Few people could argue against the fact that the Detroit Lions have a true superstar in Amon-Ra St. Brown. Despite not being one of the highest-touted prospects when he first entered the league, he's now established himself among the creme of the crop.
Of course, that doesn't come without its fair share of detractors. And recently, the narrative around him on social media is that he's struggling with drops. Upon further review, that might not actually be the case.
Amon-Ra St. Brown is as Reliable as he's Ever been
For starters, we should probably clarify that, oddly, drops aren't an official stat, and as such, tracking varies drastically depending on the source. With St. Brown, for instance, some sources credit him for only three drops, whereas others have him at five drops.
Let's assume for a second that St. Brown has, indeed, dropped five passes. Even if that were to be the case, that would only be the sixth-highest drop rate among the top 15 players with the most targets this season. With that number, he would be on pace for 8.5 drops this season, which would still be fewer than Calvin Johnson, who had at least nine dropped passes three times in his nine seasons with the Lions.
St. Brown's contested catch rate of 50% is still right in line with his career average of 53.3%, so it's not like he's regressed in that aspect, either. Even so, he's posting the highest aDOT of his career (7.9), per Football Reference, so the explosiveness is most definitely there.
The All-Pro wideout is up to 66 receptions on 94 targets for 735 receiving yards this season. So, even if he has, in fact, dropped five passes this season, that would account for a 5.3 drop percentage, the highest in his career, but still pretty close to the 4.9 percent he logged two years ago. That sounds like a massive overreaction from those who believe he's regressed.
It's also worth noting that the Lions' offense hasn't been as proficient this season as it was during the Ben Johnson era. That's why head coach Dan Campbell demoted offensive coordinator John Morton and stripped him of offensive play-calling duties.
With Coach Campbell at the helm, this team should look closer to what it was in the past couple of years, and Amon-Ra St. Brown's already-impressive numbers should only be better by the end of the season.