The Detroit Lions added USC wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown on Saturday with a fourth-round pick (No. 112 overall), giving the club an exciting and productive pass catcher and a player with a unique background as the son of a world-class athlete.
St. Brown joins his older brother, Equanimeous St. Brown, in the NFL and the NFC North.
Equanimeous was a sixth-round draft pick of the Green Bay Packers in 2018, the oldest of three brothers who earned scholarships to major college programs as wide receivers.
Equanimeous starred at Notre Dame, while Osiris St. Brown played at Stanford, and Amon-Ra, the youngest, signed with Southern Cal.
Their father, John Brown, is a former professional bodybuilder and two-time Mr. Universe who had his sons weight-training for football from an unusually young age. That training, along with a maniacal work ethic that he learned from his father, was a big reason Amon-Ra entered college physically ready to excel. Not surprisingly, he made a major impact as an incoming freshman in leading the Trojans in receptions (60) in 2018.
St. Brown (5-foot-11 1/2, 197 pounds) is a strong route-runner with adequate speed and exceptional ball skills, allowing him to play bigger than his size on contested passes in traffic. He enjoyed his best season at USC in 2019, when he pulled in 77 catches for 1,042 yards and six touchdowns. NFL Media draft analyst Lance Zierlein compares St. Brown to New York Jets WR Keelan Cole, noting that his blocking needs work, and believes he'll likely make his pro career in the slot position.
