Detroit Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown shares the motivation behind his stellar rookie season

Asked about St. Brown after the Seahawks game, Lions quarterback Tim Boyle said St. Brown is very advanced for a young receiver in the way he’s trying to understand the NFL game. Boyle said receivers ask quarterbacks questions about coverages and routes all the time, but it’s the level of questioning from St. Brown that made Detroit’s quarterback room take notice.

“He’s trying to understand why we’re killing certain plays so he can kind of anticipate what we’re thinking,” Boyle said. “I think the best receiver, tight end, running backs are the players who are mentally kind of understanding what we understand with the game.

“Why we’re doing x, y, z and I think that’s what is so special about him. He’s just an instinctive, smart football player.”

On top of all that, St. Brown’s got the perfect mindset to fit into the culture head coach Dan Campbell and general manager Brad Holmes are trying to build in Detroit. He was asked Sunday night about the next milestone he wants to reach after recording his first 100-yard receiving performance against the Seahawks, and he responded: “Honestly, beating Green Bay next week.”

St. Brown is already the team’s best blocker at the receiver position, which further speaks to his team-first mentality and unselfishness. He’s just as complete a rookie receiver as the Lions have had in some time, and the crazy part is the coaches think he’s just scratching the surface of what he can become.