PRESEASON EXPECTATIONS

Amon-Ra St. Brown had an amazing six-week stretch in his rookie season that involved five games of at least 23 FP and eight catches and double-digit targets. Owners were keeping notes on him as a breakout year was expected for the Lions who didn’t have many weapons at the time.

DRAFT EXPECTATIONS

Amon-Ra’s ADP for the draft was 75th or a 6th-round pick which was a steal if he was your WR 2 or flex option. Being the 25th WR based on ADP felt a little disrespectful to him.

OVERALL SEASON PRODUCTION

The breakout player of the NFL exceeded all expectations as he ended the year as the 7th-best WR in fantasy football and 26th overall player. Throughout the season, St. Brown was a consistent performer as he scored in double-digits in all but three games. He was always looked for as he got at least eight targets in 13 games. His final stats for the season included 106 catches for 1161 yards and six TDs. Owners who drafted him were definitely rewarded.

CRITICAL MOMENTS DURING THE SEASON

Week 2 vs Washington Commanders

St. Brown had a strong start to the season when he dropped 39.4 FP on the Commanders in Week 2. He caught nine passes for 116 yards and two TDs. Jared threw a 13-yard TD pass late in the 1st quarter and threw an 11-yard TD to him with seven minutes left in the fourth quarter. He ran twice also for 68 yards. For two straight games, he had been targeted 12 times by Jared Goff. His performance at the end of his rookie year was no fluke after this start.

Week 12 vs Buffalo Bills

Thursday Night Football pitted the Bills and Lions and many expected a blowout win for the Bills. Amon-Ra and Detroit had other plans. The Lions WR couldn’t be stopped as he torched the Bills for nine catches and 122 yards and a TD. The Lions were very dangerous at home and they lost a close one 28-25.

Week 13 vs Jacksonville Jaguars

With a spot in the wildcard in the mind of both teams, the Jaguars and Lions were in an important game. Detroit unexpectedly dominated this game as Amon-Ra had his second best game of the year with 34.6 FP and WR 2, his highest for the year. He was on fire with 11 catches for 114 yards and a couple of TDs. Lions won a blowout victory 40-14.

The post 2022-2023 Fantasy Football Review: Amon-Ra St. Brown appeared first on Pro Football Mania.

By: Jake Rajala

After the Detroit Lions displayed one wide receiver with 600+ receiving yards in 2021, the Lions were well aware that they needed to improve their wide receiver group this off-season. The team that is patient with their QB room sought out DJ Chark in free agency and then drafted Jameson Williams in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft.

The veteran Chark is healthy and flat-out underrated at this stage in his career. Side Lion Report named Chark the Lions best move of the off-season. He recorded 1,008 receiving yards and 8 touchdowns in his sophomore season, which led him on a trip to Hawaii in January. Unfortunately, he only played in four games last season, as he suffered a broken ankle in Week 4 against the Bengals. The motivated and talented WR that suffered from Jaguars fever opted to take a one-year deal worth $10 million dollars with the Lions.

The former Bama WR is a freak talent, but he is still nursing an ACL injury. According to The Athletic, Williams is unlikely to be ready for the start of training camp. Of course, Williams tore his ACL in the National Championship.

Chark may be one of the NFL’s most underrated WRs, but the Lions most underrated wideout is unequivocally Josh Reynolds. Reynolds quietly had 618 yards in 2020 and then hauled in 396 yards last season. Per SI, Reynolds stated in reference to the Lions offense, “We’re going to be explosive”.

The new weapons (and the second-year Lions WR) will look to help Amon St. Brown (912 yards in his rookie season) and T.J. Hockenson (Pro Bowler in 2020) dismantle big NFC opponents like Arizona on a frequent basis next season. Perhaps the collection of two straight superb off-seasons on offense can help the Lions have an offensive turnaround from 2021 to 2022 similar to the offensive turnaround that Cincy had from 2020 to 2021.

The post What is the outlook for the Detroit Lions WRs? appeared first on Pro Football Mania.