Detroit Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown is coming off the best season of his career in 2023 and that has him breaking through on the list of the best players at his position in the league based on the opinions of NFL coaches, scouts and execs.
According to ESPN, St. Brown landed at No. 7 on the list after going unranked last year. The highest ranking St. Brown received was No. 5, while at least one voter left him unranked.
"Has elite football instincts for the position," one NFL coordinator said. "Understands how to attack leverage. Runs hard every play. Plays inside and outside. Makes all the tough catches on high-leverage downs. Blocks, plays physical. The only thing he doesn't do is win outside the red line [close to the sideline], but that's not how the game works anyway."
"He's really tough," an NFC offensive coach said. "You know where the ball is going on third down and he's usually coming up with it."
St. Brown finished the 2023 campaign with career-highs in receiving yards (1,515), receptions (119) and touchdowns (10). Making his campaign more impressive was the fact that the USC product played through multiple injuries and hand, foot and mouth disease, which he revealed during the "Receiver" docuseries on Netflix.
“He was in so much pain,” St. Brown’s girlfriend said. “He was sweating so much that the spots on his hands and his feet turned into open sores and blisters. So he played that entire game with blisters popping.”
“Had a mask on my face so no one can see what my face was looking like, because it looked so bad,” St. Brown said.
For his efforts, St. Brown was reward with a massive four-year, $120.01 million contract extension this offseason that will keep him in Detroit for the long haul.
If he can post another season like the one he just had, St. Brown could once again move up this list in 2025.
