Amon-Ra St. Brown Examines How Lions' Offense Can Take Next Step

Why the Lions' offense could be dangerous again in 2023.

In Amon-Ra St. Brown, the Detroit Lions have an emerging star at wide receiver. 

He has been the Lions' best pass-catcher since entering the league in 2021. With steady hands and consistent route-running, the USC product has been an exceptional addition to the offense.

Now, in his third season, he's aiming to help the organization reach lofty expectations that have been set for them. A key part of that will be the offense, which was one of the NFL's best last season.

After finishing top-five in scoring in 2022, St. Brown and company have new goals for the upcoming campaign. 

"As an offense, we want to score as many points as possible," the receiver said. "However you score those, whether it's on the ground or in the air, we want to score more and more points." 

A key part of the Lions' heightened projections is the presence of a revamped secondary. St. Brown got his first chance to go up against the talented newcomers during OTAs and minicamp, so he's familiar with what they'll bring to the table. 

With C.J. Gardner-Johnson and Cam Sutton now lining up against him, he noted that they have been tough to get by during his reps. 

The offense, meanwhile, has a fair amount of continuity under second-year coordinator Ben Johnson. 

As the team adds new pieces, such as running backs David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs, there will still be the same feel to quarterback Jared Goff and company's execution. 

With Johnson remaining in the fold, the team has a strong camaraderie that should help it remain among the best in the league. 

"I think for us as an offense,  going into second year with the same offense, I think you're able to do a lot of different things," the USC product explained. "Just because you're comfortable with the play calling, with where the coaches want you to be, you understand certain things. So, at this point, you're kind of graduated from where you were last year, and two more, you know, complex, little little details that you can do that you weren't maybe able to do last year, just because it was you know, the first year of the offense. So little things like that, I think it's gonna help us, you know, take that next step." 

A key part of camp will come over the first two weeks of preseason games. Ahead of both, the Lions will host joint practices with each of their opponents. 

This will allow the team to rep their offensive concepts in a practice setting against unfamiliar defenders. 

"I think they're amazing," the third-year wide receiver said. "I only had one last year against the Colts but to be able to go against other guys, because you go against the same defense every day. They're used to the routes that we run, how we how we align and and all those type things. So to go against different bodies, fresh bodies that haven't seen what you've been doing all camp. And just to compete, you know, you're able to compete against other guys, which is always fun. So it's gonna be a lot of fun."