Amon-Ra St. Brown delivers fantasy greatness again and again (and again)

When does a hot streak go to the next level and just become pure greatness? Four games, five?

What about nine games?

Yes, this is an appreciation for the every-week greatness that has been Amon-Ra St. Brown. In nine games this season — he missed one due to injury — St. Brown has gone for 100 receiving yards and/or caught a touchdown in every week. Talk about consistency. Going into the Sunday evening game in Week 11, he was the WR9 after posting eight catches for 77 yards and a touchdown. Those who selected him in the second round of fantasy drafts last summer know this kind of production very well. He has very much rewarded that draft capital.

Here are his numbers and his weekly finishes each game thus far in the 2023 season:

• Week 1: six catches, 71 yards, one touchdown / WR12

• Week 2: six catches, 102 yards, zero touchdowns / WR41

• Week 3: nine catches, 102 yards, zero touchdowns and four rushing yards / WR18

• Week 4: five catches, 56 yards, one touchdown / WR13

• Week 5: Inactive due to injury

• Week 6: 12 catches, 124 yards, one touchdown / WR2

• Week 7: 13 catches, 102 yards and zero touchdowns / WR7

• Week 8: six catches, 108 yards and zero touchdowns / WR19

• Week 9: On bye

• Week 10: eight catches, 156 yards and one touchdown / WR4

• Week 11: eight catches, 77 yards and one touchdown / WR9 (so far)

That’s four top-10 finishes — two in the top four — and four other top-20 finishes thus far, with one other finish happening outside the top 20, even though he still had over 100 receiving yards. He’s almost as predictable as a metronome. On average, he’s catching 8.1 balls for 99.8 receiving yards and has five touchdowns. If he keeps up this pace he’ll finish with 137.7 receptions for 1,696.6 receiving yards and 9.4 touchdowns.

As great as Tyreek Hill. A.J. Brown and CeeDee Lamb have been, and their accolades are completely deserved, neither has had that kind of sustained greatness that St. Brown has. Hill has four games under 100 yards, though he has scored in all but two games. Brown has concentrated his touchdowns in four of nine games, with three games under 80 yards bracketing his record-setting six-game streak of 125-plus receiving yards. Lamb has been under 100 yards in five games, though his own four-game, 100-yard streak is amazing (which came to an end in Week 11).

St. Brown came into Week 11 averaging 17.2 fantasy points per game, good enough for WR6 on the season. While he has not scored fewer than 11.2 points in any games this season, St. Brown has been the type of player who fantasy teams can count on every week. And coming up, St. Brown has a closing kick that should continue the fun for fantasy managers smart enough to have drafted him.

Between Weeks 12 to 17, the Lions play all but one game indoors – their lone outdoor game is Week 14 in Chicago. The Lions have scored 191 points in six indoor games for an average of 31.8 points per game.

With such sustained greatness, fantasy managers with St. Brown can think ahead to the fantasy playoffs in Weeks 15-17. The Broncos come to Ford Field in the first matchup, which should feature some fun battles between St. Brown and Patrick Surtain II. Then the Lions could be part of high-scoring carnival games against the Vikings and Cowboys. The Vikings are giving up 174.4 yards and 30.88 fantasy points per game to wide receivers. The latter number is eighth in the league. The Cowboys are stingier, allowing just 108.8 yards and 21.46 fantasy points per game to receivers. Still, like a star baseball hitter who hits great pitching, St. Brown has been able to have good-to-great games against solid secondaries in the Ravens, Packers and Chiefs this season.

This is a receiver who prides himself on reading off the names of all the players drafted ahead of him before every practice. Do you think St. Brown is going to let down when the Lions could be fighting for the top seed in the NFC, and fantasy managers counting on one more big game?

He’ll just treat it like any other week.