It's hard to view the Lions' receiving core with a rosy eye. It's not just that Kenny Golladay and Marvin Jones Jr. are gone. It's that their two replacements -- Tyrell Williams and Breshad Perriman -- are clear downgrades.
If there's a reason for hope, it's fourth-round pick Amon-Ra St. Brown.
St. Brown was the 17th wide receiver selected in this year's draft, and he said this spring he's "never going to forget" those taken before him. He's spent each day of training camp catching 200 extra passes off a JUGS machine after practice. He's compact, but built with concrete: 6'0, 197 lbs. His brother, Equanimeous St. Brown, is a veteran receiver for the Packers, and his dad was a three-time Mr. World bodybuilder in the '80s.
After Williams and Perriman on the outside, there are jobs up for grabs in Detroit's receiving room. Don't be surprised if St. Brown comes down with the starting role in the slot. He's already been pegged as the sleeper on the Lions' roster, and others have said he could be the sleeper of the 2021 draft.
"You know what, he could be," offensive coordinator Anthony Lynn said Monday on the Stoney & Jansen Show. "He’s bigger than what people think and he’s tough. I like the way he mixes it up inside. He’s a hell of a slot receiver."
St. Brown was a big-time recruit out of high school. He ranked No. 2 in the nation among wide receivers in 2018, the same year that future fifth overall pick Ja'Marr Chase ranked No. 15 and future sixth overall pick Jaylen Waddle ranked No. 5. And St. Brown lived up to the hype at USC, racking up 750 yards as a freshman and eclipsing 1,000 as a sophomore. He finished with 478 yards in last year's shortened season, including seven touchdowns in his final three games.
Brad Holmes and the Lions felt lucky to draft him No. 112 overall.
"Amon-Ra was huge for us," Holmes said this spring. "A guy that was highly coveted. High floor, high intangibles, works so hard. He’s everything that we’re about from a culture standpoint, regardless of position. He’s tough, he’s got grit, passionate about football."
St. Brown will likely vie for action in the slot with Kalif Raymond, Tom Kennedy and Damion Ratley. He's not exactly a burner, but he has a feel for the game and a nose for the ball, a bit like Detroit's former slot receiver Danny Amendola. Jared Goff has been throwing mostly underneath to kick off training camp, giving St. Brown a good opportunity to distinguish himself.
He's a sleeper for now. Might not be long before the rest of us wake up.
Lynn, who had planned to take this season off before a call from Dan Campbell, also had great things to say Monday about Goff. What does he like most about Detroit's new quarterback?
"It’s his arm talent," said Lynn. "His accuracy. That’s very important at the quarterback position, and his decision-making in the new offense is getting better. Saturday I thought he had one of his best practices, and it wasn’t necessarily balls down the field. When the defense took the deep ones away he had the patience to take what they gave him, and that’s really critical. Just completions and moving the sticks. But he’s picking up the offense really well."
Lynn added that while the offense has yet to take many shots downfield, that will come when the run game ramps up this week.
"He’s made a lot of plays downfield over the offseason," Lynn said. "His arm talent is really nice and I’m looking forward to some good hard run action. When you get the pads on and get in games, things open up because you run the football. Out here these are almost like passing camps until we get the pads on, but his arm downfield, his balls are good."