad Holmes and company, it ended up working out nicely for the talented wideout.
"I'm sitting there and pretty early on, I get a phone call," St. Brown stated. "I'm like, 'Oh, hey.' I see a 313 area code, Detroit, Michigan at the top. I'm like, 'What the (expletive).' But, man, I wouldn't change it for the world. I'm glad it happened the way it did."
With the NFL Draft beginning Thursday, St. Brown also offered his input on what the organization should do with its picks this weekend. Currently, the Lions hold the No. 29 overall pick in the first round.
"I don't know what they're gonna do with the 29th pick, if they're gonna trade up, trade down," St. Brown explained. "I think you take best available if you're Brad Holmes. But, whatever he does, I know he's gonna make the right choice, because he's been doing it for the last three years. So, I can't wait to see what he does."
