Amon-Ra St. Brown Dominates Man Coverage

Why the third-year wideout is the league's best against man coverage.

Amon-Ra St. Brown had a career season for the Detroit Lions in 2022. After pleasantly surprising during his rookie campaign, he left no doubts about his talent with an 1,000-yard season last year. 

Though he's not labeled the biggest or fastest wide receiver, the USC product has become popular for his tenacious work ethic along with crisp route running and elusiveness after the catch. 

A big reason for his success last year was his ability to exploit opponents in man coverage. He was Pro Football Focus' highest graded receiver against man last season, narrowly edging out Ja'Marr Chase with a 90.8 grade. 

"St. Brown came in at No. 9 when we looked at performance against zone coverage, but when it came to facing man coverage, he was the top guy," wrote PFF's Braxton Howard. "St. Brown was a phenomenal underneath weapon working from the slot, as he had 25 first downs on one of the lowest average depth of target figures (6.9) of the qualified receivers."

What's most surprising is the fact that he did this with a mark of 2.82 yards per route run, according to PFF's metrics. This ranks well below the likes of Chase and Cedee Lamb, who finished tied for second. 

Jared Goff has shown plenty of confidence in the young receiver throughout their two seasons together. Last year, St. Brown rewarded his signal-caller's faith in him by producing a 127.7 passer rating when targeted against man coverage. 

He also established himself as a first down machine, as over 50 % of his catches went for first downs in 2022. His average depth of target, 6.9 yards, was among the lowest of qualified wideouts. 

Against man coverage, the third-year wideout averaged 4.8 yards after the catch. His YAC numbers were slightly better against zone, as he averaged 5.2. 

Still, his ability to convert short passes to first downs is a testament to his abilities. Though he didn't rank as highly against zone coverage, he still ranked ninth amongst qualified wideouts. 

PFF also has him among the league's most consistent wideouts, as his four drops gave him a drop percentage of just 3.6. 

He was also one of PFF's highest-graded receivers on intermediate throws, as his 99.6 grade ranked second to only Garrett Wilson. In that range, he caught 22 of his 29 targets for 394 yards and a score.

Through two seasons, he's put together an exceptional start to his career. In 33 games, he's caught 196 passes for 2,073 yards and 11 scores.