The Detroit Lions were among the breakout teams of the 2022 season. The Lions finished 9-8 and second place in the NFC North, just missing out on a Wild Card berth. One of the key contributors to the Lions’ rise last season was wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, who returns to help lead a Detroit team with elevated expectations this season.
2023 Fantasy Football: Amon-Ra St. Brown Profile
Recap of 2022 season
St. Brown finished with a team-best 1,161 receiving yards, which was roughly 500 yards more than the next-best in Kalif Raymond. St. Brown also logged six receiving touchdowns, which marked the highest of his young career to go with an average of 11.0 yards per reception. In PPR formats, St. Brown finished with an average of 16.7 fantasy points per game and finished as WR7 with a total of 267.6 fantasy points during the 2022 season.
Updated Lions outlook
The Lions are pegged by many to be a dark-horse contender in the NFC given the depth they have on offense, particularly on the outside. St. Brown is joined by Jameson Williams, Marvin Jones Jr., and Josh Reynolds to form a talented trio of receivers. However, it remains to be seen whether Williams’ future in Detroit is further impacted after being found in violation of the NFL’s gambling policy.
Otherwise, the Lions round out a highly-talented offense after drafting Jahmyr Gibbs to play ahead of David Montgomery on the running back depth chart.
Best case scenario
St. Brown flashed the makings of a top-5 receiver during the 2022 season, and the best-case scenario would be for him to back up those flashes with a consistent performance throughout the 2023 campaign. After Week 13, the Lions wideout failed to log more than 100 receiving yards in a game for the remainder of the season, so the best fantasy managers can hope for this season is a consistent showing from the start of the season to the regular-season finale.
Worst case scenario
Much of the Lions’ heightened expectations hinges on another strong performance from quarterback Jared Goff, who finished with his highest quarterback rating (99.3) since his 2018 Pro Bowl season. Aside from injuries to St. Brown, if Goff in any way regresses from the promise he showed last season, then it’s safe to say that the Lions’ wideout will see his fantasy stock take a dip, alongside the offense as a whole taking a step back.
Prediction
This Lions team boasts as strong a supporting cast as Goff has had since his days with the Los Angeles Rams, so there should be confidence they will live up to their expectations, at least on offense. Goff should be more efficient and comfortable with another year in Detroit’s system and in the aftermath, St. Brown should be equipped for another top-10 WR fantasy season with an average of between 18.0 to 20.0 PPR fantasy points per game.