Detroit Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown continues to get better with each passing year. Now in his fourth season, could he possibly improve upon his elite WR1 performance from last year?
How early should fantasy football managers draft St. Brown?
Amon-Ra St. Brown’s Fantasy Profile for the 2024 NFL Season
It is certainly nice to finally be done with the whole “Is St. Brown actually elite?” question.
Fantasy managers didn’t fully buy into him after his scorching finish to his rookie year. Then, last year, they thought he couldn’t do much better than his 16.7 fantasy points per game 2022 season.
No one doubts St. Brown after his 20.7 ppg, overall WR4 finish in 2023. The question now isn’t whether he can do it again; it’s whether he can be the best WR in fantasy.
St. Brown is largely viewed as a volume guy — a player who relies on underneath targets. While that’s definitely true, he’s been improving in his explosive plays every season.
St. Brown’s yards per reception has increased each year he’s been in the NFL, going from 10.1 to 11.0 to 12.7.
Last year, St. Brown averaged 2.7 yards per route run, seventh in the league. He saw a 30.2% target share, second in the league. And despite his size and physical profile, the talented wideout was a red-zone weapon, scoring 10 touchdowns and commanding 25 red-zone targets, the third most in the NFL.
There’s no denying St. Brown’s talent. He’s one of the best wide receivers in the league. However, he does need to maintain the massive volume to justify his WR5, No. 8 overall price tag. Fortunately, he should be able to.
The Lions have a very consolidated offense. Jared Goff doesn’t really have anyone reliable in the passing game behind St. Brown and Sam LaPorta. Jahmyr Gibbs is an excellent pass catcher, but he’s not taking targets away from the guys who do that as their primary role. Jameson Williams, Kalif Raymond, and Donovan Peoples-Jones pose no threat to St. Brown’s alpha status.
Is St. Brown a Good Fantasy Pick?
St. Brown provides an ideal combination of floor and ceiling. He scored at least 14 fantasy points in 14 out of 16 games last season. He had 10 games with at least 19 fantasy points. As for that weekly ceiling, he’s got that, too, posting four games of 27 or more points.
I have St. Brown ranked as my WR4. The JJ McCarthy injury prompted me to push him above Jefferson.
If you want to take him ahead of Jefferson or even Ja’Marr Chase, I wouldn’t fight you on it.
The only two wide receivers you can’t justify drafting ARSB ahead of are Tyreek Hill and CeeDee Lamb. Once those two, plus Christian McCaffrey, are gone, if you want to take ARSB, I wouldn’t have a negative thing to say.