By Moses Joshua 
The Numbers Paint a Very Different Picture of Detroit’s Star Receiver
The Social Media Panic That Doesn’t Match Reality
Amon-Ra St. Brown has rapidly become one of the Detroit Lions’ defining stars — a relentless worker, an elite technician, and one of the league’s most productive wideouts. But with superstardom comes scrutiny, and lately, a curious narrative has started circulating on social media: that St. Brown is suddenly struggling with drops.
It makes for good online debate. It also happens to be wildly misleading.
Before anyone hits the panic button, the numbers deserve a very real look — because once you dig into them, the “problem” evaporates almost instantly.
A Closer Look: St. Brown Is Still One of the NFL’s Steadiest Hands
First, here’s an important truth lost in the noise: drops aren’t even an official NFL stat. That means different trackers record them differently. Some places credit St. Brown with three drops this season. Others say five.
So let’s humor the most dramatic version — the five-drop scenario.
Even with five drops, St. Brown would rank only sixth-highest in drop rate among the league’s top 15 most-targeted receivers. That projection would put him at roughly 8.5 drops for the full season — fewer than Calvin Johnson posted in at least three of his nine seasons in Detroit.
If Megatron wasn’t “overrun with drop issues,” neither is St. Brown.
And St. Brown’s contested-catch rate? Still 50%, nearly identical to his career mark of 53.3%. He hasn’t regressed there either.
Meanwhile, he’s posting the highest average depth of target (7.9 aDOT) of his entire career, showing he’s pushing the ball downfield more — a natural recipe for more difficult, lower-percentage opportunities.
Production Still Defines the Player
Despite the online anxiety, the All-Pro receiver is sitting at 66 catches on 94 targets for 735 yards — elite territory. Even in the hypothetical five-drop scenario, his drop percentage would be 5.3%, barely off the 4.9% mark he posted two years ago.
When a player is this productive, calling this a “drop problem” stretches the definition of the word problem.
Context Matters — and Detroit’s Offense Is Changing Again
It’s also important to consider the offensive environment. The Lions’ unit hasn’t looked as crisp this season under John Morton as it did during Ben Johnson’s tenure. That inconsistency led Dan Campbell to strip Morton of play-calling duties — a significant but necessary course correction.
With Campbell steering the offense more directly, Detroit expects to look more like the explosive unit it was the last two years. If that happens, St. Brown’s already-strong numbers should climb even higher.
Bottom Line: The “Drop Crisis” Is Mostly Noise
Amon-Ra St. Brown remains one of the most reliable receivers in football. His production, efficiency, consistency, and explosiveness all back that up. The online narratives? Those are doing what online narratives do — inflating minor blips into major talking points.
If this is St. Brown’s “drop issue,” most teams would happily take 31 other receivers with problems just like it.