Amon-Ra St. Brown pretty quickly established himself as one of the most prolific receivers in the NFL. The Lions offensive scheme helps him attain the huge numbers in part by nicely setting up St. Brown with favorable matchups.
Per football insights, St. Brown saw a higher percentage of targets with linebackers in coverage than any other wide receiver in the 2022 season. The minimum threshold is 100 targets; St. Brown had 106 receptions on 145 passing targets last season.
Based on that math, his 26 percent rate versus LBs means St. Brown had 38 targets where a linebacker was the primary coverage responsibility on him. Working out of the slot, St. Brown is very adept at stressing the coverage horizontally and finding the seams in the zones.
It’s a great nod to both QB Jared Goff and offensive coordinator Ben Johnson for helping St. Brown exploit the mismatch and keeping the pressure on the defense.
Highest % of targets facing a LB in coverage (WRs with 100+ tgts)
Amon-Ra St. Brown: 26%
JuJu Smith-Schuster: 25.7%
Chris Godwin: 23.9%
Tyler Lockett: 23.9%
Jaylen Waddle: 20.7%— Football Insights 📊 (@fball_insights) May 15, 2023
