 St. Brown in 2023 | |||||||||
| No. 14 – Detroit Lions | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Wide receiver | ||||||||
| Roster status | Active | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born | (1999-10-24)October 24, 1999 (age 26) Anaheim Hills, California, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||||||||
| Weight | 202 lb (92 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school | Mater Dei(Santa Ana, California) | ||||||||
| College | USC (2018–2020) | ||||||||
| NFL draft | 2021: 4th round, 112th overall pick | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||
| Career NFL statistics as of Week 11, 2025 | |||||||||
| |||||||||
Amon-Ra Julian Heru John St. Brown (born October 24, 1999) is a German-American professionalfootballwide receiver for theDetroit Lions of theNational Football League (NFL). He playedcollege football for theUSC Trojans and was selected by the Lions in the fourth round of the2021 NFL draft. St. Brown was voted to thePro Bowl from 2022 to 2024, and was a first-teamAll-Pro in 2023 and 2024.[1] He is the younger brother ofEquanimeous St. Brown.
St. Brown was born to mother Miriam (née Steyer), who is originally fromLeverkusen,Germany, and fatherJohn Brown, who was a bodybuilder in the 1980s and a two-timeamateur Mr. Universe.[2] He grew up inAnaheim Hills,California, and has two brothers:Equanimeous, who is currently a free agent having also played wide receiver in theNational Football League (NFL); and Osiris, who played college football at Stanford.[3][4] Along with his brothers, St. Brown has dual American and German citizenship.[5] In addition to English, he also speaksGerman andFrench.[6]
St. Brown attendedServite High School inAnaheim, California, as a freshman before transferring toMater Dei High School inSanta Ana, California.[7] As a senior in 2017, he had 72receptions for 1,320 yards and 20touchdowns.[8] A five-star recruit ranked second among receiver prospects, St. Brown committed to theUniversity of Southern California (USC) to playcollege football.[9][10][11] He played with future USC teammateJT Daniels at Mater Dei.[12]
In his first game of his college career, St. Brown had seven receptions for 98 yards and a touchdown in a win overUNLV.[13] On September 15, 2018, St. Brown finished with a career-high 167 yards receiving in a game againstTexas.[14] St. Brown finished his freshman season with 60 catches, 750 yards, and three touchdowns.[15]
On November 9, 2019, he recorded a career high 173 yards in a victory overArizona State.[16] As a sophomore in 2019, he finished with 77 receptions for 1,042 receiving yards and six receiving touchdowns, adding seven rushes for 60 yards and another touchdown.[17]
As a junior in 2020, he finished with 41 receptions for 478 receiving yards and seven touchdowns in six games.[18]
| Season | Team | GP | Receiving | Rushing | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rec | Yds | Avg | TD | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | |||
| 2018 | USC | 11 | 60 | 750 | 12.5 | 3 | 2 | 9 | 4.5 | 0 |
| 2019 | USC | 13 | 77 | 1,042 | 13.5 | 6 | 7 | 60 | 8.6 | 1 |
| 2020 | USC | 6 | 41 | 478 | 11.7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 |
| Total | 30 | 178 | 2,270 | 12.8 | 16 | 9 | 69 | 7.7 | 1 | |
On January 2, 2021, St. Brown announced on his Instagram account that he would be declaring for the2021 NFL draft, and was projected byCBS Sports as a late first round pick.[19]After St. Brown worked out at theNFL Combine, the NFL released its report on St. Brown by senior NFL analystLance Zierlein. The report placed St. Brown at a second to third round projection, and predicted he would be an average starter.[20] Other scouting reports, including ones byPro Football Focus and The Draft Network, placed St. Brown anywhere from a third to fourth round selection, with emphasis on him being a WR2.[21]
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 ft11+1⁄2 in (1.82 m) | 197 lb (89 kg) | 30+3⁄8 in (0.77 m) | 9+1⁄8 in (0.23 m) | 4.59 s | 1.63 s | 2.64 s | 4.26 s | 6.90 s | 38.5 in (0.98 m) | 10 ft 7 in (3.23 m) | 20 reps | |
| All values fromNFL Combine[20][22][23] | ||||||||||||
