Amon-Ra St. Brown has quickly turned into one of the best young wide receivers in the NFL. He was selected in the fourth round of the 2021 NFL Draft, No. 114 overall. By the end of the season, he was the clear-cut No. 1 option for Jared Goff and the Detroit Lions in the passing game.

There were 16 wide receivers taken ahead of St. Brown in the draft and he remembers every single one. During HBO’s Hard Knocks series, which took place at training camp with the Lions, St. Brown named every wide receiver that went ahead of him and which college they attended.

He uses that for motivation as a number of those teams would love a redo on their selection and to pick St. Brown instead. One of those teams is likely the Washington Commanders, who the Lions faced off with in Week 2.

Detroit was favorites for the first time in 24 games, which was a record streak. They picked up the victory, winning 36-27 and St. Brown was a big part of that. He had another monster performance, catching nine passes for 116 yards and two touchdowns.

Across the field, one of the wide receivers selected ahead of him was on the sidelines. Dyami Brown was selected in the third round out of North Carolina, No. 83 overall. Brown was literally on the sidelines, as he logged only one offensive snap in the game. St. Brown made sure to let people know that during a press conference this week, as he threw shade at Brown following the game.

“I don’t forget things like that. … I didn’t see him in the game much.” 

St. Brown had nine catches for the Lions against Washington, giving him 17 on the season. That is more than Brown has thus far in his career, as he has been catchless this season after hauling in only 12 as a rookie.

The gap between the two is only going to get bigger as Amon-Ra St. Brown has cemented himself as the go-to option for the Lions even with some additions made to the roster this offseason. Brown, on the other hand, has played fewer offensive snaps than St. Brown had receptions against the Commanders.