Amon-Ra St. Brown did not start his 2021 rookie campaign as he wanted. The first-year receiver out of USC did not get many chances in the team’s first 12 games. But, he exploded in Weeks 13-18 and helped many Amon-Ra St. Brown fantasy football players into the playoffs and helped them during the playoffs last season. In fact, he was the third-best receiver in the home stretch, behind only the best receivers in Cooper Kupp and Davante Adams. St. Brown looks to continue his hot streak as the potential top receiver for the Detroit Lions. He was even nominated to have been the offensive player of the year for the Lions, due to his consistency in the latter part of the season when the Lions won all three of their games.
READ MORE: Mike Williams Fantasy Outlook
2022 Fantasy Football Outlook: Amon-Ra St. Brown
2021 Recap
Slow Start
Amon-Ra St. Brown was consistently overlooked when many decided on their starting fantasy lineups last year; and, they had reason to. The fourth-round pick struggled in the first 12 weeks, posting an average of just 7.6 points in ten games played. He never posted more than seven catches or 70 yards in a single game in the first 12 weeks. Plus, he never got any more than eight targets at any time during this stretch.
One of the biggest reasons for this was because the Lions two best offensive players were healthy; at this point, both D’Andre Swift and TJ Hockenson were playing healthy and well for the Lions. But as soon as they went down later in the season with injuries, St. Brown took over the “star player” role.
League Winner
In those last few weeks, St. Brown posted championship-winning numbers as the wide receiver number three for the NFL. He averaged an astonishing 25.2 points per game in the last six games and had a 33 percent target share. This large amount (roughly 11-12 per game) was mainly due to injuries to Swift and Hockenson. He scored all six of his total touchdowns in 2021 (five receiving, one rushing) in that home stretch. He consistently had eight receptions or more and 75 yards or more during every game. In the championship weekend (Week 17), St. Brown posted 37 points and helped win tons of leagues (including mine).
Highest graded rookie WR’s off of play action passes last season
🦁 Amon-Ra St. Brown: 91.2
🐬 Jaylen Waddle: 85.7
🐯 Ja’Marr Chase: 83.1 pic.twitter.com/RruZpEHWgS— PFF College (@PFF_College) April 26, 2022
2022 Projection
Boom or Bust/Issues With Target Share
It will be awfully hard to predict what St. Brown will do each and every week in 2022. There are plenty of unknowns every week that will impact whether he puts up 20+ points or between five-to-ten. Swift and Hockenson are the Lions’ top playmakers and will continue to be them pending any trades or injuries. However, St. Brown has surely earned the trust of the Lions’ coaches and will be the number one wide receiver in 2022.
Official Projections
He finished with 90 receptions (tied for 15th in NFL) and 912 yards (ranked 30th). His six total touchdowns only put him within the top-40 of skill players. This year, I believe he will finish with a similar reception total (could very well be higher) like he did in 2021. I do believe his yardage total should increase as long as Jared Goff plays well enough. And, as a second-year receiver who is now trusted, St. Brown should see a sharp uptick in red zone touches, and that means more touchdowns. Overall, I think he’ll finish right around the top-15 receivers but not much higher or lower than that.
Average Draft Position
According to many reputable fantasy sources, St. Brown is commonly ranked among the 18th and 21st-best receivers. But in a loaded draft room full of talented receivers, his position shouldn’t be frowned upon. He should easily be a guy to get if there’s a chance to grab him. In most drafts, he is projected around the 55th-65th overall, but he could see his stock slide a little further from the top as new rankings arise. Nevertheless, St. Brown should be gone by the sixth or seventh rounds in most drafts. He should reward owners with high production pending an appropriate target share.