St. Brown was drafted in the fourth round, 112th overall, by theDetroit Lions in the 2021 NFL Draft.[24] He signed his four-year rookie contract with Detroit on June 17, 2021.[25]St. Brown played his first game in Week 1 against theSan Francisco 49ers, recording his first reception and finishing the game with two receptions for 23 yards.[26] He made his first career start during Week 5 against theMinnesota Vikings, recording seven receptions for 65 yards in their 19–17 loss.[27] St. Brown recorded his first career scoring play in a 2-point conversion attempt in their Week 6 loss of 34–11 against theCincinnati Bengals.[28]
The Lions entered their Week 13 matchup against the Vikings with a record of 0–10–1, in a 364-day, 15-game winless streak. With 4 seconds left in the fourth quarter, down 27–23, quarterbackJared Goff threw the game-winning touchdown pass to St. Brown, his first career receiving touchdown, clinching the Lions' first win of the season.[29] In late December, St. Brown won the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Month award. Throughout December, he had recorded 35 receptions, 340 receiving yards, and three receiving touchdowns, all of which led the entire rookie class. In addition, he recorded 26 rushing yards.[30]
Overall, St. Brown finished his rookie season with 90 receptions for 912 receiving yards and five receiving touchdowns, to go along with 61 rushing yards and 1 rushing touchdown.[31] St. Brown finished fifth in yardage for the 2021 wide receiver rookie class, as well as having the most yardage for a non-first round pick.[32]
In their season opener against thePhiladelphia Eagles, St. Brown put up an eight-reception, 64-yard performance with one receiving touchdown.[33] Coincidentally, his touchdown came two minutes before his brotherEquanimeous scored a touchdown in theChicago Bears' season opener (this was his brother's first touchdown as a Bear).[34] In Week 2 against theWashington Commanders, St. Brown became the first player in NFL history to have six straight regular season games with at least eight receptions and at least one touchdown, finishing the game with nine receptions for 116 yards and two touchdowns.[35] The streak began in Week 15 of the 2021 season. St. Brown was named NFC Offensive Player of the Week for his performance.[36] In a Week 3 matchup against division rival Vikings, his streak would end when St. Brown received 6 passes for 73 yards with no touchdowns. In the second quarter of that game, St. Brown would visit training staff with an ankle injury.[37] This injury would cause St. Brown to miss their Week 4 matchup against theSeattle Seahawks, where the Lions would lose in a close 48–45 battle.[38] Returning in Week 5 against theNew England Patriots, St. Brown put up just 18 yards on four receptions, ending with the Lions getting shut out 29–0.[39]
With the Lions returning from their bye week to play against theDallas Cowboys, St. Brown went into concussion protocol after being tackled by Cowboys' cornerbackJourdan Lewis following his first reception of the game. St. Brown would not return in that game.[40] He returned to play in Week 9 versus theMiami Dolphins.[41] In Week 10, against the Bears, he had ten receptions for 119 yards in their 31–30 victory.[42] In Week 12, against theBuffalo Bills, he had nine receptions for 122 receiving yards and a receiving touchdown, in their 28–25 loss.[43] In a 40–14 victory over theJacksonville Jaguars the following week, he had 11 receptions for 114 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns.[44] In a Week 15 matchup with theCarolina Panthers, St. Brown topped 1,000 receiving yards for the 2022 season, becoming the youngest receiver in Lions' franchise history to accumulate 1,000 receiving yards in a single season, beating outCalvin Johnson's record by eight days.[45] For his efforts, St. Brown was named as aPro Bowler.[46][41] He was ranked 67th by his fellow players on theNFL Top 100 Players of 2023.[47]
In Week 2, against the Seahawks, St. Brown made his first career fumble, which was recovered by the Seahawks.[48] This was one of three turnovers committed by the team that day, resulting in a Lions loss in overtime 37–31.[49] He started the 2023 season with injuries that caused him to miss the fourth quarter of their Week 2 game.[50]
In Week 11 against theLos Angeles Chargers, St. Brown caught eight passes for a career-high 156 yards and a touchdown in a 41–38 win. The game also marks the fourth consecutive game in which St. Brown caught for more than 100 yards.[51] In Week 18 against the Vikings, St. Brown caught a 70-yard touchdown pass, the longest reception of his career.[52]
St. Brown finished the 2023 season third in the NFL with 1,515 receiving yards (behindTyreek Hill andCeeDee Lamb)[53] He was selected as a First teamAll-Pro and earned Pro Bowl honors.[54][55]
In theWild Card Round game against theLos Angeles Rams, St. Brown had eight receptions for 110 yards in his playoff debut, including a crucial first down pass fromJared Goff in the fourth quarter that secured a 24–23 victory, the Lions' first playoff win in over 30 years.[56][57] He scored a receiving touchdown in the Lions' win over the Buccaneers in theDivisional Round.[58] He was ranked 23rd by his fellow players on theNFL Top 100 Players of 2024.[59]
St. Brown's 2023 season is featured in theNetflix documentary seriesReceiver which released on July 11, 2024.[60]
On April 24, 2024, St. Brown signed a four-year, $120 million contract extension, keeping him under contract with the Lions through the 2028 season.[61] In Week 4 of the 2024 season, St. Brown threw his first career touchdown pass on a trick play to Jared Goff in a win over the Seahawks.[62] In Week 11, against the Jaguars, he had 11 receptions for 161 yards and two touchdowns in the 52–6 victory.[63] In a Week 15 loss to the Bills, he had 14 receptions for 193 yards and a touchdown.[64] He finished the 2024 season with 115 receptions for 1,263 yards and 12 touchdowns.[65] In the Divisional Round against the Washington Commanders, he had eight receptions for 137 yards in the 45–31 loss.[66] He was ranked 20th by his fellow players on theNFL Top 100 Players of 2025.[67]
In Week 10 of the 2025 season, St. Brown was punched in face byWashington Commanders defensive tackle,Daron Payne. In the post-game interview, St. Brown stated the two got in a "scuffle" a few plays earlier, but admitted to no wrongdoing on his part.[68] Afterwards video evidence was made public that revealed that St. Brown had punched Payne in the head a few plays earlier and was not ejected despite anofficial witnessing the strike by St. Brown.[69] On November 15, 2025, the NFL issued him a $12,172 fine for punching Payne, which was met with criticism due to Payne being issued a one-game suspension by the league for same offense.[70][71]
| Year | Team | Games | Receiving | Rushing | Fumbles | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Fum | Lost | ||
| 2021 | DET | 17 | 9 | 90 | 912 | 10.1 | 37 | 5 | 7 | 61 | 8.7 | 26 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | DET | 16 | 16 | 106 | 1,161 | 11.0 | 49 | 6 | 9 | 95 | 10.6 | 58 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | DET | 16 | 16 | 119 | 1,515 | 12.7 | 70 | 10 | 4 | 24 | 6.0 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 2024 | DET | 17 | 17 | 115 | 1,263 | 11.0 | 66 | 12 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 2025 | DET | 10 | 10 | 66 | 735 | 11.1 | 34 | 8 | 3 | 9 | 3.0 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Career | 76 | 68 | 496 | 5,586 | 11.3 | 70 | 41 | 25 | 195 | 7.8 | 58 | 1 | 3 | 2 | |
| Year | Team | Games | Receiving | Fumbles | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Fum | Lost | ||
| 2023 | DET | 3 | 3 | 22 | 274 | 12.5 | 30 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | DET | 1 | 1 | 8 | 137 | 17.1 | 34 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | 4 | 4 | 30 | 411 | 13.7 | 34 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
St. Brown’s father chose his children's names from an interest in names he considered African, particularly Egyptian ones. Amon-Ra's name comes fromAmun-Ra, the god of the air, the sun, and creation – seen as the creator of all things – inEgyptian mythology;[75] he was seen asking of the gods.[76] Amun-Ra was also specifically worshipped as the head of the city ofThebes.[75]
On his children's birth certificates, John Brown had his children's surnames listed asSt. Brown rather than his last name because "There's too many of those guys" with the last nameBrown on the back of their jerseys, as John had the expectation that his children would become athletes. John and Miriam consideredVon Brown andSt. Brown before John settled on the latter.[77]
St. Brown has been in a relationship with registered nurse and model Brooklyn Adams since 2016.[78]
St. Brown is a community ambassador for United Health Share Ministries, aChristian healthcare non-profit organization.[79]
